Hiring across borders gives your startup access to the best talent, but it also comes with its share of risks. Every country adds layers of complexity due to varying employment laws, tax requirements, and reporting rules. Laws are also constantly evolving, so staying informed on updates is essential to maintain compliance at all times.
The good news is that HR technology platforms can help your company navigate these challenges, offering built-in compliance and country-specific expertise. The specific tools you’ll need depend on your company’s size, structure, and global HR operational compliance requirements.
Key takeaways:
- Adopting the use of HR technology before you start hiring internationally can help prevent compliance mistakes.
- Understanding your business needs first is key to determining which HR technology to purchase.
- The right HR tech stack empowers lean HR and finance teams while supporting long-term growth.
Why Multi-Country Compliance Can't Be an Afterthought for Startups
If you plan to hire internationally, ensuring HR compliance should be a top priority. If you don’t follow local labor laws, you risk fines or lawsuits. It can’t be something you “look into” after you’ve already started hiring across borders.
Without a solid understanding of a country’s laws, it’s easy to misclassify workers or make payroll mistakes. Startups are especially vulnerable because their small HR and finance teams often lack the resources that larger enterprises have to monitor every local labor regulation.
Not only can mistakes cost you money, but they can also hinder your expansion. For example, you might be barred from additional hiring within a particular country while you sort through compliance issues. And if you work with any outside investors, compliance issues can be viewed as a huge red flag.
Don’t let compliance worries hold you back from hiring internationally — just make sure you do it right. HR technology can help you stay on top of pay, contracts, and benefits in every country — keeping both your team and your business protected, and giving you the confidence to grow globally.
Assess Your Current HR Tech Stack: What Do You Already Have?
Your HR and finance teams likely already rely on technology to manage and pay employees. Before introducing new tools, take the time to evaluate your current setup and understand its capabilities.
For example:
- Do your existing tools support international hiring?
- Do you need to migrate to a new plan or a higher tier to access more functionality?
- If a specific tool doesn’t support international hiring, does it integrate with another product that does?
Next, start identifying any gaps. For example, if one of your current HR tools doesn’t include the compliance alerts you need, you’ll need to decide whether to add a new one, integrate with another option, or replace the tool altogether. The goal is to avoid creating internal headaches caused by duplicate data, errors, or compliance gaps.
By knowing precisely what you’re already paying for and clarifying what you need your HR technology to deliver, you can prevent wasting money on redundant tools.
Employer-of-Record (EOR) / Global Employment Platforms
Employer of Record (EOR) software is a combination of technology and services. The EOR acts as the legal employer for all international staff, thereby eliminating the need to establish a local entity. The EOR also handles employment contracts, local labor compliance, payroll, benefits administration, employee termination, and more via its platform.
With an EOR, you can expand into a new country quickly because you won’t need to invest the time and money in opening an entity first. An EOR helps you avoid potentially costly mistakes, like misclassifying employees or making an error on the tax withholdings on an employee’s paycheck.
On the technology side, an EOR provides essential tools like onboarding, documentation, and workforce management.
Here are some EOR platform options to consider:
- RemoFirst: Works with companies of all sizes, but primarily with startups and other small to mid-size companies, to enable them to hire employees in 185+ countries.
- Deel: Helps companies hire, manage, and pay workers in 150+ countries.
- Oyster HR: Offers country-specific tasks and onboarding for international hiring.
- Papaya Global: Known for its legal and accounting experts integrated into the platform.
Global Payroll Providers / Payroll-as-a-Service
Global payroll providers manage payroll services for their customers, handling everything from withholdings and deductions to remitting required taxes and employer contributions to local authorities. Most providers also support multiple currencies, which is essential for companies with international teams.
Because payroll is one of the most common triggers for audits, fines, and legal disputes, compliance is critical. These providers help ensure that payroll processes meet tax, labor, and reporting requirements in every country where employees are based.
Well-known global payroll providers include:
- ADP Global Payroll: A well-established payroll provider that also offers support for HR tasks.
- CloudPay: Offers global payroll and pay-on-demand services.
- Rippling: Combines tools for HR, IT, and finance in a single platform, including global payroll.
International Contractor / Freelancer Management Tools
Startups and small businesses often begin by hiring contractors when they don’t yet have the need or budget for full-time employees. In these early stages, international contractor management tools can be a practical solution.
Hiring and paying international contractors works differently from hiring employees. You aren’t responsible for benefits or managing local payroll taxes, but you’re still expected to follow the labor laws in each contractor’s country. Additionally, you'll need a reliable method to send cross-border payments quickly, securely, and in the contractor's local currency.
Another potential challenge is the growing risk of contractor misclassification, an issue that could lead to local authorities auditing company records, potentially resulting in fines and legal action.
International contractor and freelancer management platforms help mitigate risk by ensuring proper worker classification, maintaining compliant contracts and tax documentation, and keeping up with changes in local labor laws. Many also streamline global payments, making it easy to pay contractors in multiple currencies.
Then, as the company grows, it's easy to scale from contractor tools to EOR technology as you start to add international employees. Some companies, such as RemoFirst, offer both contractor and employee management services, including the ability to make global payments in over 150 countries.
