As a mission-driven company, Oyster is deeply invested in creating a more equal world by extending access to opportunity to talented individuals worldwide. By enabling companies to hire talent virtually anywhere in the world, we make it possible for global talent to access good jobs and career development opportunities regardless of where they live.
We take our mission seriously, which is why we published an impact thesis as a fledgling startup in 2020 and committed to publishing an annual impact report each year to hold ourselves accountable.
Today, we’re delighted to share Oyster’s 2024 annual impact report, where we report on progress, challenges, and lessons learned over the past year. With each year’s report (for reference, here are our 2022 and 2023 reports), we continue to refine our understanding and reporting of the impact we have on people, communities, and the environment.
Here are the highlights of Oyster’s impact on workers in emerging economies, our efforts at driving systems change, and our internal impact over the past year.
Elevating talent: Oyster’s impact on emerging economies
At Oyster, we encourage companies to hire in emerging economies so that people living outside of traditional tech hubs can access remote employment opportunities. Through our customers, we facilitate the flow of foreign direct investment into emerging economies to uplift talented individuals, families, and communities worldwide.
We’re happy to report that in 2023, payments to full-time employees and contractors in developing countries surpassed $107 million, marking an 86% increase over 2022. Additionally, 43.7% of team members employed through Oyster in 2023 were based in emerging economies.
Data from the Oyster platform also reveals noteworthy insights on the likelihood of hiring in emerging markets, the kinds of roles being filled, salary trends, and more. In addition, we gathered survey data from workers employed through Oyster to better understand the team member experience.
Propensity to hire in emerging economies
We tracked how often a new customer’s first Oyster hire is located in a developing country and the percentage of subsequent hires in emerging economies. Over the past three years, there’s been a steady increase in the percentage of subsequent hires being in developing countries.
Increasing role diversity
To give more people access to remote jobs, it’s important for companies to hire globally in a wide range of roles, beyond software and engineering. In the past three years, the diversity of role types hired through Oyster has increased, with software and developers and engineers shrinking in proportion.
Salary trends in emerging economies
Oyster’s platform data also shows a steady increase in salaries over the past three years, in both developed countries and emerging economies. While developed countries witnessed a commendable 15% rise in median salaries, emerging economies experienced a significant 21% increase from 2021 to 2023.
Software engineering roles, which are the most popular on the platform, saw a 48% increase in median salary from 2021 to 2023, indicating robust demand and compensation growth. Other well-represented roles on our platform—such as Marketing Coordinator, Backend Developer, Technical Support Specialist, and Quality Engineer—also experienced considerable salary growth, reflecting the evolving needs of businesses and the growing importance of these skill sets.
Oyster’s impact on team members in emerging economies
While platform data offers aggregate numbers, such as total dollar flow into emerging economies, we also wanted to hear directly from the team members employed through Oyster regarding their quality of life and economic well-being. This year, we once again surveyed the workers on our platform to learn about Oyster’s impact on their personal and professional lives. Below are some notable findings.
Among team members in emerging economies:
- 70% receive higher compensation than before
- 71% report improved work-life balance
- 60% are able to better support their families
Oyster’s impact on female team members
In last year’s impact report, we found that Oyster had a greater positive impact on female team members in emerging economies than on their male colleagues. This suggests that access to remote job opportunities helps mitigate some of the systemic blockers faced by women. This year, we expanded our research to explore the impact of Oyster on female team members globally, in both emerging and developed economies.
Among female team members globally:
- 90% report increased job satisfaction
- 69% received a salary increase
- 71% achieved better work-life balance
- 55% accessed new benefits for the first time
These findings highlight the tremendous potential of remote work to address gender disparities in the global workforce.
Moving the needle on systems change
While it’s encouraging to measure Oyster’s direct impact through platform data and survey results, we also recognize the importance of the indirect impact we can have by influencing systemic change in the broader global employment ecosystem.
Working for systems change means, first, empowering companies to hire talent from anywhere. By providing a global employment platform to connect companies with talent worldwide, Oyster actively contributes to a world where opportunities are not restricted by location.
However, it’s also crucial to change existing mental models and assumptions about employment practices. This means offering new frameworks and tools to help redefine organizational structures and HR practices so that they’re better adapted to a globally distributed workplace.
Oyster’s strategy for systems change
True transformation requires a shift in perspective and behavior across various stakeholders, which is why Oyster focuses on the following:
- Inspiring companies to view talent geo-diversity as a strategic advantage
- Empowering HR teams to embrace the potential of hiring in diverse countries
- Facilitating a paradigm shift in how managers perceive and collaborate with distributed teams
- Encouraging job seekers to expand their horizons and pursue global career opportunities
Here’s how we try to influence our key audiences:
Our customers: Through our Customer Advisory Board, we facilitate structured discussions among leaders at distributed companies aimed at challenging traditional paradigms and sharing insights.
HR practitioners: Our People Builders community equips HR professionals with the tools, insights, and collaborative networks necessary to take the People function into the future.
Company leaders and job seekers: We address these segments through inspirational content, educational offerings, and thought leadership delivered via social media, the Oyster Library, the New World of Work podcast, and Oyster Academy.
Systems change takes time, but Oyster remains steadfast in its commitment to lead the charge for change, one perspective at a time.
Walking the talk: Oyster’s internal impact
The impact described so far is Oyster’s external impact, which comprises our business model impact (generated by the organization’s commercial activities) and our systems change impact (influencing various stakeholders in the global employment system).
But there is also the dimension of internal impact, which encompasses Oyster’s impact on its staff and their well-being, our environmental footprint, and our internal governance. Below are some highlights of Oyster’s internal impact.
Fostering a positive work environment
Our most recent employee engagement survey had a robust 84% participation rate. In the first quarter of 2024, Oyster staff reported the following:
- 71% feel satisfied or engaged at work
- 73% believe that Oyster is contributing to their personal development
We’re committed to improving these metrics through ongoing collaboration and action plans to address areas of improvement, such as such as learning and development budgets, rewards and recognition, and efficient knowledge management.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
As an organization that aims to reduce global inequality by enabling companies to hire anywhere, Oyster’s commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace is especially reflected in our focus on gender and geographic diversity.
These statistics offer a snapshot of diversity at Oyster in 2024:
- Oyster staff represent 68 nationalities
- 51% of employees identify as female
- 49% of managers identify as female
- 16% of managers are from low cost-of-living countries
Becoming a certified B Corp
In May 2023, we proudly announced our B Corp certification, acknowledging our commitment to impact through our business practices. This achievement reflects our adherence to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility, placing us among a select group of companies worldwide dedicated to using business as a force for good.
Through a rigorous assessment process, Oyster was certified in two impact business models: Mission Lock and Workforce Development, highlighting our focus on integrating our mission into our company’s bylaws and providing training and employment opportunities to underserved communities. By embodying the principles of the B Corp movement, we strive to contribute to a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative global economy
A continued commitment to our mission
Oyster’s core mission is to foster a more equitable world through a business model driven by purpose. We’ve navigated through turbulent macroeconomic conditions, gaining invaluable insights along the way. The formidable challenges of the past year have only strengthened our commitment to this mission.
But we can’t achieve our mission without partnering with companies like yours.
We invite you to read our 2024 annual impact report and join us in building a more equitable world of work.
About Oyster
Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, engage, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense.
Oyster enables hiring anywhere in the world—with reliable, compliant payroll, and great local benefits and perks.
