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Establishing A Local Presence Overseas Without New Subsidiaries In 190 Countries

Expanding your company’s international reach can become a priority for a variety of different reasons. Some of the most common ones include: Having your own overseas clients and needing to better support them. A good example of this is international tech support. Looking to acquire global talent like skilled foreign professionals distributed globally. Sales growth.… Read more Establishing A Local Presence Overseas Without New Subsidiaries In 190 Countries

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Expanding your company’s international reach can become a priority for a variety of different reasons. Some of the most common ones include:

  • Having your own overseas clients and needing to better support them. A good example of this is international tech support.
  • Looking to acquire global talent like skilled foreign professionals distributed globally.
  • Sales growth. Many companies want to expand to enter new markets and see potential trading activity.

However, many companies end up trying to go too far, too fast, with poor results. Here’s how to avoid that fate.

Setting The Stage For Incremental International Expansion

Incremental expansion is key when trying to build up your company “the right way” in new markets. In fact, if you’re on a limited budget, it may be the only want to balance efficiency and effectiveness. For the most part, companies that want to get into a new global market, especially smaller firms, begin with independent sales agents. Each of these agents will work with local customers, with a list of clients on-site. From there, they are ready to promote and offer your product/services.

Your average independent agent works on commission, just like an independent contractor may bid for a job. As a result, the company ends up only paying based on the volume of sales that the agent makes. This is a positive, but the major drawback is the risk that comes with your reliance on an independent professional. If the said agent decides to leave the country or not to work with you anymore, you lose all the headway with those clients. You can’t even pick up where they left off with a new agent, because they have the client list, data, and connections.

The Need For A Global EOR Service Provider

So, what’s the best fit for a company with those needs? Some may recommend starting your own local subsidiary, but this is expensive and time-consuming. A global employment company/EOR service is the perfect match, allowing companies to get started, while keeping things small. The unique solution that Acumen offers allows you to onboard and payroll a global sales force in 190 different countries, as employees, versus independent sales agents/contractors. As a result, you don’t have to worry about factors like legal compliance or losing client data/intellectual property. A proper PEO company keeps you safe, with a lighter footprint. Using a third-party foreign employment, incorporating in the countries with the highest growth potential. In addition, this service allows you to legally bring on a new team without having to actually own any companies abroad.

As a result, if you’re looking to grow international business slowly, business process outsourcing (BPO), is a great asset. For example, say that you were breaking into a new market, but only needed 15 sales agents as employees to start. An EOR in this initial stage will allow you to stay compliant while you begin to make a headway and amass clients. After that, if you’re happy with your progress, you can begin to open up your own entity. Another advantage of note here is that if you’re not happy with progression, it’s a lot easier to withdraw, with minimum commitment. In essence, employee leasing allows you to test out a market before deciding to incorporate.

Say that companies understand that they will eventually need to incorporate. It still may pay to wait. Different countries have their own idiosyncrasies when it comes to labor regulations and other laws. An EOR allows you to walk that balance between starting operations and engaging your sales force on-site while still learning how business in the new country really works. Many companies fail due to not understanding the local business culture. However, a good EOR service already knows how this works, and can be an invaluable resource during this initial period. In theory, you could have a flexible yet compliant way to set up internationally overnight.

Overall, an employment outsourcing solution is going to be your best option to start building in overseas markets without the additional expense and headache of a new company branch. For the ideal option here, be sure to use Acumen International is your ideal choice. We service 190 different countries, allowing you to stay compliant without the added need to open a business entity. We also serve as a one-stop-shop for services when you do get established through hiring and paying foreign people, from office rent, housing, car and mobile phone provision to training support.

Reach out to us today for more information.

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How To Remotely Onboard and Payroll Your Globally Distributed Teams

Some of the largest and most successful teams in business today, especially the tech world, are global teams. These include names like: Zapier Stripe Buffer Github Stack Overflow Opting for a globally distributed workforce over your conventional on-site teams provides a variety of benefits. These include: Being able to quickly augment your in-house teams. If… Read more How To Remotely Onboard and Payroll Your Globally Distributed Teams

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Some of the largest and most successful teams in business today, especially the tech world, are global teams. These include names like:

  • Zapier
  • Stripe
  • Buffer
  • Github
  • Stack Overflow

Opting for a globally distributed workforce over your conventional on-site teams provides a variety of benefits. These include:

Being able to quickly augment your in-house teams. If you need a specific skill-set for a project, simply hire the best fit rather than being limited geographically.

Speed. Because you have a larger selection to work from, and can do the onboarding process remotely, you spend less time hiring and more time reaping the benefits of your new hire.

Diversity. The ability to recruit from across the world allows for new perspectives and backgrounds to enhance your knowledge.

More expertise. Remote work is a perk that many employees are willing to make concessions for. If you can provide it, you have the ability to draw in top skilled talent at a fraction of the conventional cost.

More efficiency. Remote workers have been proven to be up to 20% more productive when they have the ability to handle creative projects on their own. This isn’t just a matter of perception, but proven facts. The global workforce has evolved, with more workers not being at their desks than they are actually at the desk while working.

