How to Drive Startup Growth With a Remote Workforce (Tips for Founders)

Many startups have moved away from the traditional office environment to a remote business model. According to a recent study, 56% don’t even have a physical location.

A remote workforce gives startups the agility and the resilience they need to grow in a competitive environment. They can tap into a global talent pool and move into foreign markets without straining their limited tools and resources. Without the need for physical offices, they can also reduce overhead costs and allocate more funds to core business operations.

In this article, we’ll explore how to build, manage, and support a remote work environment with an all-in-one global people platform like Deel. Continue reading to discover the benefits and best practices of this approach.

Benefits of a remote workforce for startups

By embracing a remote workforce, you can optimize business performance and avoid many of the pitfalls of managing an on-site team. Here are some of the main advantages of a remote workforce:

• Access to a wider talent pool: There’s currently a skills shortage, with one in five small businesses saying quality of labor is their biggest challenge. When startups aren’t limited by location, they can access broader and more diverse candidates, fill specialist roles more efficiently, and drive innovation and entrepreneurship
• Further global expansion: A remote workforce enables you to capitalize on opportunities in foreign markets. Instead of spending time and money setting up office spaces, you can hire remote workers within these countries
• Improved agility: Having the flexibility to hire and manage remote workers seamlessly allows you to diversify your revenue streams and adapt more effectively to market fluctuations
• Reduced overhead costs: Remote teams require less space than full-time in-office workers, which lowers your expenses and increases your budget for expansion. One study estimated employers save $11,000 (USD) per employee per year just by implementing a hybrid model
• Higher recruitment and retention: 63% of workers would accept a pay cut to keep working from home, highlighting the positive impact on work-life balance, mental health, and employee satisfaction. Given that startups can’t always match the salaries of large corporations, offering remote work could help give you a competitive edge
• Better customer experiences: If your team works across different countries and timezones, they can be available 24/7 and offer specialized service to different markets
• Increased productivity: Remote workers can work at a time and in a space that suits their needs, which improves output and leads to higher engagement levels

How startups can build a remote workforce

Although many startups adopt a remote work model by default, you’re more likely to see results if you’re intentional about your hiring strategy. In this section, we look at the best ways to attract top talent and grow your remote workforce:

Adopt a work from anywhere policy

A work from anywhere (WFA) policy allows employees and contractors to perform their jobs from any location worldwide for a set time. Workers can be based in one country but travel frequently.

Implementing a comprehensive WFA policy lets you demonstrate your positive stance on remote work and set guidelines for your team. Both are essential for creating a sustainable remote business model.

By having a WFA policy, you show your commitment to a remote business model. The policy shows workers that you won’t suddenly revoke flexible work arrangements in favor of physical offices as your startup becomes more established. You’ll be more likely to attract and retain talent who prioritize flexible working arrangements.

If your workforce feels more secure about the arrangement, they’ll be more likely to inform HR of their relocations. Surveys found that 28% of teams work away from home but only a third tell HR, leading to compliance issues. For example, if employees spend too long in specific countries, there’s a risk of permanent establishment risk.

A structured WFA policy can give workers a clear understanding of their flexibility, including when and how to report relocations. Download our Guide to Work From Anywhere Schemes for tips on how to write a policy that suits your startup.

With Deel Immigration, implementing a work from anywhere policy is easy. Via the platform, you can check visa eligibility, get cost breakdowns, understand document requirements, track applications and expiry dates, and keep tabs on your entire remote workforce from the immigration dashboard.

Develop a global hiring strategy

Knowing where to look for remote talent can help you plug skills gaps while sticking to your hiring budget. You can increase your headcount and establish your global presence, enabling you to compete with larger organizations without the extra tools and resources.

You can start by analyzing the specific skills you need to drive early and sustained growth. You should consider your development stage and your future goals. Then you can research different locations to look for emerging hubs with lower salary thresholds. You can take advantage of the blend of affordability and skills. As a startup, you’re less likely to outbid large organizations in competitive talent hotspots in North America and Europe.

