Steps to Using an Employer of Record Successfully
When building a team outside your home country, things often get tricky fast. You want to stay compliant, move quickly, and avoid setting up a legal entity before you’re ready. That’s where an employer of record steps in. It allows you to hire workers in another country under a local employer, who takes care of the admin so you don’t have to.
Using an employer of record can help you handle things like payroll, work contracts, and taxes across borders, all while keeping things legally sound. But it isn’t just about handing things off. For the process to work smoothly, it helps to know the right steps. With the holidays around the corner and hiring usually backlogged at the start of the new year, now’s a great time to get ahead of it. Below are six clear steps to get the most out of using an employer of record.
Define Your Hiring Goals
Before we do anything else, we need to get clear on what roles we’re hiring for and why. Whether it’s to fill out a product team or support a new market for a few months, the goal gives us direction.
• Start with the role type. Are we looking for full-time workers, freelancers, or something in between?
• Know our time frame. Is this a short-term project through Q1, or part of our larger expansion into new regions?
• Decide what handoffs we want the employer of record to manage: payroll, contracts, onboarding, or more.
Having a defined plan makes it easier to avoid delays later. It also helps the employer of record set things up in the right way from day one. Getting clear on these details ensures there are no miscommunications between your team and the provider, setting a strong base for expansion efforts.
Choose the Right Country or Region
Not all hiring locations work the same way, especially as the year comes to a close. Local laws, public holidays, and documentation rules can all slow things down if we’re not ready for them.
• Some countries have holiday shutdowns as early as mid-December, which can freeze documents until the new year.
• Currency rules, required benefits, notice periods, and national tax schemes also vary widely.
• If we’re hiring into Africa or planning a new team in Europe for January, November is the best chance to begin.
Checking local requirements and working hours ahead of time can save days or even weeks later on. Choosing where to hire, and checking how it fits with our timelines, is a big part of avoiding delays. And getting things in motion before the holidays means we won’t start the year playing catch-up.
Collect and Submit Candidate Data
Once we’ve firmed up the country and confirmed the hire, we need to get their paperwork ready. Most of the delays around cross-border onboarding happen at this stage, but they can be avoided with good prep.
• For the employer, we usually need a company ID, billing details, and a job description.
• For the worker, proof of identity, education documents, and a signed offer letter are often needed.
• Some countries may also ask for local tax info or residence permits.
An employer of record helps simplify this next part. They’ll handle document reviews, provide the right contract types, and make sure everything’s ready before the worker starts. This keeps the process smooth, even if we’re working across time zones. Double-checking the collection process ensures documentation is accurate, which helps prevent additional rounds of corrections.
Onboarding and First Month Setup
After the paperwork is done, both we and the worker step into the onboarding phase. This usually runs through the first four weeks and helps set up proper systems for ongoing employment.
• Payroll accounts need setting up with accurate home-country deductions and local requirements.
• Local employment registration is handled by the employer of record, keeping the worker legally protected.
• Any employer-paid benefits or training kick in during this phase as outlined in the contract.
While this can sound like a lot, having one central system makes it easier to keep remote teams focused. We don’t need five different platforms or a checklist of compliance tasks. The process is handled quietly in the background, which keeps distractions low. During onboarding, clear communication about expectations helps the new worker settle into their role and allows for faster productivity.
Monitor, Support, and Adjust
Once our workers are set up and running, it helps to keep an eye on changes. Employment laws shift year to year, and contract details may need review once projects end or goals evolve.
• Monthly check-ins help us track if our needs are still being met.
• Time zones and support tools may need fine-tuning depending on how the team is working.
• If things are steady, we may look at shifting to a full-time direct hire or even adding more roles using the same setup.
The key is flexibility. Most teams don’t want to rearrange their legal setup at the first sign of growth. But with an employer of record in place, we can adjust easily without restarting the whole process. Staying engaged with regular updates keeps everyone in the loop, promotes retention, and makes it easier to scale up when ready.
Moving Into the New Year with Less Risk
Hiring through an employer of record gives us a cleaner path forward when time or location would normally slow us down. Starting in November helps avoid last-minute stress and gives us enough time to set things up before holiday closures ripple into January.
It keeps our operation lean without skipping out on compliance or onboarding basics. And with a support system already in place, we can add to the team with less admin to hold us back. As we look past the end of the year, being able to adapt across borders keeps us moving without taking unnecessary risks. Entering the new year with key hires already onboarded can allow for a faster start when business ramps up after the holiday break. With clear processes and reliable support, your organization can maintain momentum no matter where your hiring plans take you.
Expanding your team internationally doesn’t have to be complicated. With support from an employer of record, you can simplify compliance, onboarding, and payroll while avoiding unnecessary legal challenges and lengthy setup times. At Betrworkr, we help you make confident hiring decisions, so your team can grow smoothly wherever business takes you. Let’s connect to move your hiring plans forward.
