Whether you’ve just launched your business or are in growth mode, talent acquisition is likely on your mind. Hiring the best team can be a business accelerator if you find people with the right combination of skills, ambition, and innovation.
A global workforce offers many competitive advantages, such as a larger talent pool and cost-effective compensation packages.
However, managing a global team also has some complexities. You must consider payroll, human resources administration, and the employee experience. Fortunately, the right tools can make the job a lot easier.
Key takeaways:
- Managing a global workforce manually can lead to errors, inefficiencies, and compliance risks.
- HR platforms designed for international teams help streamline payroll, onboarding, and compliance management.
- Many HR software tools include features like time tracking, employee management, and integrations with other tools.
HR Platforms & Tools Reduce Risk and Human Error Across Borders
Manual processes simply don’t cut it when managing a global workforce; they’re slow, error-prone, and leave too much room for compliance mistakes. Tasks like onboarding, document management, and tracking country-specific labor laws quickly become overwhelming without the right tools in place.
HR platforms give companies real-time visibility into critical information like payroll costs, benefits, and employee data in a centralized system. With automation, you can reduce errors and optimize HR workflows.
In this post, we’ll explore a mix of helpful HR tools. Some are full-scale workforce management solutions designed specifically to manage global teams and comply with local tax and labor laws. Others are more niche software solutions that, while not built for global management, can still bring much value to your HR stack.
1. RemoFirst
RemoFirst is a full-service international HR platform that helps companies hire, onboard, manage, and pay its global team in 185+ countries. As an Employer of Record (EOR), RemoFirst ensures full compliance with local employment laws.
RemoFirst offers multi-currency global payroll, visa and work permit support, background checks, and health benefits via RemoHealth and RemoHealth Local. In addition to employees, RemoFirst also enables companies to manage and pay contractors in 150+ countries.
Companies can track time, provision equipment, and manage their entire team from a single dashboard. With pricing that starts at only $199 per person/month for employees and $25 per person/month for contractors, RemoFirst is perfect for small businesses and startups looking to build a global team.
2. Workday
Workday is an enterprise-focused human capital management (HCM) platform featuring a comprehensive suite of HR, finance, and workforce planning tools. In addition to workforce management, Workday also offers spend management and financial planning, with built-in analytics and AI, useful for forecasting and decision-making.
Its global capabilities include managing employee data, handling payroll across multiple countries, and supporting talent acquisition and development on a large scale. With real-time analytics and reporting, Workday helps HR leaders make strategic decisions backed by data.
Workday supports global payroll in more than 60 countries and offers low-code developer tools for companies to create apps and solutions, plus 600+ pre-built integrations.
Its scalability and configurability make it a popular choice for multinational corporations looking to unify global operations under a single system. However, its cost and complexity might be too much for smaller or mid-sized businesses.
3. ADP
ADP is among the most established names in HR and payroll services, offering global payroll coverage in over 140 countries.
ADP goes way beyond just payroll; it also helps with compliance, tax filing, benefits, time tracking, and workforce analytics. Thanks to its global reach and years of experience, it’s a solid choice for multinational companies dealing with the complexities of local labor laws and tax rules and managing teams across multiple countries.
ADP also integrates with a wide range of other HR and ERP systems, making it a flexible solution for businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to enterprise companies. However, its robust features and enterprise-level pricing can be overwhelming or cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses with simpler HR needs.
4. TriNet
TriNet is a professional employer organization (PEO) that provides small- and medium-sized businesses with HR solutions. Services include payroll, benefits, risk management, and compliance support.
TriNet includes payroll tax compliance reviews and HR operations reviews designed to identify any issues with compliance requirements or a company’s policies. Services are tailored to different industries, including e-commerce, financial services, manufacturing, and more.
TriNet offers integrations to products like accounting software and employee engagement solutions. While companies can pay global contractors through TriNet, employees are managed through an integration between TriNet and a global employment platform.
One potential downside of using TriNet is that its PEO model limits flexibility, as companies must share employer responsibilities and may have less control over specific HR policies and processes.
5. HiBob
HiBob is a modern, user-friendly HR platform targeted towards the needs of small and mid-sized businesses. HiBob can be used for attendance tracking, onboarding, compensation management, and more, and prioritizes employee satisfaction and collaboration across distributed teams.
HiBob emphasizes visibility by including analytics such as headcount and retention. Companies can also harness HiBob for workforce planning and tracking current and future positions. Companies that want to offer continuous learning for employees can create courses in HiBob based on events such as onboarding or a promotion.