For example, Deel has found that Latin America is one of the fastest-growing hiring regions. Companies added 1.5 times more contracts for Columbian workers in 2023 than the year before.

To discover hot talent markets before they become saturated, download the Deel State of Global Report 2023.

Leverage contract workers

Using freelancers and contractors can help you maintain a tight labor cost percentage as you scale up and down. You can hire contractors on a project-by-project basis, so you only pay for the team you need.

As there are over 150 million freelancers online, there’s a wide talent pool to choose from. You’re sure to find workers that match project requirements, fit your schedule, and suit your hiring budget.

However, hiring contractors carries a risk of misclassification. Many jurisdictions impose harsh fines on businesses that categorize employees as contractors, accidentally or not. With misclassification penalties reaching as much as $1000 per worker, startups may struggle to absorb the costs.

We’ve introduced Deel Contractor of Record to help companies hire contractors compliantly. Our expert team helps you classify your workforce, develop contracts that meet local regulations, and manage documentation. As we accept the legal liability, we’re also responsible for any fines.

Use an employer of record (EOR) to explore new markets

An EOR service can help you avoid the risk of permanent establishment that comes with hiring remote employees abroad. You remain free to explore foreign markets without requiring the capital to establish a legal entity in each new location.

Permanent establishment happens when local authorities determine that you have a steady presence within their jurisdiction. You’re then subject to double taxation for as long as you remain in the country. Hiring workers abroad is one of the factors that can trigger permanent establishment.

An EOR service like Deel can hire and pay employees on your behalf to eliminate this risk. We act as the legal employer and assume all liability while you maintain control over the workforce. EORs can have entities across multiple locations—for example, Deel has a presence in over 100 countries worldwide.

Learn how Taiwanese e-bike company, Keego, doubled its clients and tripled its revenue growth after using Deel’s EOR service.

How startups can manage and support a remote workforce

A comprehensive remote workforce management strategy is vital for sustainable business growth and a strong ROI.

Due to their limited resources, startups need to make every worker count. However, it’s easy to end up with bloated HR and finance departments when you need to manage a globally dispersed team. The alternative is overwhelming small, unqualified teams with day-to-day compliance management and risking errors.

You can maintain a tight labor cost percentage while supporting your remote workforce with an all-in-one HR platform like Deel. Let’s explore how all our platform helps you achieve this:

Consolidate your operations

Centralizing business functions allows you to allocate tools and resources more effectively. Instead of managing HR, payroll, and recruitment for various locations, you can have one unified approach.

As a result, startup founders can easily manage operations with a small team rather than investing in HR and payroll departments before they’re ready.

As you grow your remote workforce, you need to prioritize roles that are critical for early success. You may not have the capacity to hire staff to handle payments in various currencies and research all the relevant tax and legal frameworks for each country.

Managing disparate payroll and HR platforms is also inefficient and resource-intensive. You not only have to pay for all these tools but also the time spent transferring and cross-checking data between them.

A consolidated global HR and payroll solution like Deel lets you manage all these processes in one place. Deel supports payments in multiple currencies and lets you manage them right there on the platform. The platform also provides guidance on local labor laws to help you stay compliant in every area you hire from.

Download Deel’s The Case for Global Payroll Consolidation to learn more about how centralizing operations can benefit your startup.

Invest in the right technology

Automation can enable you to maintain a lean team as you prioritize key roles and grow your workforce. You can streamline HR, onboarding, and payroll with workflow automations without relying on dedicated departments.

