By Ruairi Kelleher, General Manager for Europe, Atlas

It may seem like an oxymoron to call the pandemic an accelerator, as it is commonly known for putting a relatively busy world on a global time out. But in a way, we saw leaps and bounds in the adoption of new technologies such as remote working and project management tools that were practically unheard of in various sectors.

This rapid-fire adoption was only further motivated by the boom in hiring particularly with Tech Giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet collectively increasing their human capital by just over 875,000 people globally.

This brief era in history has fundamentally shaped how businesses operate, how employees regard their work life and made many re-evaluate the importance of having efficient and effective HR infrastructure in place. It also has brought multiple business benefits for both employers and employees including making communication easier with global teams, enhanced flexibility with hybrid working, global recruitment and accessibility to new markets.

The need to compete in this post-pandemic landscape has never been more prevalent, as all a business leader has to do is look to the news to see a barrage of stories that tech companies would be going with restructuring initiatives to reduce costs.  Its no wonder that Gartner’s latest research has identified HR technology as a top investment priority as it will offer new routes for businesses to stay competitive.

One of the keyways HR technologies can help business stay competitive is by making global expansion a possibility for many. A recent HSBC poll of over 2,000 mid-market enterprises across 14 different markets found that two-thirds planned to expand internationally in the next 12 months. HR technology can empower businesses to scale up across borders enabling them to reach new markets and audiences.

Secondly, it plays a pivotal role in international recruitment. The skill shortages have been plaguing many business leaders in recent years with gap with one in five SMEs in the UK citing it as their key blocker to success in 2023. International recruitment encourages businesses to tap into a wide talent pool and plug the skill gap with the best and brightest without location being a barrier to access. Furthermore, this method may prove to be far more cost-effective as different regions have varying expectations of salaries and benefits.

While global expansion and international recruitment are interesting prospects they do however come with logistic issues. Firstly, they can be quite costly and complex, as it requires business to pay for legal and administrative fees, understand various regional compliance law all while having to navigate the complexities of employment contracts, payroll services, taxes, social security and benefits.

So how can efficiency-minded businesses reap these benefits without expending vast sums of capital and leaving themselves vulnerable in the future?

This is where the right technology comes in, particularly an Employer of Record (EOR) platform. An EOR has the most impactful HR innovations that have come out of the pandemic all on one platform such as recruitment, team management and how we build international operations.

Fast and flexible expansion

An EOR service provider manages the legal, HR, tax, and local compliance responsibilities of a company’s employees in any region or country where they don’t have a legal entity. It acts as the legal employer, hiring employees using its local business entities. As such, the EOR assumes the legal risks of an employer on their behalf, while they maintain control over their employees and operations.

As well as payroll and tax, an EOR service provider’s responsibilities can include visa, immigration and work permit sponsorship; local support for employment matters; and advice on required notice periods and termination rules. They can also provide data insights on employment trends in global markets, all of which takes away the lion’s share of work associated with global expansion.

EORs are nothing new. The difference today is that the technology is now in place so businesses can hire employees the world over and manage them from one platform.

The right technology

At Atlas, we facilitate our EOR services through a centralised Human Experience Management (HMX) platform that’s built to prioritise employee and employer experience. For overseas employees, it not only allows them to be hired correctly and get paid in their own currency, on time and in a fully compliant way, but also to access, amongst other things, learning and development features; local employment guidance and visa and immigration support.

For employers, the platform centralises their entire people-operations so they can manage onboarding, payroll, benefits admin and more without having to deal with multiple third-part providers or platforms.

Partnering with an EOR service provider means that you can start hiring in new markets in a matter of weeks. This greatly reduces the time, costs, and complexities associated with setting up a formal entity in a new country. You also have a single point of contact and a transparent fee structure. This simplifies the process significantly and reduces cost, making it easier to scale up and down as demand requires.

And, perhaps most importantly, an EOR means you can dip your toe in multiple key markets easily without having to make a full investment in the region.

A solution for today and tomorrow

Lessons from past downturns have taught us that the route to success comes not from brutal cuts, but from growth via efficiency. One study from the Harvard Business Review of 40,000 businesses over two recessions found that “companies that master the delicate balance between cutting costs to survive today and investing to grow tomorrow do well after a recession”.

The right EOR platform can help businesses master that balance by allowing them to continue to expand in a sustainable and flexible way, putting them in a great position to future-proof their operations and prosper when the dust settles.