Other international contractor and freelancer management tools include:
- Remote: Offers contractor classification guidance and monitoring, as well as global payments.
- TalentDesk: Combines vendor and freelancer management into a single system.
- Wise Business: Allows businesses to send international payments with low fees.
HRIS / HCM Platforms
Human resources information systems (HRIS) and human capital management (HCM) platforms provide global HR teams with a single platform to manage benefits, performance, time off, hiring workflows, and other key HR processes. They also store critical employee documentation, including work authorizations, background checks, and performance improvement plans.
Some particularly robust HRIS and HCM platforms offer additional features, such as workforce analytics, compliance monitoring, and alerts for changes in labor laws around the world. By centralizing employee data that might otherwise live across multiple systems, these platforms make it easier to remain compliant with regulations covering everything from employment contracts to paid time off.
HRIS and HCM technology are often utilized by startups and other growing companies that manage global teams, enabling them to scale while maintaining a focus on local requirements.
Here are some top HRIS and HCM platforms to consider:
- BambooHR: An HR platform with reporting, approval workflows, and time/attendance tracking.
- HiBob: AI-powered platform that includes people analytics, time off tracking, and employee surveys.
- Workday: An all-in-one solution, including workforce planning, talent management, and employee experience.
Recruiting / Applicant Tracking / Talent Sourcing Tools
Before you can hire and manage a global workforce, you first need to find the right talent. Recruiting platforms help you promote open roles, manage your candidate pipeline, and ensure your hiring process stays compliant with requirements, such as diversity regulations and salary transparency laws.
Many of these tools also streamline the hiring process with built-in assessments, interview scheduling, and even automated offer letter generation, making it easier to move candidates from application to hire.
By utilizing dedicated recruiting, applicant tracking, and talent sourcing tools, you can mitigate potential issues related to immigration, background checks, or visas and work permits.
Here are some recruitment and applicant tracking systems (ATS) to consider:
- Breezy HR: Automates tedious tasks like pre-screening and scheduling emails.
- Greenhouse: A widely used ATS that can help promote jobs across 1,000 job boards.
- Lever: Includes AI tools such as AI interview and screening companions.
- Workable: Features tools for hiring, employee data management, and time tracking.
The Future of Global HR Tech: What's Next?
As you research HR tools and technology, you’ll also want to consider what your needs will be in the future — whether it’s to support your growing team or to make employee management easier (or both).
Many companies are incorporating AI features into their products to automate repetitive tasks, such as drafting emails or analyzing data. Some HR tools also include employee self-service chatbots that can answer questions about everything from internal policies to country-specific PTO requirements. AI can also scan contracts and other paperwork to ensure compliance.
Some HR platforms are becoming increasingly hyper-personalized to enhance the employee experience. For example, some tools might include customized paths for continuous learning, while other platforms use “gamification” for learning modules.
Because HR data includes highly sensitive information — from employee identifiers to payroll records — many HR systems now place a heavy emphasis on security.
Modern platforms use AI and machine learning to detect anomalies or flag suspicious access attempts. Some even incorporate auditable logs or blockchain technology to strengthen data protection and provide greater transparency.
Whichever tool you choose should comply with global data privacy laws, such as GDPR, as candidate data (especially when crossing borders) often includes sensitive information and requires adherence to specific protocols.
Choosing The Right Mix / Stack for Your Company
Depending on your needs and budget, you may opt for a single HR tool or build a stack of several. First, identify the features you need right away versus those you can add later, which will help you decide which approach to take. Over time, you may upgrade to a higher-tier plan with additional functionality or even switch to a different platform as your company expands.
Next, evaluate how much you plan to rely on any given HR tool. For example, a smaller company may not require the advanced analytics or employee engagement surveys that come with a comprehensive HRIS or HCM system.
Suppose you only need to hire a handful of international employees. In that case, consider a less robust but more cost-effective solution, such as utilizing country-specific EOR providers. For instance, Wisemonk focuses only on India, while Bridge In specializes in hiring employees in Portugal, Spain, and Italy.
Many platforms also offer integration capabilities to connect your payroll system with HRIS or accounting tools. Sometimes these integrations are built in, while in other cases, they rely on APIs. If an API connection is required, you'll likely need some internal technical expertise to set it up and maintain it, or budget for an IT contractor.
Cost plays a role in every purchasing decision, so it’s important to understand how pricing is structured.
Some questions to ask upfront include:
- Is the platform charging per person?
- Are there additional expenses, such as currency conversion or legal fees?
- Is there a penalty for early contract termination?
You’ll also want to ask:
- Do we need to sign a fixed-term contract?
- How much experience do you have working with startups?
- What is your level of customer support?
Don't hesitate to request a test of the HR software before making a purchase. You should get a sense of how the product would work for your business before committing.
Compliantly Grow Your Startup’s Global Team With RemoFirst
When hiring internationally, HR tools that enable you to hire compliantly are non-negotiable. RemoFirst helps companies of all sizes hire, manage, and pay employees in more than 185 countries. We can also help you onboard and pay freelancers and contractors in 150+ countries.
Other services we offer include assistance with visas, work permits, and background checks, and enable companies to provide international private health insurance or localized health plans through RemoHealth.
To learn more about how RemoFirst can help your startup grow, schedule a demo.
