10 Key Services of an Employer of Record

In today’s day and age, the very basic working model has evolved from a typical 5-week 9-to-5 job to hybrid 3-days working to even remote - offering employees the flexibility and freedom to work from anywhere. This evolution demands an evolution in recruiting global talent from across the world with agility and giving them the best work experience possible. You can read more on building capabilities for your global empire here.

In the modern business landscape, companies often find themselves grappling with a multitude of tasks related to managing human resources, compliance, payroll, and legal obligations. Amidst this complexity, many organisations are turning to a strategic solution known as an Employer of Record (EOR) to streamline their operations and ensure compliance with local regulations.

We have strongly established that if you hire an Employer of Record you are essentially outsourcing a third-party entity the responsibility for hiring, onboarding, salary processing, benefits administration, and compliance management independently on behalf of your organisation.

There are many benefits of an EOR like:

Expand globally with speed by accelerating the process and reducing administrative burden associated with managing an international workforce.
Manage compliance by transferring employment-related liabilities to the EOR, companies can mitigate law related risks and avoid costly penalties or fines associated with non-compliance.
Mitigate risk as EOR assumes the role of the lawful employer, taking on responsibilities for employment-related liabilities, and other risks, thereby shielding the client organisation from potential legal and financial consequences.
Implement scalability and flexibility as EOR services enable organisations to access a diverse talent pool and deploy resources efficiently without the overhead of traditional hiring processes.
By bringing focus on core business objectives by outsourcing employment-related tasks, companies can free up valuable time and resources to focus on their core business objectives and strategic initiatives.
Significant cost efficiency by leveraging economies of scale by optimising processes, reducing overhead costs, and improving operational efficiency, ultimately enhancing the bottom line for your organisation.

But even with all the benefits above, what all services can an EOR give? We are also asked till what extent does an EOR relieve the responsibilities for an organisation? In this blog we will discuss in depth the services of EOR like consulting, building sustainable strategy, strict background checks, comprehensive payroll, employee benefits, retention, procurement, welcome induction and offsite for remote, physical and hybrid offices.

EOR services can be opted for by any organisation which has a remote, hybrid or physical working model. The services are flexible and customisable based on the requirement of the company. Every organisation has their own needs based on the working styles hence selecting an EOR which can give all the services needed for your unique organisational needs is paramount. Whether it's expanding into new markets, accessing international talent, or streamlining HR processes, partnering with an EOR can provide businesses with the support and expertise they need to succeed in today's competitive landscape.

What are some of the services that an EOR can offer? You can also read this amazing blog on 10 services a small business can outsource.

Consulting
Sourcing the right talent
Perform background checks
Onboarding & employee experience
Payroll management across-border
Design equitable benefits
Retain and sustain success

Where are the other 3 services you ask? Check the FAQ section at the very end of the blog!

Let’s explore in depth what all of these services mean and EOR’s function to enable the same.

1. Consulting

Enabling an EOR helps you evaluate the economics, resource investments, and global talent access to help you decide what approach might be best for your needs. This is in contrast to the traditional way of setting up the human resource department where all legal and administrative responsibilities are yours to bear.

Not only this, a capable EOR can also help you set your brand position as per the geography you are expanding your business to. Why is going global important you ask? Don’t ask us - ask Mckinsey!

A global business will need acute understanding of the local context to attract and hire the right talent. Find an EOR which can help set a strong base for your brand globally, communicate your story, and get talent excited. An EOR can help with branding the benefits you offer, the connection of remote team members with the mothership, and travel policies to foster a stronger culture for your organisation.

Any proficient EOR offers consultation services to define the economics, curate the brand story and build a strong local narrative to ensure the right talent is interested in your organisation.

2. Sourcing the Right Talent

Once you finalise the strategy and have designed the narrative to expand into a global market you need to source the right talent. Attracting talent in the current job market is an extremely time consuming process. However, taking help of an EOR who has spent years honing the right network can expedite the hiring process to as quick as 24 hours!

Imagine receiving a relevant candidate profile within 24 hours of posting a job. We can see HRs having a shocking reaction to this information. But yes, it is possible. Not only that, the profiles shared would be vetted by the EOR first to check for candidate intent, key skills, salary expectations and any other parameters you want them to screen for. Post the pre-screening, the expertise of the recruiter at the employer of record side will also apprise you of salary benchmarks and keep you aware of competing offers if any.

All this information will help you close the job requirement quickly and seamlessly.

3. Perform Background Checks

No one likes to be in a swindle scam where the person you’re hiring is not who they seem, specially when hiring remotely. Organisations protect themselves by doing stringent background checks via third party auditors and wait for weeks for them to confirm. No more! The employer of record you’ve hired will ensure you know your future employee inside and out.

