Quick, hassle-free onboarding

We simplify adding the employee's information into Remote and send an automated invitation to your new starter by email

Once your employee signs in to the platform, Remote asks them to provide administrative details and upload the necessary supporting documents

Remote performs a right-to-work verification to confirm workers hold the correct permissions, work permits or visas required for their location

We prepare the employment agreement and send it to the employee for an official signature

The employee is enrolled in payroll and benefits programmes, and their status is activated in Remote.

Depending on where you intend to hire, employee onboarding software enables you to bring new hires into your organisation while complying with all relevant employment laws. For local hires this process tends to be familiar and relatively straightforward: new employees usually sign an employment agreement and upload required documents, all managed by the company's onboarding software. Often, employee onboarding tools form part of a broader employment software suite and remain in use after the employee begins work.

Onboarding remote employees in countries where a company lacks a legal entity becomes more complex. Limited familiarity with local law and practice can hinder rapid, compliant onboarding. In such situations, employers commonly engage an employer of record, or EOR, to onboard new workers. An EOR enables businesses to employ staff in other countries by acting as the local employer of record and handling functions including payroll, benefits, tax withholding, compliance, and share options.

New hires will not automatically know their responsibilities when they commence a role. Even in small organisations, onboarding provides the first occasion to handle administrative matters, set clear expectations, and convey company culture. In many jurisdictions, onboarding requires adherence to a sequence of deadlines for paperwork and registrations, so employers that hire across countries must remain vigilant.

Few things frustrate a new employee more than problems with payroll and benefits. You want your new employees to have a good experience with your company and feel an immediate sense of care and belonging.

If you cannot pay their first salary on time or they cannot register for insurance due to administrative errors, new team members will quickly lose trust and motivation. A streamlined onboarding process builds a positive employee experience from the outset, establishing a welcoming environment from day one.

Onboarding remote employees can match the ease of onboarding office-based staff — or it can be considerably harder, depending on where you hire and how prepared you are. If remote hires live in the same locality as the rest of your team (for example, the same city or state), the process is fairly straightforward. You will need to provide appropriate equipment and ensure the new employee feels welcomed and included, while the legal aspects of onboarding (for example, signing the employment agreement) typically remain unchanged.

Hiring remote employees in different locations—whether another state or another country—introduces further complications. Besides coordinating across time zones, you must address the paperwork and registrations that accompany a distributed hire. For example, some countries require new employees to undergo a medical examination as part of an employment offer, even for remote roles.

In most instances, specific documents must be filed with government authorities by strict deadlines, and employees must be enrolled in social programmes within a set period after employment begins. To engage employees in a country where your company lacks a legal entity, you can hire abroad with confidence by using an employer of record, or EOR like Remote.

Begin with the fundamentals when onboarding remote employees. Do you have all the legal prerequisites in place to employ this person?

For contractors, the process is typically rapid and straightforward. You can use an international contractor management platform like Remote to pay your contractors in their local currencies.

For full-time employees who work remotely, onboarding is often more involved. The crucial step is to determine the regulations applicable in the country or region where the employee resides and works. If you maintain a legal entity in that country, you will be responsible for local compliance, payroll, taxes, benefits administration, and other paperwork. Given these obstacles, companies hiring remote employees abroad commonly work with an employer of record.

Remote is purpose-built to remove the cost, risk, and complexity from global employment, enabling you to manage compliance with confidence.

Bringing independent contractors on board is generally simpler than onboarding full-time employees, but caution is required. Failing to define the boundaries of the working relationship correctly can be costly — not only in fines, but also in potential loss of intellectual property (IP) ownership.

To onboard independent contractors, start by drafting and signing a formal agreement with the contractor. The contract should specify pay rates, deliverables, and ownership of any created work. Regulations differ by country, so for international hires use an international contractor management solution — not merely a payment tool without contractual safeguards.

You may choose to convert contractors to employees at some stage. If that happens, there are several options. You will need to onboard the contractors into the new roles, including any new paperwork required by the country.