What is Global Mobility and How an EOR Can Help

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. 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. Simplify the process and reduce stress by partnering with Justworks EOR to hire teams abroad. 

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: 

• Payroll, taxes, and social security 

• Labor compliance laws and regulations

• 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 business 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:

• Workforce relocation 

• Corporate relocation 

• Leadership solutions

• Foreign language support

• Employee management

What Options do I have to Manage Global Mobility? 

Your leadership team has a few  major options when creating an effective global mobility strategy, let’s explore those options below. 

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 Justworks.

If any problems with compliance or comfort arise, you’ll be held both legally responsible and could 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 and 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 like Justworks. 

We go further than simply creating a global mobility plan. An EOR provider handles HR management for your employees once they’ve gotten settled.

How can an EOR service help with global mobility

An EOR service 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 process. 

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

Labor Compliance

Before you even transition your employee, you’ll need to study the specific laws in the country where they plan 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 Europe. A global mobility solution provides guidance and solutions for approaching these types of challenges.

Before employees start working in a new country, you’ll need to understand exactly what hours employees are allowed to work, overtime pay rules, and discrimination laws. 

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

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, Justworks can tell you exactly what employees are entitled to in their new country and what benefits you should consider to remain competitive. 

Justworks Can Help Manage International Hiring

Focus on building your team, and leave worrying about the nitty-gritty of HR and international compliance to Justworks.

Our team of local labor lawyers and experts ensure that your small business always remains compliant while expanding internationally. We handle the HR tasks and burdens so you can focus on what matters: managing your team. 

Ready to learn more? Get started with Justworks today!