There are several instant and reliable identity verification tools which veteran EORs use frequently. You can also get a detailed report which would cover historical lawsuits, legal issues, employment history and any other information you need, maybe even what they ate for breakfast. There are multiple checks which an EOR makes for you to ensure a capable, talented and verified employee joins your organisation. All this would take weeks, however quick turnaround time is the name of the game.

Once you have given your long list of parameters an EOR can give you a comprehensive report within 7 days! Yes, no waiting for weeks, just a week!

4. Onboarding and Employee Experience

Hiring the right talent is just the first step to building a team. The people who join your organisation should feel like family and a part of the culture you’re trying to create. It’s an unpleasant experience for the employee if they are not onboarded properly and they always remain disconnected with the organisation.

But how to ensure an engaging onboarding for remote employees? By blending local human touch and tech which is enabled independently by your EOR!

You can onboard talent in 30 seconds! Yes, the time it took you to read this paragraph! With the help of tech and automation you can send personalised welcome emails, invites to onboard and even generate offer letters by simply entering the basic information with salad details.

Curate an experience with logo adorned offer letters, mailers illustrating global benefits in line with company policy, and anything else you’d like to communicate to the newest member of your team! If your EOR is tech-enabled even the new employees can submit their documents at the click of a button. In the long-term they can access their pay slips, tax documents, reimbursements, leaves, and other benefits at the same platform to ensure a consistent experience throughout their tenure.

Not only this, even off boarding is taken care of by the employer of record.

5. Payroll management across-border

The biggest turn-off for any employee is not receiving their salary on time. Salary processing is a tedious administrative process which you can outsource to EOR who can take it up independently. Read about the best payroll services here.

Right from invoicing the payroll to processing the salary an EOR can help you at every step of the way. Set your custom invoicing pay cycle, set the terms and make payments in your local currency while the EOR will enable transfers to your employees in their local currency! Neat right?

Not only that, this ensures a 100% compliance to local tax laws and legal implications. It also gives the employees flexibility to adjust their deductions in line with local taxation guidelines. Once the salary is processed, the payslips can be accessed via a platform or your EOR can email the consolidated payslips every month to the employees.

This critical process can get streamlined with ease with help of an employer of record.

6. Design equitable benefits

Design benefits which keep you ahead of the curve to ensure long retention of your employees. A global employer of record can assist you in suggesting and designing equitable benefits customising as per your requirement. There can be various options to help you design a benefits package which with competitive and in line with your global policies. You can even customise to the extent of defining categories like PTO, house and renting allowance, work from home support, medical and family insurance, general allowances and much more.

These benefits will be easily accessible to your team members who can access, view and utilise these directly from the platform provided by the EOR.

You can also add equity options if that’s something your organisation is exploring. Let the EOR grapple with cross-border equity laws and you give your employee the benefits they will appreciate.

7. Retain and Sustain Success

If your EOR has a good local support infrastructure it can greatly help in keeping your teams engaged, excited and feel belonged. It will keep you ahead of your competition as your teams will be more connected even when working remotely.

How to make this possible?

Your EOR can proactively schedule sessions with your managers to align on communication of benefits, success parameters or any other topic as per your need. This ensures a strong foundation for long-term success especially if you add on periodic offsite to the mix!

You can also streamline the appraisal and bonus process by taking tech help from your EOR and setting strong feedback loops on human resource topics. Let your employer of record be a bridge to address cultural nuances and foster an enriching experience for your teams.

These are the key areas where an employer of record can not only help but really add value to your systems and processes. Taking the services of the right employer of record can up your game and increase your efficiency exponentially. They have the tools, expertise and intent to ensure your success is delivered with agility.

If you’re still unsure of whether an EOR is right for you, ask around from organisations who are using these services. The benefits outweigh the doubts you have and building relationships with the right EOR will propel your business to new heights.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can EOR help in arranging offsite for employees?

Yes! If you onboard the right EOR service it can help organise a memorable offsite for your employees. From location selection to logistics of travel and meals, as well as organisation of events - leave it all to the EOR while you focus solely on the content and substance of these events. They work independently within your budget but strive to maximise impact with every outing.

2. Can EOR manage device distribution like laptops, mobile phones across geographies?

Yes! Global employee on record service providers equip employees with gadgets by procuring and managing the logistics of laptops & other equipment for your new and backfill joinees - it’s like having your own local IT Procurement Team. All you need to do is define the model and the devices can get delivered right on day 1! Not only this, they can also help collect laptops in case of exits and ship it to wherever you want. Outsourcing your device needs to EOR is cost effective as they can negotiate with local vendors for best pricing and ensure seamless delivery and collection of assets.

3. Can EOR help if I need to send a welcome package to my new joiners or festive gifts to employees?

Depends on the EOR you are associated with. Most EORs don’t have this facility but really good ones do! You can request for personalised gift hampers or welcome bags from your EOR to ensure a WOW experience for your teams sitting across the world.