Getting access to a worldwide talent pool always seemed like an impossible dream, but global Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) made that dream a reality. As the world of work changed, companies learned that work could be done remotely. While freelancing and outsourcing allowed companies to hire talent overseas, it made a messy business of employee compliance, benefits, and payroll.
However, when international expansion and global staffing are done right, the opportunities are endless. Growth is not easy, but it doesn’t need to be uncomfortable. At least, not where a global PEO is concerned.
How can a global PEO help you build an international team?
We went into extensive detail about what Professional Employer Organizations are in this article. In brief, global PEOs are business models that allow companies to hire international talent by functioning as their Employer of Record (EOR). This means that your business can hire through the PEO, which acts as the EOR entity.
For example, with Boldr as your PEO partner, you can expand your talent horizons into the Philippines, Mexico, and South Africa.
What are the advantages and benefits of a PEO?
“Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.”
Anne M. Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox
According to The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, privately-held businesses that use PEOs are 50% less likely to fail from one year to the next when compared to similar companies.
Benefits of a Global PEO For Employers
For success to occur, advantages and benefits must go both ways. Here are some key benefits to hiring international talent through our global PEO/EOR, as well as what it holds for your newly hired team members:
- Access to talent, globally. Hiring people from different countries and backgrounds lends a unique perspective to your business while providing work opportunities for skilled individuals from around the globe. With Boldr, you get access to extraordinary talent from Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa – all handled through us.
- Recruitment & sourcing. Most PEOs focus on hiring and managing your team members. We go a step further. We screen, evaluate, and administer the assessments to ensure you’re getting the best candidates.
- Expertise in the local environment. Our global PEO team was created to implement your hiring needs and to facilitate the process for your remote teams. We have talent acquisition and HR teams with extensive expertise in local laws and working culture of each country or geographic area.
- Compliance with local law. One of the best things about relying on EOR services is that you don’t have to worry about infringing on employment or labor laws for the jurisdiction you’re recruiting in. That’s what the PEO is for.
- No payroll cost or tax surprises. When hiring through Boldr’s EOR services, the taxes are already built into our pricing. Transparent pricing offers you full visibility into what your team members and the taxes needed to legally employ them.
- Avoid local nuances. The extra taxes and operational expenses of establishing a legal entity in a foreign jurisdiction, can become costly. Using an EOR will save you the time, resources and effort of operating in another country.
- Gain access to a global HR Team. At Boldr, our aim is to augment your HR team according to your needs, but never to replace it.
- Extend employee benefits. If your company offers extra benefits that you wish to extend to your international team members, we can make it happen! Dental insurance, meals, Internet allowances, bonuses, company cars, pensions, stock options, child care, gratuity, etc., can easily be extended to your Boldr team members.
- Freedom to manage your team members. While we welcome each PEO hire as one of our own, we leave the managing and nurturing of new team members to you. On one hand, you can offer job security, legal and extra benefits, work permits, etc., making it easier for you to retain talent. On the other hand, a global PEO/EOR modality provides the flexibility you need to have a direct relationship with your employees.
Global PEO Benefits For Employees
Your team members are what makes your business successful. Retention, therefore, is key. Here are some benefits your team members will enjoy if you partner with a global PEO (like us!):
- Legal benefits. All benefits required by law, such as health insurance, vacation, maternity leave, etc., are handled through your EOR partner.
- Compensation. Whether an accident, unforeseen event or dismissal, your EOR will take care of it in compliance with all local laws.
- Extra benefits. With Boldr as your global PEO/EOR partner, team members will enjoy extra benefits like PTOs, mental health, COVID contingency programs, calamity support, 24/7 IT support, data privacy & security support, as well as access to any of our fun clubs!
- Extendable benefits. As explained above, you can extend company benefits to your PEO team members. Dental insurance, bonuses, gas vouchers, gym memberships, etc.
- Enjoying the Boldr culture. While we don’t take over the day-to-day management of new hires, we do welcome them into Boldr’s culture. They can lead or join our impact projects, be part of fun activities or outings with our team clubs, connect with other teams, get access to training initiatives and enjoy being their most authentic selves at work. Not to toot our own horn, but our culture is pretty amazing (or so our team members tell us).
Are there any disadvantages or limitations?
There are two sides to every story. Hiring a PEO partner can yield disadvantages or limitations, especially when it’s a standard PEO and not a global one.
Limited control
With standard PEOs, it’s normal to feel concerned about losing control over policies, administration, and even company culture. With us, this is not an issue.
- Changes in regulations & policies. We consider transparency to be the best policy, which is why we ensure you are always looped in to changes in local regulations and policies.
- Managing team members. Administrative-wise, you handle your own team members – not us.
- For company culture: Your culture will never be diminished for several reasons. Firstly, your KPIs become ours. Secondly, we strive to make sure that every PEO client is a culture match with our own. And thirdly, you handle the relationship with your team members directly. It’s the same as hiring locally – you bring your culture to the table.
Team member resistance
We’re not gonna lie. Most BPOs and standard PEOs have a bad rap – and for good reason. However, this is why we strive to outsource ethically, which makes our global PEO model different. We put the team members first, always. Ensuring fair wages, providing local legal benefits, welcoming them into a warm & fun workplace, and going the extra mile to provide extra benefits, like mental health and COVID-19 support, are all part of what we offer. That’s why we worked so hard to become the first B Corp certified global PEO.
Some team members are hesitant about being hired by a BPO. We’ll make sure your members are comfortable and on board with the hiring agreement. Babylist, one of our dearest PEO clients, faced a similar challenge: convincing their team of reluctant freelancers to switch work models and join a PEO company. Many had worked with BPOs before, resulting in traumatic experiences, while others were comfortable with a freelancer status due to the flexibility it entailed.
“When I found Boldr, it was different. I could feel the difference, and the way you were willing to operate as a PEO just made so much sense. The comments below may be directed to me and my Leads, but they’re really the result of the service you provide. It’s exactly what I was hoping for. Can’t thank you enough for the difference you’ve made in us being able to retain 100% of our Philippines workforce, but more importantly the difference you have made in their lives as people.”
Chris Murray, Customer Support Director, Babylist
Our solution? We created a Pitch Deck for freelancers, where several representatives from each department talked about each of our support services and our amazing culture, benefits, and impact mindset. Our Founder and The Philippines Country Head also joined to personally welcome and invite the team to join Boldr. After the pitch, we expected to lose 20% of the team. Surprisingly, ALL OF THEM joined Boldr. That’s a 100% transference!
If team member resistance is a concern, rest assured that we work hard to make sure every single person is on board and happy.
Unable to hire internationally
Standard PEOs aren’t the same as a global or international PEO. Certain PEO companies simply can’t help you hire and expand internationally. That’s not a limitation when it comes to Boldr’s PEO model. With us, you can access incredible skill sets from Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Canada, and the USA.
Work with us!
We make remote international expansion effortless while taking care of your most important asset: your team members. We are the first people-first PEO.
Book a call with us today and learn more about how a global PEO can help stretch out your business horizon.
