How to choose the best route for hiring or supporting workers abroad
Finding and retaining the right talent sometimes requires a business to expand their reach into new countries. Hiring internationally allows an organization to acquire specialized skills that are hard to find at home. Global hiring can also offer cost-saving opportunities when managed well and within the legal confines of each individual labor market. And a company’s ability to employ outside its footprint helps it retain talent if that talent needs to relocate.
When a company needs to hire and employ workers in a new country, it typically needs to set up an entity there first, but that’s time-consuming and costly. Instead, an alternative to setting up a new entity is an employer of record (EOR), which can quickly hire and employ the overseas workers an organization needs. But, while an EOR offers a smart, viable solution for many growing companies, it’s only the right move if it meets your particular needs at the right time. EOR Partners can help you determine when it’s the right time for you to consider an EOR.
What do you want to do?
Determine whether an EOR might work for you by asking yourself a few questions. Do you need to:
- Hire quickly? What’s your timeline?
- Hire a small number of new employees outside your country?
- Build a new team overseas with dozens of employees?
- Establish a more permanent presence / greater control in the market(s) you’re considering?
- Hire abroad because the skills you need aren’t available locally?
- Explore a market that’s new to your company?
- Retain a valuable employee who needs to move overseas?
- Reorganize your workforce after a merger or acquisition?
- Hire contractors in your target market(s)?
If you need to hire a few people quickly, an EOR is often the right answer. It’s also a good choice when you need specialized skills that are hard to find in your market, or when you need to retain an employee who wants to move abroad.
An EOR can also help if you intend to hire contractors in a foreign market. Worker classification laws vary from country to country, and an individual who’s considered a contractor in one country might be classified as a full employee in another country. Running afoul of worker classification laws can be costly and disruptive, but an EOR can help you avoid that.
If you have long-term plans for a certain market and need greater control, or if you need a larger number of employees there, an entity of your own likely makes more sense. If you’re setting up an entity but need to hire quickly, an EOR can support you while you establish your own presence.
When an EOR makes sense: Some scenarios to consider
The scenarios laid out below illustrate how an EOR can resolve certain growth and staffing challenges.
You are hiring to explore a new market: The Czech Republic seems to offer an attractive growth opportunity for your business. But members of your C-suite aren’t ready to commit. An EOR allows you to hire a small team to work remotely from that market, enabling you to determine whether it’s a good match in terms of skills, work culture, and communication and collaboration styles. It also allows you to collect the market intel you’ll need to build a case for that market. If it doesn’t offer the opportunity you envisioned, you can exit with relative ease.
You need a specific skill set that’s hard to find locally: Your company is a growing biotech business in need of advanced engineering skills that aren’t widely available in your market. But Portugal is an emerging leader in this sector thanks to an influx of private investment and government incentives. Its universities have been producing skilled engineering professionals, but without an entity there, it’s hard for your company to access that talent. An EOR allows you to hire in Portugal, and some EORs can even recruit that talent for you.
A valued employee needs to move overseas: Your R&D director is moving to Brazil because his spouse has been transferred there. The director has a long history in the company and decades of accumulated expertise, and you can’t afford to lose him. An EOR lets you retain your R&D director by employing him in Brazil on your behalf.
You’re facing challenges in sponsoring a new hire for a work visa in your country: You plan to hire a senior-level scientist for an R&D role in your country, but the costs and timeline associated with the visa are creating problems. An EOR can hire that scientist in their country on your behalf, so there’s no need for a visa.
You’re facing classification risk in another country: Your organization has relied on contractors in the US for some time. But the state of New Jersey, where you employ a small team of contractors, has tightened its rules around contractor use, and you may now be at increased risk for misclassification. An EOR can handle the relationships on your behalf to help you mitigate that risk.
Workforce transition: M&A deals can involve complex workforce transitions, and your company’s recent acquisition of a small business in Belgium is proving just how complex it can be. An EOR can minimize the complexity of this transition by employing workers in the short term while the deal’s components are implemented.
Which hiring model works for you?
Now that you have a better sense for the kind of support an EOR provides, you can determine whether an EOR — or another hiring model — is the right choice for you.
| Hiring model | What it’s best for | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Platform-first EOR provider | Simple, lower-complexity hires where speed, price clarity, and self-serve workflows matter most | May be weaker where the buyer needs tailored guidance, worker support, change handling, or complex-country advice |
| Service-led EOR provider | Relocation, contractor conversion, provider switch, complex countries, worker-support-heavy cases, or when HR needs practical support | May not be the cheapest or most self-serve option |
| Broker/advisory route | Buyers who are unsure which route or provider model fits; multi-country comparisons; sensitive switches; need for independent trade-offs | Quality depends on broker expertise, partner network, and transparency |
| Entity setup | Long-term, high-headcount commitment in one country; need for full local control | Slower, heavier, and often disproportionate for a first or single hire |
The benefits of a service-led EOR
If you favor an EOR, you’ll need to determine whether a service-led model would be best or a platform-first model is sufficient. Consider these questions:
- Does your company require some initial hand-holding or ongoing support?
- Does your situation involve an existing employee, a critical hire, contractor conversion, or worker transfer?
- Will your worker(s) need support in their own language?
- Could the relationship with the worker involve a role change, relocation, or termination?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, a service-led EOR will likely serve you better. Its hands-on approach to both its customers and those it employs on their behalf is the preferred option for cases that are more complex. Service-led EORs have HR experts on board who are knowledgeable and accessible, which makes a big difference when you or your employees need personalized guidance.
If you are already with an EOR but looking for a new provider, the benefits of a service-led EOR should be considered before you make that switch.
How to select your EOR provider
There are several questions you should ask when selecting your EOR provider.
| Category | Questions |
|---|---|
| Country and employment | How will the worker be employed locally? Which statutory benefits, payroll timing, and contract requirements apply? |
| Risk and responsibilities | Which responsibilities sit with the provider, which ones stay with the client, and what needs local legal review? |
| Worker experience | Who does the worker contact when they need support? Is local-language support available? What will onboarding feel like? |
| Costs and commercial model | What is included, what deposits or setup fees apply, and how will FX be handled? |
| Support model | Will there be a named point of contact? How are HR, payroll, benefits, and escalations handled? |
How EOR Partners can help
Sometimes a little objective guidance can go a long way in helping you identify the right hiring model and — if you choose the EOR model — the right provider.
EOR Partners can help you compare provider options and determine which one offers the best fit. To guide you, we will need information about:
- Your target country (or countries)
- The kind of worker(s) you need
- Your current setup
- Your hiring timeline
- Your biggest concerns or challenges
If you’re looking to hire overseas, your choice of hiring model must be based on sound reasoning and all the facts available. EOR Partners does the research for you, allowing you to reach a decision and implement your hiring plans more quickly. Contact us now and we’ll work with you to determine the best way forward.
