Dealing with international hiring is one of the significant challenges many companies experience. There’s much to figure out, ranging from different payroll systems to local labor laws and setting up a foreign office. That is where a reliable global employer of record (EOR) comes in. They help take care of administrative and legal tasks so that your primary focus becomes your business. The EOR market was valued at $4.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $8.59 billion by 2032.
Whether searching for EOR solutions for the first time or thinking about changing your providers, the goal is to pick an ideal partner for a long-term commitment. The EOR is full of great options, but choosing the right one for your business might still be challenging. Before getting into a new partnership, you should focus on getting an EOR company that is experienced in the area, has honest pricing, and offers some learning resources.
Notably, ensuring that the company complies with the labor laws in a specific country will provide no significant legal expenses or non-compliance penalties as they could damage your company’s reputation. With many companies available, here are top choices for some of the best EOR companies you should consider working within 2024.
What Is an EOR And Why Do You Need One?
An employer of record (EOR) refers to a third-party organization that takes up human resource duties and becomes legally responsible for hiring your staff. An EOR company manages payroll and handles various day-to-day tasks. It is different from human resources in that while the human resource team supervises your employees’ daily tasks, an EOR team handles additional functions, including the following:
- Handling taxes: They navigate through the local and national tax regulations, which can be challenging for the local authorities.
- Processing payroll: These individuals fund and process the employee salaries, withholding taxes, and benefits and deductions.
- Onboarding new teams: An EOR will onboard a team to your firm and help set up all the necessary processes so the members are ready to start working.
The EOR model has grown in popularity since it benefits both the employee and the business. They simplify the global expansion for most companies, ensuring that you only attract some of the best talent worldwide. It is also an excellent method of saving time and money since an EOR company doesn’t have to go through the lengthy and expensive process of setting up a foreign company.
Additionally, with an EOR company, you have a chance of reducing compliance risk in a new market since they are constantly updated with some of the labor laws that are continually changing. There is also a chance to minimize risks, especially with employee misclassification, considering employee clarification varies from country to country. To understand more about EOR, you must learn how these companies operate.
With Globy’s team across three continents, hiring top talent worldwide is seamless and hassle-free.
How Does an EOR Work?
An EOR operates by employing interactional people through its entities. Many countries need employees to have a local entity, and since this is a complex and expensive procedure, EOR makes the work easier for your enterprise. EORs understand compensation, payroll, onboarding, and termination, making the process easier for your company. EOR cosigns an employment contract and then assigns the employee through a service agreement. It could do so through either of these three employee agreements:
- Employment contract: EOR draws up the contract and signs alongside an employee.
- The service agreement is a contract signed by your business and the EOR that outlines your relationship with the EOR and your employees.
- Side agreements are additional to contractual agreements between employees and businesses that protect your company’s interest.
Key Benefits Of Using an EOR
They remove the legal troubles: Expanding to a new country means that you have to understand how the law works. An EOR firm ensures you add new staff to your team quickly and smoothly.
- Take care of compliance: There is a large compliance workload, and EOR monitors it so that you don’t have to become an expert in international labor.
- Saves time: Running a company is time-consuming. EOR will help with tasks such as tax filing and payments, and they take over all the liabilities, thus taking any risks off your shoulders. For instance, Shopify operates globally without stores or offices in most places.
- Reduce overhead costs: The team helps with financial planning, creating short- and long-term plans, estimating costs, and budgeting for future staffing investments. For instance, Airbnb operates globally without physicals in most cities.
- Give you access to cut-edging HR platforms: Technology is evolving fast, and investing in software to assist with operational efficiency ensures reduced ROI. They can also guide you on some of the automated payroll services that EOR has partnered with, delivering your employees’ paychecks through a streamlined process.
When Should You Consider an EOR?
- When expanding internationally: It is the best way to ensure you can hire remote employees without legal presence.
- Complying with employment regulations: When it comes to tax obligations and labor regulations, EOR complies with the employment regulations, thus reducing the risks that come with hiring in a new country.
Read more: Directory of Global Payroll and EOR Solutions
How to Choose the Best EOR Company?
Consider these key factors when selecting an EOR company. Doing this upfront will save you from stress and ensure you do not waste time researching. The EOR market in Latin America is projected to experience an 18.6% growth rate by the end of 2024. Here are a few considerations to out in mind:
Pricing
Cost is one way small businesses can reduce expenses, and using EOR pricing would be a great way to reduce additional charges like visa support. An employer of records in a country like Canada, for instance, will cost between $400 and $800 per employee each month. Therefore, look beyond the sticker price and find an EOR company that offers a comprehensive price that will ensure you’re taken care of in the long run.