For example, Deel allows you to automate a range of HR processes:

• Background checks: Deel runs candidates through its AI-powered screening tools—all you have to do is submit their information
• Onboarding: You can set up rules and triggers for new hires to create an automated onboarding process. Workers can receive the relevant training materials, equipment, and user access as they perform tasks and hit milestones
• Data management: Using self-service features, workers can input and manage their own data. Deel automatically updates the system and allows you to check with ease
• Payroll: Our technology can auto-calculate wages and tax withholding for your entire workforce. After you’ve reviewed the payroll data, we can then transfer the payments
• Benefits enrolment: Employees can choose the plans they want to join, and Deel automatically enrolls them
• Time and attendance tracking: Workers complete a form which the automation then sends to all the relevant parties for confirmation, saving you time on coordination

Startups can automate numerous processes, from HR and payroll to communication and accounting. The best platforms also sync with various business management tools. Deel offers many popular integrations and a robust API so you can transfer data and perform tasks seamlessly across all your favorite tools.

Ensure global compliance and data security

As your startup continues to hire abroad, you need to stay compliant with local and international regulations. Otherwise, you can incur costly fines that cut into your expansion budget and damage employee trust.

The main obstacle is staying updated with complex, ever-changing tax and labor laws as you increase your headcount and relocate workers. Startups don’t usually have the resources to hire accountants and lawyers for each region, but you need this specialist knowledge to hire and operate compliantly.

This challenge is compounded by the need to integrate each worker following stringent data guidelines like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As you hire in more countries, you create more remote access points to your system via the Cloud. Again, you might not have the budget to hire cybersecurity experts or invest in robust software.

Partnering with a global platform like Deel can help you stay secure and compliant while conserving your strategic resources. The platform generates localized contracts for overseas workers and collects their supporting documents. You get automatic notifications when paperwork is approaching its expiry date.

Deel stores all these files using TLS 1.2 encryption at rest and AES-256 encryption during transfers. We offer single-sign-on and user permissions so you can control exactly who has access to this information.

To help you stay proactive about compliance, Deel’s Compliance Hub sends simplified, real-time updates about upcoming changes to relevant laws. In addition, with Deel AI, you can dive into Deel’s legally vetted Global Knowledge Base and get helpful answers on everything related to human resources, payroll, onboarding, immigration, compliance, and more.

Software startup oVice reduced compliance management tasks by 40% using Deel.

Get insights into your workforce

HR reporting and analytics can give you critical data to help you make more informed strategic decisions. Platforms like Deel can collect data and report on metrics like:

• Time to hire
• Cost per hire
• Turnover rate
• Attrition rate
• Absenteeism
• Revenue per employee
• Employee engagement
• HR cost per employee

Insights like these can help you see how much of your resources you can allocate to global recruitment. You can also spot issues like escalating labor costs or disengagement. For instance, high turnover rates are a classic sign of low worker satisfaction.

HR analytics also arm you with the right information to win over potential investors and partners. You can present a data-backed account of your scalability, operational efficiency, and current growth.

Manage equipment and tools for remote workers

To remain competitive with larger organizations, startups must find a cost-effective way to provision equipment and tools for their remote workforce.

The best HR solutions integrate with all the most popular free and low-cost apps. For example, Deel offers integrations with popular business software like QuickBooks, and Microsoft Teams. We also provide Deel Engage plug-ins, which let you foster a better work culture through initiatives like employee surveys, check-ins, and announcements, all connected through Slack.

Many companies offer a monthly or yearly stipend when sourcing equipment. However, startups may find it challenging to ensure teams get a choice of the right tools while sticking to a budget.

With Deel IT, businesses can manage equipment for remote, distributed teams. The service lets workers choose equipment, like laptops and smartphones, from a pre-approved catalog. We then deliver the equipment, taking into consideration challenges like customs and import regulations.

We can guarantee that team members get essential equipment on time so they’re prepared to work, no matter where they are in the world.

Build your remote workforce with Deel

A remote workforce is critical to startup success. By supporting remote, globally dispersed teams, you can quickly reach a strong ROI and avoid escalating labor costs.

A consolidated HR, payroll, and compliance solution like Deel is key to remote workforce management success. Our all-in-one platform allows you to consolidate your operations, automate essential processes, and expand your capacity. We can give you the operational efficiency to compete with larger global corporations.

Think Deel could help power your startup? Contact the Deel team to learn more.