Global Hiring For Startups And How PEOs Can Help
For businesses that cannot afford a dedicated in-house HR team, especially the ones that operate in more than one country, a PEO fills in the gaps. In simple words, a PEO or a professional employer organization offers scalable HR solutions to businesses. As a result, it frees up the companies to focus on core tasks.

Global Hiring Challenges For Startups
Startups depend a lot on the talent they hire. So much so, that the workforce plays a decisive role in the success quotient of the startup. If they were to confine their search for the right talent in just one location, they might lose out on potentially better-performing workers. More so, the pandemic has already triggered a remote work trend. Even so, the startups may still lack the vision and resources to hire from a global talent pool. Or better said, to find the perfect fit for the position at hand.
Consider this; by hiring global remote talent, the company can already set its foot off-shore. As a result, it becomes easier to expand operations off-shore at a later stage. Startups already have a lot at stake. For instance, there are existing market players against whom they need to compete. And then there is the constant need to maintain a regular cash flow to keep the company afloat.
By expanding their operations globally, startups can gain the necessary edge over their competitors, early on. And that too without having to leverage a lot of unnecessary money. After all, money is the biggest constraint for startups initially.
With all this into consideration, PEOs fit in naturally. They can help bypass most of the complexities involved in global hiring. Besides, it can help reduce the cost of hiring global talent for off-shore operations.
Here are some more benefits that PEOs can offer startups.
Compliance
Hiring talent as contractors often end up pretty badly. Reports suggest that startups prefer contractual employment for most of the off-shore talent.
As a result, their performance is often left unchecked. Even if the employers may recognize the talent, contractual employment clauses often restrict progress for such talent in the company.
More so, for newbies in the industry lack of resources and adequate knowledge of the international labor and tax laws are yet another limiting factor.
A PEO can help startups in this regard. They have the necessary experience and expertise in international laws. And they also ensure that the hiring process is compliant with these norms and regulations.
Onboarding And Payroll
Time is of the essence for every business. And for startups, it can be paramount at times. Hiring and onboarding a new employee may usually take a few days before they can resume their roles and responsibilities. As a result, the startups may lose some of the potential business targets that they could have achieved otherwise. PEOs can not only help with the hiring process but can also speed up the onboarding process.
However, this is something that only select PEOs can help startups with. A piece of advice here – try PEO fee evaluation before partnering up with one. It should help assess the core expertise of the PEO and thereby avoid any future hassles with them.
Reduced Costs For Business
The scale of economies is a concept that has been around for years. And it has helped businesses gain traction and lead the competition.
Typically, when a company hires an in-house talent, they spend on training and educating the employee. Meanwhile, the employee does not provide any tangible output that can be cashed. Or in simple words that can generate revenue for the company. Now, consider this for a whole in-house department or team of employees.
By outsourcing the auxiliary jobs, companies can usually overcome this training and education cost. As a result, the outputs or the returns on investment start flowing in from day one.
This is something that partnering up with a PEO brings in for startups. Additionally, the startups can earn more profits from the same investments. Or usually lower investments.
Offloading
Another benefit that startups can enjoy by outsourcing their HR tasks to a PEO is offloading. Consider this; with an in-house HR team, the company would need to manage the headcount themselves. Not to mention their daily tasks will also need to be monitored and checked. However, all of this can be avoided if outsourced with a PEO.
Managing the team and ensuring qualities will solely be the responsibility of the partner organization. All that the startup owners would need to do is monitor the results.
Choosing The Right PEO For Your Startup
By now, you must have a pretty good idea of how a PEO can help your startup. But, it’s not done yet. You’ll need to find the right PEO for your company. After all, it’s another investment and you wouldn’t want to go wrong with it. Here are some questions that you should ask when hiring a PEO for your startup.
Accreditation
You’ll need to ask your prospective partner if they have industry accreditation. There are usually two accreditations that can help prove that a PEO will offer good services – IRS certification and Employer Services Assurance Corporation certification.
Scalability
The next thing you need to ask is if the PEO would be able to scale as your company grows. This should help you ensure that your partnership would last longer. And you’ll not need to find another partner a few years down the road.
Training
You should also ask if the PEO team is well trained with federal, state, and local labor laws. This is particularly important if you’re planning to hire global talent.
Fee Structure
Last but not least is asking about the cost structure. You would want to know the payment structure and the net cost of hiring a PEO. Typically PEOs charge per employee, as a percentage of the total payroll.
The Takeaway
As you consider PEOs, you should focus on facts rather than claims. Partnering up with the right agency would mean your business can flourish in the years to come. On the other hand, a wrong partner would consume up your resources and leave you with nothing in the end.