A Step-by-Step Guide
to Working with GEOR:
From Sourcing to Payroll

Finding qualified talent or trusted vendors can feel like an obstacle course, with each turn requiring significant time and resources. According to 2023 statistics, it takes approximately 52 days to fill a technical position, with an average cost of $152,000 per hire. Not only can the search distract your internal team from core operations and strategic initiatives, but it can also introduce a host of complexities, such as regulatory compliance or geographic limitations. Any misstep can have far-reaching implications for your company’s performance, reputation, and financial stability.

At GEOR, we understand these challenges and offer an alternative solution that changes the way you approach recruitment and vendor management. Our global employment services can save you time while giving you complete control over your workforce management.

In this article, we will guide you through each stage of collaboration with GEOR and provide insight into what to expect once you decide to partner with us.

Starting Point: Choosing the Right Service

First of all, let us introduce you to what GEOR is all about.

What exact services do we provide?

Here’s a comprehensive suite of professional services for managing employees and contractors. Let’s review and compare each of them.

Employee management:

• Employer of Record (EOR): Under this approach, GEOR becomes the legal employer of your workforce, leaving you in full control of day-to-day management. As your global employer of record, we manage administrative responsibilities, such as payroll, taxes, benefits, and regulatory compliance. At the same time, you maintain control over the team and their direct responsibilities.
• Professional Employment Organization (PEO): This is a more in-depth form of interaction. In this case, we act as a co-employer for a client company, sharing various responsibilities such as tax withholding, HR compliance, payroll, and even employee management. This hybrid approach works well for companies that want a more hands-on approach to team management, but still need administrative help.
• Staffing, managing, and retaining employees: Our support does not end with recruitment. As your global employment company, we provide a comprehensive framework for finding, managing, and retaining employees within your organization. By leveraging our expertise in workforce management, we help you maintain operational continuity and foster a cohesive work environment that allows your business to thrive while minimizing the complexities associated with traditional hiring methods.

These international employment services differ primarily in the division of responsibilities and the legal structure of the employment relationship. The EOR becomes the legal employer of the client’s employees and assumes full contractual responsibility for them, which is especially critical for companies hiring overseas. In contrast, the PEO enters into a co-employment relationship with the client, where both entities are legally responsible for different aspects of it.

Contractor management:

• Agent of Record (AOR): In this model, we act not as an employer, but as an intermediary between your company and independent contractors. That’s the main difference from EOR. Otherwise, GEOR still handles the administration, paperwork and legal issues, while the client company interacts directly with the contractors on their behalf.
• Service procurement: This solution allows companies to delegate the entire process of engaging vendors and third-party service providers to us. We ensure that all necessary legal and technical requirements are met, while managing the administrative tasks of these partnerships.
• Vendor management: A smart choice for companies that work with a wide range of service providers and contractors across multiple jurisdictions. Our vendor management system allows you to efficiently source multiple suppliers and manage their work through a single ERP platform, ensuring that your operations remain efficient and seamless.

The main difference is who you choose to work with. AOR typically focuses on managing freelancers, consultants, or contractors who are not full-time employees but still require legal and regulatory oversight. In contrast, service procurement covers a broader range of services, such as working with companies or agencies that provide large-scale solutions, such as software development, marketing and other functions that can be fully outsourced.

Have you identified tasks in this list that you’d prefer to delegate? Then let us explain how the partnership with GEOR begins and what to expect in the early stages.

Starting a Partnership: What Are the First Steps?

Step #1. Preliminary consultation. After you contact us, we’ll suggest a convenient time for an introductory call. During the initial meeting, our consultants will assess your business needs and expansion plans for employee and contractor management. They will also provide you with detailed information on all relevant GEOR international employment services and answer any questions you may have. This is completely free of charge.

Step #2. Customized solution. Based on the information gathered in the previous step, the GEOR team will develop a customized proposal that meets your needs and complies with legal requirements. You will receive detailed calculations for a global employment solution that will allow you to address your challenges in the most efficient way.

Step #3: Contract finalization. When all terms have been negotiated and agreements have been reached, we will sign a service agreement with you. This will include a list of our commitments and the full cost with no hidden fees.

The Contract Is Signed: What’s Next?

