There’s no shortage of benefits associated with hiring contractors instead of employees. These include but are not limited to:
- Reduced overhead costs.
- No requirement to provide benefits.
- Staffing flexibility.
- Instant access to individuals with specific knowledge and skills.
- Reduced training expenses.
These are a few benefits of hiring an independent contractor, but let’s take it one step further. Let’s talk about the reasons to hire a contractor in another country.
Take for example a company that’s headquartered in the United States. While there’s plenty of “contractor talent” in the U.S., it doesn’t always make sense to limit your search. Hiring an independent contractor outside of the country may be the way to go.
Why hire an independent contractor in another country?
If you’ve never hired an independent contractor in another country, now’s the time to stop and rethink your approach. Here are four reasons to consider this in the near future.
1. Access to global talent
Think back to when remote work was nothing more than a dream. Employers were forced to hire local professionals who were able to work traditional hours in-office.
As remote work became more popular, many companies realized the benefits of hiring workers in other parts of the country. This gave them access to a larger hiring pool.
Now, we’re moving into an era of hiring global talent. You no longer have to focus solely on contractors in your home country. Nothing is limiting you from hiring someone who lives on the other side of the world.
For instance, if you need to hire a website designer or programmer, you can interview contractors in the United States, Europe, the Philippines and everywhere in between. This allows you to find the right person for the job; not just any person for the job.
2. More cost-effective
Let’s face it: if you only hire contractors in the United States, you’re likely to pay a premium. It’s still more cost-effective than bringing on a full-time employee, but you’ll probably pay more than you would for a similarly talented professional in another part of the world.
No matter the project or responsibilities, you can save money by hiring a contractor in another country. And when it comes time to pay them, it’s easy to use technology to guide the entire process from start to finish.
3. Coverage at all times of the day
You can only cover so much time when you hire contractors in your home country. If you need coverage at other times—such as when your full-time workers are sleeping—an international contractor makes sense.
Maybe you need to hire a handful of customer service representatives to manage live chat requests. The best way to provide high-quality coverage around the clock is to hire international contractors in different time zones.
Ending up with the coverage you need at a more affordable price is the best of both worlds.
4. Flexibility
There are times when it makes sense to hire a part- or full-time employee. There are also times when it makes sense to convert an independent contractor to an employee. However, you should never overlook the flexibility of hiring a contractor. Here are some examples:
- You can increase and decrease the number of hours you work with a contractor based on need.
- Overhead costs are kept to a minimum.
- Some contractors have multiple skill sets, allowing you to hire them for several tasks.
Adaptability is a big part of any company’s success. If you want to increase flexibility within your organization, consider hiring an international contractor.
The challenges of hiring a global contractor
Despite the many benefits of hiring an independent contractor, it’s natural to run into some challenges along the way. For example:
- Language barriers.
- Currency exchange fees.
- Time zone differences.
- Inefficient communication.
It’s important to understand these challenges upfront, as this knowledge allows you to implement systems for avoiding setbacks.
Oyster’s contractor onboarding product helps you overcome many of the potential pitfalls of hiring outside of your home country. It can assist you with tasks such as:
- Onboarding.
- Invoicing and making global payments.
- Contract generation.
- Delivering tax forms.
- Document management.
- Payment and expense reimbursement.
Hiring someone as an independent contractor—either in your home country or abroad—has never been easier. Oyster gives you the tools you need to succeed.
About Oyster
Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, hire, 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.
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