However, despite all these benefits, there is a logistical roadblock that can keep employers from getting the most out of their remote teams. Here’s a way to further efficiency, without any compliance risks.

Issues In Global Team Management

When we look at the biggest issues regarding globally distributed teams, remote management and communication are generally at the top. After all, you don’t have the liberty of paging someone in the same building or even walking over to their office. However, there’s a bevy of online tools available, such as Zoom and Skype, that help further communication across the board in these settings. Along with these, you can take advantage of advanced HR software to help in terms of quick reporting, task-setting and management, no matter where anyone is based.

If you are looking to add an international team, perhaps as a part of incremental development as a startup, a global EOR solution may be the ideal fit for you. Business process outsourcing is something that becomes more common as companies grow and enter new markets. However, an EOR solution lets you take advantage of employee leasing without the costs of opening a new branch in your new market.

Equally important is having a way to hire and pay offshore teams. Failing to properly categorize your employees when handling payroll and tax comes with heavy fines, and potentially blocking you out of the international market in the future. You need a partner with the global expertise and knowledge to provide compliance and addressing issues that do arise.

Getting Support

Because of how difficult the above factors can be to juggle, when you need to augment in-house teams with skilled offshore workforce without costly subsidiaries, it’s best to do this all through a third party. By working with a global employer of record (EOR), you can stay fully compliant when setting up your remote team. Combine the saved costs on brick-and-mortar offices with the higher efficiency of most remote workers, and you get a great ROI with these third parties.

If you happen to inherit a globally distributed team, or create your own, working with a global PEO company is a major asset. By being a factual employer, you have someone to handle onboarding and cut down on legal/HR liability for your globally distributed personnel. If you are looking for an option here, Acumen is your ideal choice. We can help you keep compliant while working to build a globally distributed team, servicing 190 different countries. Along with this, we are able to provide a one-stop-shop solution to help with your infrastructure on remote sites, including:

  • Office rent
  • Internet provision
  • Laptops
  • Mobile phones
  • Training support

Reach out to us today for more information.

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What Makes Independent Contractor Compliance Essential

The gig economy has changed the way a lot of companies do business. Even for the most established professionals, working with independent contractors has been seen as a method to help cut down on costs and potential legal liabilities. However, this method opens up a new liability of its own, namely, worker misclassification. Not correctly… Read more What Makes Independent Contractor Compliance Essential

The gig economy has changed the way a lot of companies do business. Even for the most established professionals, working with independent contractors has been seen as a method to help cut down on costs and potential legal liabilities. However, this method opens up a new liability of its own, namely, worker misclassification. Not correctly identifying worker status leaves a major compliance risk, and potential loss of intellectual property. Here’s what you need to know.

Independent Contractors Vs. Employees: The Landscape

The main reason that workers’ status is so important is that you have government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels looking for things to make sure the appropriate taxes are collected. This is especially important for international businesses, as tax agencies will audit them to make sure all taxes are covered, and that independent contractors aren’t crossing over into employee’s duties. If not, fines will be imposed.

If you’re looking to go abroad and avoid employee misclassification risks, solutions like Acumen’s Independent Contractor Compliance (ICC) or a Global Employer of Record service are key so you can follow classification/tax regulations both in your base country and where you are doing business internationally. In essence, global businesses hiring globally dispersed teams have twice the classification risk.

One of the major differences between the two categories is that an independent contractor and employee are entitled to different items, like healthcare, benefits, time off, etc. As workers in the gig economy are beginning to lobby for more and more employee status, the risk grows. Not only do non-compliant companies find themselves at risk for fines, but there’s also a brand hit and potential criminal charges. In many cases, contractors may lead the charge, reporting to the government if they feel misclassified.

One final note here is that because of the rise of the gig economy, employees and contractors are becoming more blurred. This means that, technically, you may not misclassify someone, but still end up getting fined because the demarcation isn’t as clear.

Avoiding Employee Misclassification Risks Through A Global PEO Solution

So, you want to go global, but also protect your company. A global PEO solution is the ideal step to take here. In essence, by working with a PEO company, you are hiring full-time employees, but a third party helps you with regard to the responsibilities you have, like payroll, global corporate tax, legal and HR matters, employee benefits provision, for example. Yes, this costs more upfront than working with an independent contractor. However, this is not just a cost—but an investment in your security and freedom from financial and other losses.

In general, investing in your employees when managing globally distributed teams is a good trait to follow. Not only does moving from independent contractors to full-time employees give your team more trust in you, it also avoids the constant turnover that happens in a lot of work environments. It’s also best for the long-term. You don’t have to worry about penalties for noncompliance, or paying more down the line to convert your contractors to full-time employees later if needed. In addition, being on your team formally means you don’t have to worry about employees taking IP with them if they leave. In addition, employee loyalty grows as they feel as part of your global team.

When you choose Acumen as your global PEO provider, you’re getting more than a partner to help you avoid workers misclassification. We combine PEO with a variety of other services, like an online payroll calculator to help you find the cost of employing a specialist (both local and expat) in 190 countries.