HiBob does not offer payroll services. Instead, it integrates with payroll partners, and companies can view their payroll data within HiBob. If a company’s payroll platform isn’t directly integrated with HiBob, they can still use its no-code “Payroll Connect” feature to easily link third-party systems and transfer payroll data.
While HiBob is rich in features, some users report a steep learning curve during initial setup and occasional limitations in reporting customization.
6. Paycor
Paycor offers HR management, payroll, and talent management in a unified platform. The product serves companies from small businesses to those with 1,000+ employees in industries like healthcare, professional services, manufacturing, and more.
With Paycor, companies can streamline workforce management with key features for managing recruiting, onboarding, time tracking, and performance reviews. Paycor handles payroll functions and provides companies with compliance alerts. Employees can also submit expense reports, including mileage tracking. Paycor also provides APIs so developers can build custom apps and integrations.
Paycor does not directly handle global workforce management. Instead, global hiring, payroll, and compliance are handled through integrations with other products. This could make it less suitable for the business needs of companies managing a globally distributed workforce.
7. Greenhouse
Greenhouse is an end-to-end applicant tracking system (ATS) and hiring platform. In Greenhouse, companies can create recruiting workflows, schedule interviews, and get insights into their candidate pipeline health and sourcing strategies.
With AI-powered features, companies can create automated hiring plans, quickly review resumes, and predict which offers will likely be accepted.
Greenhouse offers robust applicant tracking and workforce management software, but it does not offer the ability to manage HR tasks such as employee benefits and engagement. It also doesn’t offer payroll processing capabilities but can be integrated with payroll platforms like Paychex and Paylocity.
While Greenhouse targets businesses of all sizes, the platform makes the most sense for large enterprises with an active candidate pipeline to manage.
8. Toggl Track
Toggl Track is a time-tracking tool. Employees and contractors can automatically track their time and use the data for timesheet reports and invoicing. Toggl is ideal for freelancers, small teams, or companies that want to implement simple time monitoring.
Teams can also use Toggl to track projects, ensuring everything stays on track and on budget. Overall, the product boasts accurate time tracking while ensuring users’ privacy. Employees don’t like invasive surveillance, and Toggl does not record screen, mouse, or keyboard activity.
Compared to other workforce management software, Toggl focuses on one thing: time tracking. It lacks built-in payroll or HR features, requiring additional tools to manage compensation or compliance for global teams. However, it integrates with more than 100 apps, including HR management tools and accounting platforms.
9. BambooHR
BambooHR calls itself an “HR ecosystem” with 150+ apps that can be connected. The platform offers payroll, benefits administration, time tracking, onboarding, and more. BambooHR is often used by small to mid-sized businesses looking to transition from manual processes or basic HR systems.
With employee self-service and performance management features, companies can create surveys, collect feedback, and set goals. Company and employee performance data helps simplify the review process and makes it easier for companies to make data-driven decisions.
BambooHR’s tax specialists keep employers compliant with federal, state, and local taxes within the U.S. The platform also handles required employer tax filing. However, its global functionality is limited, making it less ideal for companies with complex international HR and compliance needs. Global payroll would need to be managed through another product that integrates with BambooHR.
10. Personio
Based in Europe, Personio is an HR platform offering streamlined workflows for tasks like time tracking, recruiting, and performance management. Personio’s customers are typically companies with 10 to 2,000 employees, primarily located in Europe.
Personio’s reporting tools let companies analyze real-time data like headcount, turnover, and salaries. Companies can also use Personio to collect feedback from employees via engagement surveys.
Personio can collect payroll data but can’t be used to run payroll. Payroll data would need to be exported and provided to an external accounting team or integrated with Xero or Sage 50. Companies can also use Personio’s API to connect with their payroll provider.
Since Personio is primarily designed for the European market, it may not be ideal for companies with teams outside of Europe and/or more global HR requirements.
Employ and Manage Your Global Team with RemoFirst
If you’re managing a global workforce, you’ve got to consider everything, from onboarding and time tracking to payroll, compliance, and employee engagement. The right HR tools streamline these processes and help you create a better experience for your team, no matter where they’re located.
That’s where RemoFirst comes in. As a trusted Employer of Record (EOR), RemoFirst helps companies hire, manage, and pay employees and contractors in over 185 countries. We handle the legal complexities — like tax withholding, labor law compliance, and mandatory benefits — and free up your HR department to focus on other priorities.
Ready to make global hiring easier and more compliant? Book a demo and see how RemoFirst can support your international workforce from day one.