Services Offered
EORs offer a lot of services that go beyond compliance and the basic payroll. That includes visa and immigration support and also performance management tools.
Local Expertise
Not all EOR providers provide services in different countries; thus, expertise may vary from region to region. It is vital to find a strong presence in the various areas. They will be backed up by local expertise, thus making sure that they follow frameworks in different locations.
Global Coverage
EORs are expanding greatly to many parts of the globe. With the increasingly interconnected market, businesses are constantly trying to expand their reach to attract new talent. Key industries have benefited from EORs such as Microsoft and Google, who’ve taken advantage of EORs to get remote developers, IT specialists, and data scents into their teams.
That has been the case in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, which regularly have to carry out clinical trials. For example, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer have used EOR services to increase compliance and workforce efficiency, especially during clinical trials.
Expertise in Local Labor Laws
Employment regulations and laws change from one country to another. EORs provide regional expertise and ensure employment practices are within the laws. That ensures you do not experience any legal penalties without being at risk of non-compliance.
Customer Support and Technology
EORs must have excellent technology and customer support to make navigating through complex regulations globally easy. It is best to build trust and ensure the company can trust you to run international affairs smoothly. Technology is critical in streamlining the process and ensuring that a company can handle automatic tax filings and payroll processing tasks.
Read further: Guide to Hiring International Employees
Top 10 EOR Companies
1. Remote.com
It is one of the most trusted employers globally, and it provides its users with some standard features to help them navigate new markets. The user-friendly platform assists with automatic processes such as payroll management and onboarding, thus making the work easier. Most customers enjoy their pricing model, their full legal compliance
2. Globalization Partners
Globalization partners, also called G-P, are the leading EOR managing teams in over 180 countries, such as Argentina, the Philippines, and Germany, thus ensuring that you set yourself up without any problems.
On their site, a company gets to explore the products and book a demo. Globalization Partners offers 96% customer satisfaction and has over 200+ global partners. During the 2023 report, Globalization Partners was recognized in G2’s fall report as a leader in the international employment industry.
3. Velocity Global
It is an AI-powered workforce that simplifies managing and building teams in over 185 countries, thus ensuring you can operate seamlessly regardless of location. Hiring your global workforce means that you get unmatched expertise to expand quickly.
The team offers a straightforward structure with no hidden costs, thus letting your company grow confidently. It has over 4.7-star rating with positive feedback from multiple users. Some of them appreciate the high-touch approach, emphasize compliance, and provide highly responsive results to their clientele.
4. Papaya Global
It was one of the compliant platforms that operates in over 160+ countries. With this platform, a company can handle all employees and cut payroll costs by 12%. The firm guarantees entire liability throughout the payroll process, thus making the payment journey easier. The company has earned some recognitions, including best ROI in fall 2021, best support in fall 2023, fastest implementation, and high performer in 2023.
5. Deel
It is an all-in-one payroll and HR platform for all global teams. The American company helps with outsourcing services, payments, and international client hiring. Deel ensures that you can manage your global team using one platform.
Having secured a couple of awards in 2024, including momentum leader, users most likely to recommend, and best relationship. Deel will ensure you reduce the onboarding process, give your team a perfect experience, eliminate errors, and get holistic views of employer costs and headcount. Here are their pricing rates:
| Plan | Cost Each Month |
| Deel EOR | Starts from $599 per full-time employee |
| Deel Contractor | $49 per contractor |
| Deel HRIS | Free |
| Deel Global Payroll | Begins at $29 per employee |
| Deel US Payroll | Starts at $19 per employee |
| Deel US PEO | Begins at $79 per employee |
| Deel Engage | It starts at $29 per employee. |
| Deel Immigration | This happens on request. |
6. Omnipresent
Omnipresent has become one of the global teams employed simply through one platform supported by some of the best international employment experts. The platform offers a couple of services, including employer of record and professional employer organization (PEO), which simplifies HR processes such as onboarding support, benefits, and compliance.
One of the success stories from their global employment assistance is that they helped Sound Trap get an integral team to work with the company. Some of the tools and resources in their platform that make the process easier include Omniatlas that explores the local laws and calculations, Omnicalculator, and a global hiring navigator that quickly assists in determining your global hiring needs.
7. Safeguard Global
Operating in over 170 countries, Safeguard Global provides comprehensive HR solutions through every step of your global growth. The company assists with local recruitment and temporary staffing services.
It has partnered with different companies and is a member of various associations, including the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO). It also belongs to influential groups such as the Global Chamber.
