Hello Community,

The geography of talent is changing.

For HR, expanding the search for talent across borders raises another question:

How should the organization hire or engage that talent?

Hiring models create different relationships, responsibilities, costs, and risks. The answer depends on several factors, including expected growth, costs, regulation, market plans, and geopolitical conditions.

This week, we look at global hiring as a workforce strategy decision, including the assumptions that should trigger another look.

🌟 In case you missed it: TODAY, we are kicking off “Women Leading AI Transformation”, a 5-week Micro Certificate Program facilitated by Malvika Jethmalani. This program prepares HR professionals to lead AI transformation as a business discipline, not a technology management function. You still have time to enroll! ➡️ Learn more and enroll

Today, we offer a simple framework to help you decide how to hire globally.

Once an organization identifies where it wants to find talent, it still needs to decide how to hire or engage that talent.

There are several options: Direct employment, Employer of Record (EOR), independent contractor, Contractor of Record (COR), PEO or co-employment, staffing, and outsourcing.

But the model should not be the starting point. Start with workforce needs, and only then narrow the options.

1️⃣ - Are you adding capacity or buying an outcome?
If another organization will take responsibility for delivering a defined service or outcome, outsourcing may be an option. If you need an individual or team contributing capacity to your organization, consider the working relationship.

2️⃣ - How will the work operate?
If the work is genuinely independent, a contractor arrangement or COR for additional support may fit. If your organization needs to direct the individual's day-to-day work, consider an employment or staffing model. Classification depends on how the relationship operates in practice, and the criteria vary by jurisdiction.

3️⃣ - Is the need temporary or ongoing?
For temporary capacity, a staffing agency may be an option. For ongoing employment, the next question is how you want to employ people in that country.

4️⃣ - What presence are you building?
If you have a local entity or plan to build a sustained presence, direct employment may make sense. Without an entity, an EOR can employ people locally while your organization directs their day-to-day work.

PEO/co-employment may be another option in some jurisdictions, depending on your local presence and the arrangement.

5️⃣ - What could change?
Finally, stress-test the decision. Would the model still fit if headcount grew? If temporary work became ongoing? If the working relationship changed? What about costs, regulation, or your market plans?

The goal isn't simply to choose the right model today. It's to know what would make you reconsider it.

Download the HR Cheat Sheet →

Compare direct employment, EOR, independent contractor, COR, PEO/co-employment, staffing, and outsourcing across duration, control, local presence, scale, cost, compliance, culture & belonging, and reassessment.

If an EOR is one of the models you’re considering, Remote supports international hiring without requiring your own local entity. It can act as your legal employer and handle compliance, payroll, taxes, and benefits.

Beyond global hiring, there's plenty happening across the Hacking HR community…

Join us on March 10, 2027 in Scottsdale, Arizona, for one day of immersive learning, with workshops the day before. You'll leave with practical ideas, new perspectives, and relationships that continue long after the event ends.

Trent Cotton, Tracie Sponenberg, and Angela Briggs-Paige will act as MCs! Seats are filling up quickly. More than 150 HR leaders have already registered, from companies including Hubspot, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Citi, First FarmBank, Blue Origin, Quantum HR Labs, and more. And if you need to convince your boss, our CEO, Enrique Rubio, has prepared a downloadable letter to help your organization approve BUILD Conference.

📍 Where: Scottsdale, Arizona

📅 Optional workshops: March 9

🎤 BUILD Conference: March 10

🎟️ Early-bird registration: $199 | Group rates available

Beyond our events, here are more ways to build your skills and connect with peers (virtual and in-person) across the Hacking HR community.

Check the upcoming bootcamps led by Enrique Rubio and end this year building new AI skills you can apply immediately at work.

*Premium membership required.

Three community-led events are coming up. Click on the links to learn more and register!

Happening TODAY:

Happening Next Week:

And for a different kind of HR gathering, how about a little friendly competition?

Join the HR Gameshow, live in Boston on October 29! 🏆

Think HR trivia night meets live gameshow, with a room full of Boston's HR and People leaders.

It's an afternoon of team-based challenge rounds built on real industry data and benchmarks, plus prizes, heavy apps and drinks, and the chance to network with HR people in the city.

📍 225 Franklin St, Boston, MA
💸 Free!!
👥 Teams of 5–10 (bonus points for a creative team name and dress code)
🙋 Coming solo? You'll be placed on a team when you arrive

If you work in HR, TA or PeopleOps, come play along and bring your whole HR team. 

Come for the games, stay for the connections, and hopefully leave with some bragging rights. 😉 ➡️ Register here

🌍🌎🌏 The ideal candidate is out there somewhere. We just need to find them.

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If you are a CMO in the HR Tech space, we would love to connect. Every Friday we host a Hacking HR Live Webinar Planning session with Q&A at 09:00 AM Pacific Time. 👉 Register here→