The next steps depend on which exact solution you choose, employee or contractor management. Here’s what happens next for each of our global employment services:

EOR, PEO & employee management

Step #4: Global talent sourcing and assessment. After defining the job requirements, we search our proprietary database of 40,000 pre-screened IT professionals worldwide to select the best candidates. Our legal presence in 5 jurisdictions allows us to recruit from over 100 countries with no restrictions. This solution provides you with a wide range of top notch specialists and even very niche experts at the best market rate.

Step #5: Ensuring diligence and compliance. Once the right candidates are approved, GEOR registers them in the appropriate jurisdictions and ensures compliance with local employment laws. We also provide background checks. This step includes securing employment contracts, tax regulations, work permits, and more, through our international employment services.

Step #6: Onboarding assistance. Once the paperwork is done, our experts focus on introducing newcomers to your work environment; we make sure they are up and running efficiently in as little as 1 week.

Step #7: Payroll and tax administration. Depending on which service you choose, EOR or PEO, we can share these responsibilities with your company or manage them entirely on our end. Either way, we set up payroll systems and administer employee benefits, such as health insurance, vacation, and more, in accordance with local laws and standards. As your global employer of record, we ensure that all taxes, including income tax, social security, and other statutory payments, are handled on your behalf.

Step #8. Workforce management. GEOR provides ongoing HR support and talent management, as well as regular reporting and analytics. No matter what kind of help you need, our managers will address any HR-related questions or issues you may be facing.

AOR, service procurement & vendor management

Step #4: RFX process. Based on your requirements and specifications, GEOR’s experts will prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) inviting potential individual contractors or vendors to participate. This document is used to request additional information, service bids, and proposals to help you make an informed decision.

Step #5: Suppliers sourcing and selection. We analyze the proposals received and perform an initial screening of suitable individuals or companies. As a result, you will get a list of pre-screened and best-fit vendors to select the most appropriate solution.

Step #6: Ensuring diligence and compliance. The GEOR team conducts technical due diligence and vendor audits to ensure that third parties meet all the standards and requirements. Even as regulations change, we guarantee full compliance through continuous monitoring.

Step #7: Onboarding assistance. We provide complete onboarding for new contractors or suppliers, ensuring smooth integration into your work environment.

Step #8. Monitoring and management. Our team continuously tracks invoices, billings, and other relevant data to provide you with comprehensive reporting and analytics. All critical information is at your fingertips through specialized software that provides timely task management updates and real-time cost estimates.

FAQ

• Can we hire employees or contractors in other regions?

Without a doubt. With a legal presence in 5 jurisdictions, GEOR can sign employment and service contracts with people from over 100 countries worldwide. Once you identify a new market, we handle all the compliance and paperwork as part of our global employment solutions.

• What are the payment terms and frequency?

Payments are usually made monthly. As your global employment agency, we provide detailed invoices that consolidate all employee or vendor service costs, taxes and GEOR commissions into one payment. Upon receipt of a single remittance, we manage and take full responsibility for all payroll and tax withholding.

• What if the selected employee or contractor doesn’t perform well?

If they don’t meet your expectations, we will offer a replacement within the probationary period, which typically lasts 10-20 days. If you decide to terminate the employee at a later date, GEOR can assist with this process as well, taking care of local legal requirements, severance pay and any potential disputes.

• How do we track the progress of employees or contractors?

We provide a proprietary ERP platform that allows you to track critical data and metrics such as payroll, benefits, performance and more. This global employment provider solution gives you complete visibility into the status of your workforce based on your specific needs.

Why Outsource Employee and Contractor Management?

Distributed workforce management is not just a task – it’s a key growth driver. Let’s look at the numbers. They say, engaging global employment agencies results in 7–9% faster growth rates and 40% better revenue growth than the average small business.

Outsourcing employee and contractor management goes far beyond just simplifying HR processes. It allows companies to focus on their core competencies, freeing management to devote more time and resources to strategy, innovation and expansion. Our experience shows the same thing. With the help of a PEO, we were able to reach a 5x reduction in operational load for one of our clients.

Outsourcing also supports agility. As your business grows or enters new markets, professional, scalable solutions adapt to your workforce needs, whether you’re hiring full-time employees, engaging contractors or managing vendor relationships. This flexibility allows you to respond quickly to market demands while maintaining operational control and compliance across borders with global employment services.

Ultimately, when you choose to outsource employee and contractor management, you’re investing in a solution that not only improves your operational efficiency, but also positions your company for sustainable growth and competitive advantage.