Putting people on the ground in a new market can happen in more than one way, and each staffing model carries a different mix of cost, compliance complexity, and control.
Secondment
Sending an existing home-country employee to work in the target market temporarily avoids local hiring complexity but often triggers its own tax and immigration compliance requirements in the destination country, alongside the cost of relocation and often a compensation premium.
Local Hire
Directly employing local staff provides genuine market knowledge and language capability, as covered in our staffing models guide, but requires navigating local labor law, termination rules, and required benefits that vary considerably across our core markets.
Remote Contractor or Employer of Record
Engaging a local contractor, or using an Employer of Record service to formally employ staff on your behalf without establishing your own local entity, offers a middle path — faster to set up than direct hiring, with less commitment than a full local entity.
Matching the Model to Market Maturity
Secondment often suits an initial market exploration phase, remote contracting or an Employer of Record suits early operational scaling, and direct local hire typically becomes the right choice once the market relationship is established and justifies the fuller commitment.
Compliance Risk Across Models
Each model carries a different compliance profile, and misclassifying a genuine employee as an independent contractor to avoid local employment obligations is a real risk that regulatory authorities in several of our markets actively scrutinize.
Choosing the Right Staffing Model
We help clients think through staffing models alongside broader market entry strategy. Explore our advisory services or book a discovery call.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main risk of secondment as a staffing model?
It often triggers its own tax and immigration compliance requirements in the destination country, alongside relocation costs and a compensation premium, despite avoiding local hiring complexity.
What is an Employer of Record?
A service that formally employs staff on a company’s behalf in a target market without the company establishing its own local entity, offering a middle path between remote contracting and direct local hire.
Why is contractor misclassification a real compliance risk?
Misclassifying a genuine employee as an independent contractor to avoid local employment obligations is actively scrutinized by regulatory authorities in several of our core markets.