2025 GLOBAL WORKFORCE REPORT
Lean HR, global scale: Intentional AI moves the global workforce
Explore findings from more than 3,650 HR and business leaders about the rise of lean HR teams. Find out where global recruitment is accelerating, the risks costing organisations millions, and how next‑generation technology and new models help them keep pace.
What to expect within this report:
- How AI and an integrated stack for payroll, compliance and people ops support small HR teams
- Regions where international hiring is surging, and why most new hires are expected to be overseas by 2026
- Guides for leaders on resolving cross‑border challenges (from EOR to unified payroll)
Download the report (shared — state of payroll reports)
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The next wave: As global hiring expands rapidly, pioneering automation keeps it manageable
The increase in international hiring shows no sign of abating, and HR teams are adapting in different ways. Departments with fewer than ten people are often running payroll, compliance and recruitment across multiple countries, with AI and integrated systems at their core.
Smaller teams are now executing global strategy more intelligently, quickly and intuitively, demonstrating that HR’s influence is determined by the tools and processes in place rather than headcount.
In practice, small HR teams are achieving the output of much larger ones and succeeding. This is enabled by relying on existing EOR partnerships while also pushing for better integrated payroll and HRIS.
Companies that manage cross‑border regulations, contractor classification and multi‑currency payroll effectively can avoid risk and move into new markets more quickly.
“The first wave of technology in HR made it possible to hire globally. The next wave is transforming how those teams are managed. Beyond supporting HR ops as standard, AI is becoming the operating system for how companies run a global workforce.”
Job van der Voort, CEO & co-founder, Remote.
Intentional AI and intuitive automation are central
Teams that are making genuine progress with new tools apply AI with intention and enough foresight to avoid excess. This reduces noise and repetitive administration, freeing teams to concentrate on higher‑value objectives. Misapplied AI adds work; well‑designed AI embedded in the right systems produces the opposite effect for global organisations. All‑in‑one platforms combined with a responsive, adaptable HRIS give lean teams one place to manage recruitment, payroll and compliance. Paired with self‑service employee portals and clever automation that handles routine administration behind the scenes, HR can focus on culture, retention and strategic growth plans. With these foundations, small HR teams can scale workforces and deliver an agile employee experience across every market.
By the numbers: key snapshots of the second‑wave expansion for global scale and micro HR
Small HR teams are shouldering global responsibilities
Many organisations no longer maintain large HR departments, yet that does not prevent them from managing recruitment, payroll and compliance across borders — often more effectively.
87%
of companies have HR teams of fewer than ten people
International hires are becoming the norm
Leaders expect most new positions to be filled overseas, indicating that international recruitment is now the norm rather than the exception.
73%
expect more than half of new hires to be international by 2026
Automation is taking on HR’s heavy lifting
AI and automation are increasingly embedded in HR operations, streamlining administration and giving teams more capacity for expansion plans, people‑centred work and culture.
64%
of routine HR tasks are expected to be automated by 2026
Compliance is where companies most often stumble
Cross‑border growth continues, yet many employers still encounter regulatory challenges that slow them down and increase costs.
74%
have encountered compliance challenges overseas
$42,000
average cost per compliance incident
Actionable insights inside the report
About the survey scope and data:
To compile this dataset, we surveyed 3,650 HR and business leaders (director level and above) across the USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Singapore and South Korea.
A clear message from the 2025 data: leaders are weary of juggling multiple systems. Many are actively seeking to replace their HRIS.
In fact, 51% state they are actively searching for a new platform, and a further 36% would consider switching later, in return for a single integrated solution capable of handling global payroll, compliance and reporting.
The report examines how companies are approaching this shift and what ‘good’ looks like.
Employer of Record services have become mainstream, moving beyond the niche solution space.
55% of companies with international employees already use an EOR, and satisfaction is strong, 76% of leaders using EORs report satisfaction with the model. The report outlines how leaders are weighing entity setup, contractor use and EOR partnerships, and which mixes work best in practice.
Increasingly, contractors are treated as a deliberate element of workforce design rather than a fallback. 79% of leaders report that contractors and freelancers have grown in strategic importance.
Many companies rely on contractors to test new markets, provide niche skills and flex headcount without long‑term risk. The report examines how organisations balance this approach against the realities of compliance and misclassification.
Employees are asking tougher questions about pay. 82% of HR leaders report increased pressure on pay due to cost‑of‑living rises, while 77% believe that pay transparency will improve culture. The report examines how leaders are responding to these twin pressures by rethinking compensation, retention and global fairness.
Predictably, AI has entered routine HR work, though adoption is uneven. 64% of leaders expect around two‑thirds of HR’s routine tasks to be automated by 2026.
Meanwhile, 28% of leaders have stopped using an AI hiring tool because of fairness concerns, while 27% have adopted new tools.
The report highlights where AI is already making a measurable difference, where it is creating problems, and how leaders are approaching governance.
Most companies have received requests from employees to relocate or to work while travelling in the past year.
80% of leaders reported receiving such requests, so employee mobility is no longer an 'edge case'. HR must plan accordingly.
The report examines strategies for work‑from‑anywhere requests, relocation policies and the payroll and compliance tools needed for a workforce that does not remain in one place.
