Global Mobility: How an EOR Can Help

As our world becomes more global, more businesses than ever before are looking to hire top talent across borders and learn about how to expand into new regions. Now, we’re entering a new era of global mobility.

Not surprising, a recent BCG survey across 190 countries with 209,000 respondents found that 50% of workers surveyed were open to the idea of relocating, and 57% of these professionals were willing to work remotely with an employer who didn’t have a physical presence in their home or host countries. 

As global mobility becomes a necessity for more companies, business leaders need to understand exactly how to manage their international workforce and teams across borders and what policies to put into place when they expand. A global EOR service like Via can take the stress out of the process. 

What is global mobility? 

Global mobility is the ability to seamlessly move your employees from one country to another for a short- or long-term assignment. Mobile employees refers to anyone who has a permanent transfer to another country for a short or long-term assignment, travels often to another country, or who commutes to another country regularly. 

To achieve global mobility for your team, you’ll need to understand: 

• Global payroll, taxes, and social security 

• Labor compliance laws and regulations

• Visas and work permits

• Benefits and compensation packages

• Relocation and cultural assimilation 

Without mastering and creating a global mobility solution, you could wind up dropping your employees into an unfamiliar environment where they’ll lack motivation or even leave your company due to global mobility challenges. 

Types of global mobility services and solutions

Some common types of mobility services and solutions that can help your business include:

• Visa and immigration support

• Workforce relocation 

• Corporate relocation 

• Leadership solutions

• Foreign language support

• Employee management

What options do I have to manage global mobility? 

Your leadership team has three major options when creating effective global mobility strategies: 1) come up with a plan on your own, 2) partner with a global mobility consulting service or 3) partner with a global EOR solution like Via. 

Use your own resources

If you decide that you have the in-depth knowledge to manage and create your own global mobility strategy, you can decide to do so yourself. 

However, you’ll need to hire an entire legal team that specializes in the country you’re planning to move your team to and make sure you assist your team members as they transition. You’ll also most likely need to open your own legal entity to hire workers if you don’t partner with a global EOR solution like Via.

If any problems with compliance or comfort arise, you’ll be held legally responsible and could even risk losing a valuable team member, especially those who weren’t prepared to work in a new country. 

Partner with a global mobility consultant 

Another option is to partner with a global mobility consulting agency. These agencies are a good option if you already have legal presence in the country and are able to assist your team members in-country once they move. 

Keep in mind, global mobility consulting agencies mostly focus on helping you create your mobility strategy plan. They don’t help with HR/People management or compliance once your employee is settled in. Plus, searching for local partners can take a long time

Partner with an EOR service 

One of the most effective ways to make sure all of your bases are covered while hiring abroad and ensure a smooth transition for your employees is to partner with a global EOR service like Via. At Via, we already have legal experts and our own entities set up in the country you’re wanting to move your employee to. 

We go further than simply creating a global mobility plan. An EOR provider handles HR management for your employees once they’ve gotten settled, as well as helps you to resolve any compliance-related issues. 

How can an EOR service help with global mobility

An EOR service like Via can help companies by providing services that manage compliance and global hiring. 

Payroll 

When you move an employee from one country to another, you’ll need to make sure that you’re setting up a legal payroll. 

You’ll have to understand social security, value-added taxes (VAT), income taxes, state & national deductions, payroll cycles, and corporate taxes. 

Labor compliance

As you plan your transition, you’ll need to study the specific laws in the country where he or she plans to work. You’ll likely need to hire HR professionals to help you manage payroll and labor compliance. 

For example, in Mexico, the laws surrounding independent contractors are much more stringent than, say, somewhere in the United States. A global mobility solution provides guidance and solutions for approaching these types of challenges.

You’ll also need to understand exactly what hours employees are allowed to work, overtime pay rules, and discrimination laws. 

An EOR like Via has on-the-ground legal experts that help us ensure that your HR team remains compliant with all local labor laws.

Visas and work permits

Before you can even begin to think about moving your employee to a new location, you’ll need to know what kind of visa and work permit they’ll need for immigration. 

Some countries like Spain and Costa Rica allow expats to remotely work for a company as a digital nomad. If you want to apply for a visa or work permit to work for a company in, say, Costa Rica, for instance, the relocation process is extensive and complex, as not many work permits are given to foreigners. 

Benefits

Once you’ve obtained the necessary work permits for your employee, you’ll need to make sure that you’re giving them their obligatory benefits based on the country. 

Each country has 1) mandatory benefits and 2) recommended benefits that are crucial to understand when onboarding top tech talent. 

As your EOR partner and mobility solution, Via can tell you exactly what employees are entitled to in their new country and what benefits you should offer to remain competitive. 

Why companies partner with Via

It’s no secret that building your global workforce and choosing the right global mobility solution can be challenging.

Today, in order to create a compliant and global work environment, you’ll need to find someone who understands the nuances and compliance obligations of the specific area you’re wanting to expand. 

Via helps you manage local HR processes for direct employment such as work visas & permits, benefits, payroll, background checks, and more. Our team of local labor lawyers and on-the-ground experts ensure that your company remains compliant while expanding abroad. As your employer-or-record solution and legal entity abroad, Via assumes responsibility for employment liability, so that you can focus on what matters: recruiting and managing your team. 

With Via’s transparent pricing, you can pay full-time employees or contractors with no hidden set-up fees, no foreign exchange or transaction fees, and no minimums–start with 1 employee and scale up at your own pace. 

Need help hiring abroad? Learn more about our EOR services today.