Startups

Beyond Borders
70+ Practices on Cross-Border Hiring and
Building a Sustainable Global Organization

The second handbook for founders and teams of the

most impactful companies of tomorrow

By Insignia Ventures Partners, Deel, Michael Page, and Intellect

July 2023
Introduction
Why Go Cross-Border Now?
Having a cross-border perspective in building an organization is no longer a luxury—it's a strategic imperative. It allows companies to leverage the
power of diversity, plug skill gaps, and unlock accessibility of its services to more markets.
cost-cutting resulting in layoffs and
cuts to hiring spend
remote work arbitrage and
accessibility (esp for tech talent)
AI trends driving demand for tech
talents not necessarily in HQ country
Sample of Cost Breakdown of ID
Based on minimum monthly
salary of $1000
Ongoing payroll administration
costs (Per year)
Corporation tax
Employment contributions
(insurance, pension, social security,
etc.)
Credits: Deel, Michael Page
ability to build functionally specific teams more competitive talent
markets
(e.g., engineering) in other markets away can
from target market result in
drives unlocks remote work arbitrage and
Cross-Border
accessibility (esp for tech
Hiring talent)
ability to hire top talent from other
markets and unlock specific expertise talent pool growth in
(e.g., data science, AI) emerging markets
Indonesia Talent Opportunity
Indonesia UK Most populous country in SEA and Has the largest public listing of tech company
emerging talent pool with median age of across SEA and success of startups have
30 years old increased interest from talents
$40,000 $60,000
Global technology-based firms like Google,
Second highest number of unicorns after
AWS, Bytedance, Microsoft, Alibaba and Meta
Singapore, with 13 unicorns listed. to have teams in the country.
22% 29.05%
4.42% 13% Both AWS and GCP have invested in
Top 5 GDP growth in 2022 and is
data-centers with Indonesia as their only
forecasted to be top 5 in 2023
other location outside of SG in SEA.
Table of Part 1 Setting Up Cross Border Employment Pipelines
Linking Market Expansion with Organizational Development
1
2
Practices 1-10

Contents
Choosing a Global Employment Strategy 3
Identifying Resources and Partners 4
Ensuring a Positive Employee Experience 5

Part 2 Compliance and Payroll for Global Teams 7 Practices 11-27

Global Compliance Mistakes 8
Getting Your Payroll System in Check 10
Steps to Managing Global Payroll 11

Part 3 Winning Over Global Leadership Talent: A Look at Indonesia 15 Practices 28-44
To Hire Locally or Globally? 16
Attracting Indonesian Returnee and Top Global Technical Talent 17
Hiring and Retention Adjustment 19

Part 4 Sustaining Organizational Growth for Global Teams 23 Practices 45-71

Managing A Global Remote Team 24
Sustaining Organizational Growth 27
 Part 1

Setting Up
Cross-Border
Employment
Pipelines Questions covered in this section:
● How do I link cross-border organizational development
with market expansion plans?
● What are the pros and cons of different global
employment strategies?
● How do I identify the right resources and partners to
implement these employment strategies?
● How do I ensure a positive applicant and employee
experience for a cross-border organization?

Startups Beyond Borders 1

Part 1: Setting Up Cross-Border Pipelines Practice 1

Linking market expansion with organizational development

Creating a Market Entry Strategy Talent Planning and Management
There isn’t a single right path to expanding to different countries: identifying the right
strategy for your business takes extensive research and careful planning. It's important Have experts you can trust to run Identify vital positions that you need
to choose a market entry strategy that aligns with the structural model that best fits the your local business and take care of to fill and key employees you can’t
new customers afford to lose
company's goals and resources. These strategies vary in terms of their level of control,
involvement in the local market, and level of risk, and may involve:
To complete these tasks with success, you should:
Exporting Direct or through a third-party distributor ● Align your talent strategy with your corporate growth strategy, and don’t rush into
hiring before carefully planning your headcount for the following period
Licensing Providing a license to a local partner to produce & sell your product ● Equip your HR with suitable tools to plan, recruit, and manage global and local talent
● Involve executives in your talent planning strategy to ensure business goal alignment
Franchising Providing a local company with the right to use your business across departments and countries
trademark and model ● Support your talent acquisition efforts by exhibiting your company as a desirable
global employer
Partnering/JV Establishing a partnership with a local, well-known brand or starting
an entirely new company together
The Case of Singapore
M&A Taking over a competitor in a new market

Opening a local Starting a separate legal entity in the new location Usually, to hire in Singapore, your business needs an entity. That means a local office, an
subsidiary address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank. All of this, plus
navigating regional benefits, payroll, tax, and HR laws, can take months. Singapore also
Employer of An employer of record (EOR) is an organization that acts as the treats contractors differently than FTEs, so misclassifying a contractor could lead to fines.
Record legal employer for their clients’ foreign employees. It is very
See the Singapore hiring guide. We’ve also covered everything you need to know about
common that initial local market hires will enter via EOR.
hiring an employee in the APAC region. See how you can hire employees in Singapore
easily and compliantly here.
Familiarizing yourself with local Develop an exit strategy (leaving a
compliance and tax laws to fulfill local market can sometimes be just as
requirements complicated) 2

Credits: Deel
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