An international PEO is a company that enables businesses like yours to expand overseas by providing employment solutions in one or more countries within the same continent. A PEO takes care of all the legal and regulatory procedures for you, such as quickly and legally hiring and paying employees abroad, saving you the hassle of operating as your own foreign legal entity.

As we mentioned before, an international PEO works by providing employment solutions to local businesses looking to expand abroad. The work of an international PEO could be summarized as it follows:

1. Recruitment, hiring, and onboarding new employees.
2. Legal and ongoing payroll management. Even if you do decide to establish yourself abroad, the PEO can still handle international payroll on your company’s behalf.

An international PEO works in the same way as an employment outsourcing, handling all kinds of employee administration processes such as hiring, managing employee payroll and benefits overseas on behalf of your business.

Besides saving you and your business precious time and money, hiring the services of an international PEO has many other benefits, such as:

1. Saving your business from costly legal fines- Any good international PEO will have the local resources to ensure your business is always 100% in line with the laws and regulations regarding employment classification and taxation of the foreign entity you decide to expand to.
2. Attracting only the best human capital fit for your business needs – Because of their deep local market knowledge and expertise, you can rest assured that an international PEO will hire only the most qualified talent for your company.
3. Going global means reducing costs: If there’s anything the pandemic has taught businesses all over world is that the key to success is working smarter, regardless of location. Remote work opened the door to a bigger and more diverse talent pool. Partnering with an international PEO will not only grant you the very best international talent, but it can also save your company thousands of dollars. A 2020 study conducted by Global Workplace Analytics revealed that businesses can save an average of $11,000 per year per part-time remote employee.
4. Ongoing and legal payroll management – Anyone who’s taken their business overseas will tell you international taxes and payroll management can get really messy, real fast. The slightest oversight can make your business fall out of compliance, and you don’t want that. Since an international PEO has legal presence in the country you’re expanding to, it automatically frees you from these issues. An international PEO will make sure your employees abroad are paid on time and in full amount, eliminating any risks and potential liabilities.
5. Exponential business expansion – Globalization provides businesses with new markets and exciting opportunities for expansion. This also means you’ll most likely have to deal with costly fees and confusing foreign administrative and governmental regulations that, apart from costing you thousands of dollars in lawyers and accountants, could delay your business expansion for months, or even years! But no need to worry, an international PEO takes care of all that for you, expediting your company’s entry and exit from any country abroad by handling all the administrative tasks implied, such as complying with foreign laws and regulations at all times. Happy expansion!

Now that we’ve let you in on some of the amazing advantages of hiring the services of an international PEO, it’s only fair we go over the not-so-great aspects that come along with it, too. Part of the challenges a business can face when partnering with an international PEO can be, but are not limited to:

1. Being comfortable with sharing delicate information – When you hire an international PEO, you’re implicitly agreeing to let them handle most, if not all, of the legal and administrative requirements to keep your business abroad up and running. This means a PEO will have full access to your company’s most confidential information. Some business owners may not be so comfortable with a having third party know such delicate information, which might result in tensions and difficulty reaching common ground.
2. Dealing with control issues – You might feel like you’re the only one who knows what’s best for your business. After all, it’s your name on the wall, right? Well, things might go a bit differently should you decide to hire the services of a PEO. Since an international PEO has all the legal expertise and knowledge of the country you’re looking to expand to, they will be the ones advising you on how to run things. If you’re the kind of person that struggles to let go of control and instead prefers to handle all matters internally, a PEO might not be the best solution for you.

A global PEO is very similar to an international PEO. Only instead of operating in different countries within the same continent, a global PEO expands around the world. This creates bigger and better business expansion opportunities for your company. 

Latin America is one the fastest growing markets in the world. Similar time zones, infrastructure, and little language and cultural barriers make Latin America an attractive and cost-effective business option. Many companies around the world are choosing to expand their business to countries like Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Argentina through the help of an international PEO. Here are some of the ways a PEO can help you expand your business in Latin America:

1. Hiring only the best local talent: Latin America houses some of the best professionals in the world. Hiring an international PEO assures you only get the very best talent for your business.
2. Reducing costs: One of the biggest attraction Latin America holds over US companies is the low cost of hiring new employees. Due to their pricing structures and lack of inflation impact, hiring employees in Latin America is more cost-effective than anywhere else in this part of the world.
3. Providing local support: Venturing into new and unknown markets can be scary. Having the support of an international PEO company gives you the peace of mind of knowing your business is backed by local expertise. Since a PEO is familiar with the laws and regulations of the country you wish to expand to, they will help you navigate the industry better than the competition. Thus, granting you the chance of more exposure and a bigger ROI.

Since no one knows their market (and regulations) like a LATAM PEO, we strongly advise you to partner with one when looking to expand to Latin America. At Serviap Global we pride ourselves for offering the best end-to-end personalized experience to our clients abroad, while supporting them in every step of their expansion process. We hire only the most qualified local talent for you while being 100% compliant, at all times.