Why are effective HR services key to a successful EOR team?

In this fast-paced international business environment, global companies constantly look for business opportunities beyond their home countries by using a remote workforce. Expansion of business services through remote working often proves to be the most effective way due to advantages like cost-effectiveness and accessibility to top talent.  

In this quest, global companies usually take advantage of employer of record (EOR) services to ensure smooth compliance assistance and employee benefits for their international teams. However, companies often look for additional human resources (HR) services to address challenges like miscommunication, work inconsistency, and productivity issues in their EOR teams.

Observing the way EOR services employees operate in India, you’ll find three categories—those EOR employees working from home (WFH), those working in multiple coworking places, and those working in an independent office. Each of these three EOR teams has its unique challenges and needs different HR solutions to address the challenges. In short, you need additional HR services to address your specific EOR teams’ problems in addition to the primary services. Providing core HR services such as recruitment, payroll, compliance assistance, and IT collaboration tools is not enough. 

Thus, it’s essential to choose EOR service providers that offer comprehensive yet flexible HR solutions for your international team to ensure that your EOR team works to align with your business needs and goals. Through this blog, you will learn the critical roles of HR services in establishing a successful EOR team. Also, you will gain key insights about additional HR solutions you can provide for your EOR employees to help solve their problems, which enhances their work performance and productivity. 

Roles of primary HR services for EOR teams

partner helps with overseas businesses. Building an EOR team of top talent is an invaluable asset for businesses expanding in a foreign country.EORs thoroughly understand the Indian job markets, cultural nuances, and legal requirements to ensure that the recruitment process aligns with the company’s values and goals.

• Employee onboarding and engagement: A smooth onboarding and effective engagement are crucial for employee satisfaction and productivity. HR services facilitate a smooth onboarding process, ensuring that new hires understand the company culture, policies, and expectations. Employee engagement initiatives are vital to the success of an EOR team, fostering a sense of belonging and commitment among employees.
• Payroll administration: Effective handling of payroll service presents a key aspect of EOR team management. EORs provide HR support systems that help navigate different tax systems, currency fluctuations, and compliance requirements. Streamlining the payroll process helps guarantee timely and accurate payroll, a low risk of errors, and employee satisfaction for EOR teams.
• Innovative technology solutions: EORs leverage cutting-edge technology and tools to streamline HR processes, from payroll management to employee engagement. Using HR tools such as collaborative tools ensures accuracy, efficiency, and a positive employee experience, which helps ease the use of self-help portals.
• Compliance management: Compliance with the labor laws and regulations of India is a daunting challenge. EORs play a pivotal role in navigating local employment laws, tax regulations, and other statutory requirements by providing HR solutions like legal assistance. This ensures that the operation of your EOR team complies with government regulations, which help mitigate legal risks and also foster a positive employer-employee relationship.

The above-mentioned HR services and solutions are crucial for building an EOR team in India. Every global business must consider providing these support services to ensure that their remote EOR employees are properly aligned and encouraged toward a common goal. 

However, providing primary HR services and solutions isn’t enough, as there are certain challenges for EOR employees that demand flexible and customized HR solutions. Let’s understand the challenges faced by different groups of EOR employees in India, which prevent them from collaborating and working as a team.

Understanding the challenges of EOR teams in India

EOR teams in India generally face unique challenges and require different HR solutions to address such challenges. Let’s explore some of the key challenges faced by three types of EOR services employee groups in India. 

Challenges of the EOR team working from home:

Unlike other EOR groups, EOR teams who are working from home have the following challenges:

• No appropriate workspace setup: In many cases, EOR employees face problems setting up a secluded workspace for their work. Since remote working is a new work culture for many Indians, many EOR employees have to adjust their workspace in a small corner of their house. Their work often gets hampered due to noisy surroundings and disturbances from neighboring places. 

• Distraction due to mixing household activities:  This group of EOR employees easily gets distracted from their work due to the mixing of household activities during their working hours. Family members of the employee can easily get access to his/her workplace and intervene by asking for help with small household chores. 

• Communication problems due to low internet connectivity: Many EOR teams in India face internet network problems when they are mostly based in rural areas. Due to low internet connectivity, EOR employees often face communication problems, like disconnecting calls during virtual meetings and so on. 

Challenges of the EOR team working from a coworking space:

• Distraction from working with a non-related work group: Noise and distractions are quite common when working in a coworking space. Many EOR employees face difficulties working in such spaces, as Indians often tend to socialize and start conversations when working in a confined space. Working alongside people from non-related work groups often causes problems.  