8. Shield GEO
Shield GEO is currently part of Velocity Global since 2021. It is still a leading global talent solution provider that makes intentional employment simple. Shield GEO is based in Hong Kong but has entities in different places, including Australia and the UK, and a substantial international team.
9. Horizons
This global payment platform is one of the best at managing talent and contracts all in one platform. There are a couple of companies that trust Horizons, including Porsche, Tata, Swire, BASF, Boeing, Veolia, IBM, and more.
According to one of their clients, NYU, Horizons is unique due to its integrated recruitment team. The company also offers competitive pricing with no hidden expenses, making them different from other providers. Horizons offers various pricing models and their pricing model:
| Plan | Monthly Cost |
| Horizons EOR | $299 per full-time employee |
| Horizons Contractor | $29 per contractor |
| Horizons International Recruitment | 2% of gross salary |
10. Atlas
Hiring your employees through Atlas means that they take over the liability and also see to it that you follow the employment rules in a specific geographical location. Atlas understands that each country has complex team requirements.
It provides the flexibility you need and ensures you get the flexibility you deserve. The company allows you to save over 87.5% and operates in over 160 countries. Companies such as Everest Group, The IEC Group, and Nelson Hall have recognized Atlas as the leader in global employer records.
How Globy Can Help You Choose the Right EOR
Globy differs from most companies thanks to its fast and focused approaches to local hiring formalities. Therefore, it becomes easy to hire, no matter the geographical location. Globy has a team on three continents, including the Americas and Europe. It also has a 4.9-star rating and an accessible platform for anyone to navigate.
Globy’s fast and focused approach simplifies hiring across the Americas and Europe.
What’s the Difference Between an EOR and a PEO?
EOR is a third-party organization tasked with employing your task force, thus managing the ins and outs of global employment, from compliance to benefits and taxes. A professional Employer Organization (PEO) partners with your company to collaboratively take care of human resource tasks.
Therefore, you will oversee the staff employment while PEO services deal with HR tasks such as employee benefits and payroll. Sharing responsibilities with such a company saves effort and time, allowing you to focus on growing your business, thus compared with local employment laws. There are several crucial distinctions, as indicated below:
- The number of workers: When working with an EOR, there lis no minimum employee count, whereas PEOs need at least five people, and if it goes over at least 10.
- The benefits: EORs offer comprehensive benefits, including health insurance coverage, whereas PEOs have similar plans but with more advantages, such as mental health checks and fitness plans.
- Hiring: EOR acts as a legal employer, whereas PEO partners with your business to deal with HR services, thus dealing with your daily management of the employees.
- Compliance: EOR takes full responsibility for local labor laws, whereas PEO provides local expertise and advises your company on compliance matters.
- Registration: When working with EOR, your company doesn’t need to have a local entity in the country where you will be hiring, but for PEO, you should hire only in places where you have a registered company.
Key Differences Between EOR And PEO
| EOR | PEO |
| Working with an EOR means your business hires employees where you lack legal entity. | A professional employer to hire quickly and also manage local employees. |
| EORs take over the sole legal responsibilities of all the employees. | A PEO mitigates workplace risks by dealing with serious issues such as terminations and safety. |
| An EOR provides a fast onboarding process. | PEOs offer efficient hiring practices, thus making the onboarding process easier. |
| EORs reduce both global expansion and HR related-costs. | PEOs reduce HR-related expenses. |
Choosing the Right EOR for Your Business
There are many EOR solutions in the market, but you must work with one that offers the best services at an affordable rate. Most small companies opt to work with affordable EORs, while large companies are more than ready to integrate some of the superior add-ons that make the hiring process easy. Globy is one of the best firms to advise you on which EOR firm to work with, so get in touch with us to learn more about these services.
Read further: Best International Recruiting Agencies, Brazilian Cities Are The Next Big Tech Hubs, Best Tech Recruiting Agencies
FAQs
EOR stands for employer of record, an entity responsible for hiring employees for a different business. Once an EOR company takes over, it becomes accountable for all employment aspects, such as benefits, payrolls, and taxes.
It varies depending on the country and the company you’re working with. It could range from $199 to $650 per employee monthly.
Yes, you can, but you will be forced to hire workers as contractors or else have a company operating in those countries. However, there are dangers to employing people in a foreign land without an EOR, such as taking all the costs up yourself or getting unskilled individuals to work in your company.
Using an EOR firm is the only way to ensure that businesses are protected from compliance risks and liabilities, and it is also one of the most effective ways of operating without opening a firm in another country.
