Thanks to the rise of digital technologies and ecommerce, the present-day business world has pretty much become a global arena. That is why, if you want to expand and really put your company on the map, you need to reach outside the local market and make a shot at the global audience.
Of course, expanding past the borders of your country is not so easy and how successful you are going to be in your undertaking will to no small extent depend on your PEO partner.
So, let’s quickly see why this factor is so important and how to find the right partner for the expansion.
What is a PEO and what makes it so important?
If you are unfamiliar with the term PEO stands for Professional Employer Organization and describes a third-party company in charge of hiring and managing overseas or workers in other states. The companies that are reaching outside their national or state borders often have a problem of establishing a substation that will take care of HR and other important tasks mostly due to high expenses and legal requirements such projects often entail.
The PEO companies serve as a licensed representative of the native company in the said region abiding by the local employment laws but only at the fraction of the cost. In short, the global PEO service allows businesses to hire and maintain a workforce without opening subsidiaries outside national borders. In the process, the native companies get:
- Global mobility
- Legal compliance
- Effortless global entity setup
- Provided onboarding, training, and outplacement services
- Market research
- Risk management and workplace safety
Strategies for finding the appropriate PEO representative
Now that we’ve seen why it is so important to make a reliable PEO representative a backbone of your global expansion, let us quickly go through a couple of tips that should help you find the right partner for the journey.
Look for the companies that offer a full range of services
First and foremost, you need to understand that not all PEO companies are offering a full range of PEO services. If you want to find a reliable long-term partner you should look for the entire set of services that covers:
- Payroll and taxes
- Financial reports
- Acting as the employer of record
- Responsibility for a certain level of employee safety
- Responsibility for staff compensation and coverage
- Supporting business’s compliance with overseas regulations
Good track record in the country of expansion
Working with foreign employees can, due to various political, cultural, and other sensitive topics, become a very difficult challenge. In this case, the one-size-fits-all approach can do much more damage than good. That is why the PEO providers you are going to hire need to be aware of these nuances and have rich experience in working with different cultures and backgrounds. Failing in such basic things can close the doors to top-tier local talent which is something you should absolutely avoid.
Financial strength
As we already mentioned, you are looking for a reliable partner and financial stability presents one of the best indicators of this important trait. So, try to find out if your PEO partner has conducted internal financial audits or has been, at some point, subjected to the national financial inquiry. If available, these reports will give you a great insight into the inner workings of your future PEO partner and help you determine does that relationship has a future.
High commitment to customer service
Keeping in mind the sensitive tasks the PEO companies are providing (e.g. HR and legal compliance) your partner needs to demonstrate a high level of commitment to customer service and always be open for suggestions, consultations, and quick moves. These issues can be easily addressed by looking for the impressions of the previous clients online or making inquiries with the companies that are already operating in the said region.
We hope these few topics helped you realize why you should find a co-employment partner for your future global expansion and showed you a couple of ways to find the right company for the job. Tackling new markets is already hard even without opening new subsidiaries and navigating the local legal systems. Leave this job to HR professionals and let your company focus on what it does the best.