• Lack of privacy: EOR employees face problems due to intrusion or peeping on their laptop screens while passing by. The lack of privacy for the employees is due to the presence of a diverse group of teams from different organizations. It’s problematic for the employees when they want to discuss some confidential matters.   

• Limited amenities: EOR employees often face challenges working in multiple coworking spaces due to limited amenities and infrastructure facilities. Conditions like a lack of reliable internet connection, a separate meeting room, and office support facilities like printers, scanners, or storage lockers are the major problems faced by the Indian EOR team when working in a coworking space. 

Challenges for the EOR team working from independent offices:

• Inter-city relocation problems: As EOR employees are spread across remote locations in India, it’s difficult to find an office that is convenient for all employees. Many EOR employees face challenges relocating to the new office location. Inter-city relocation in India is still problematic for many remote EOR teams. 

• Lack of work flexibility: Working in a confined office is difficult for EOR employees who want more work flexibility. In a dedicated office, employees follow a particular work schedule, which is a significant challenge for many Indian EOR teams.  

• Workplace/office politics: Office politics is a common phenomenon in Indian corporate environments. It generates negative feelings towards colleagues due to groups or discrimination. Indian EOR employees mostly face unfair treatment and disrespect as a result of the rigid practice of hierarchical power positions in an organization. 

Additional HR services to make a successful EOR team in India   

To build a successful EOR team in India, businesses need to offer additional HR services to their teams. Additional HR solutions are remedies through which EOR employees can specifically address some unique problems that hinder them from accomplishing their day-to-day tasks. Let’s explore the additional HR services that an EOR service provider must offer to build better engagement and management for EOR employees. You must choose EOR service providers that offer the following HR solutions in addition to the primary services for your overseas employees:

• Supporting office infrastructure: To create a successful EOR team, you need to provide a coworking office in the nearby cities of your remote EOR employees. Problems such as work misalignment and miscommunication can be effectively addressed when employees meet face-to-face and work together during a particular time shift. If businesses are willing to find a coworking space for their employees, EOR service providers must be capable of offering IT infrastructure and finding a coworking office at least in Tier 1 or 2 cities within the shortest time possible. 

• Team meeting arrangement: For those EOR employees who prefer WFH rather than working in an office, you must arrange a physical meeting at a regular interval to bind them together. You need an EOR partner who can arrange and organize a meeting for your employees at a particular location where every individual can conveniently travel and stay for a day or two. Team meetings help build close acquaintances among the individuals involved and are the most effective way to build a team. It’s relatively easy for individuals to collaborate and coordinate their work if they already know one another, thereby acting like a team. 

• Organizing webinars on mental health regularly: Employee engagement remains one of the crucial aspects of HR services that help motivate, engage, and manage EOR employees effectively. Many remote EOR employees often find themselves with low motivation due to isolation and a lack of self-encouragement. As a part of employee engagement activities, organizing webinars, especially on mental health and awareness, and other employee-centric activities regularly can be a major source of motivation to achieve their daily work target.

• Granting night-shift allowances: Businesses must consider granting allowances to EOR employees who work night shifts. Most EOR employees often work night shifts to suit the time zone difference they have compared to their overseas employers. It’s the extra compensation given to employees who are working during unsociable hours. For instance, in India, as per the Factories Act of 1948, employees who work during night shifts are eligible for an allowance. It’s customary to pay an amount of 10–15% of the basic salary or a fixed amount per night as a night shift allowance. If employees are required to travel, then they can avail of a night transport allowance.

To conclude, building a successful EOR team requires additional HR services and solutions to ensure everyone in the team is capable of handling their tasks individually, establishing a clear line of communication, and fostering teamwork. Finding an EOR service provider that offers additional HR services is key to a successful EOR team abroad. 

Remunance: A guide to your EOR success in India

As a leading EOR service provider in India, Remunance is known for its reliable HR services and solutions that help build a strong and successful EOR team. In addition to its primary HR services ranging from hiring to payroll to compliance assistance, Remunance offers additional HR services like office and infrastructure support, team meeting arrangements, and so on. Such add-on HR services are required for the effective functioning of your remote team. 

At Remunance, we offer all-in-one HR solutions to ensure that every EOR employee, especially those working remotely from home, is properly aligned with the business goals of their organization. We ensure that your EOR team is self-motivated and cooperative in handling their daily tasks. Building a strong EOR team will be handy for you with our assistance.