2025 global workforce report
Lean HR at global scale: intentional AI reshapes the global workforce
Explore findings from more than 3,650 HR and business leaders on the rise of lean HR teams. Find out where global hiring is accelerating, the risks costing companies millions, and how next gen tech and new models help them keep pace.
What to expect inside:
- How AI and an integrated stack for payroll, compliance, and people ops help small HR teams
- Which regions are seeing surges in global hiring, and why most new hires are expected overseas by 2026
- Leader playbooks for solving cross-border challenges (from EOR to unified payroll)
Download the report (shared — report on the state of payroll)
Download the report
The next wave: As global hiring expands rapidly, pioneering automation keeps it manageable
International hiring continues to accelerate, and HR teams are finding new ways to adapt. Teams often smaller than 10 people are now handling payroll, compliance and hiring across several countries, with AI and integrated systems at the heart of their approach.
Smaller teams are running global strategy more intelligently, faster and with greater intuition, showing that HR’s influence depends on tools and processes rather than headcount.
In practice this means small HR teams are delivering what much larger departments used to, and they are doing it successfully. They rely on EOR partnerships already in place while pushing for tighter integration between payroll and HRIS.
Companies that can manage cross-border regulations, contractor classification, and multi-currency payroll the smart way can avoid risk and moving into new markets faster.
“The initial wave of HR technology enabled global hiring. The next phase is changing how teams are run. 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 matter most
Teams that are making real progress with new tools apply AI deliberately and with measured foresight, avoiding excess. That reduces noise and repetitive admin, giving teams room to focus on higher-impact priorities. Poorly applied AI creates more work; thoughtfully embedded AI within the right systems does the opposite for a global organisation. All-in-one platforms with a responsive, adaptable HRIS provide lean teams a single place to manage hiring, payroll and compliance. Combined with self-service employee portals and smart automation that handles routine admin behind the scenes, HR can spend more time on culture, retention and scaling plans. With these foundations, small HR teams can scale their workforces and deliver an agile employee experience across every market.
By the numbers: snapshots of the second-wave expansion stats for global scale and micro HR
Small HR teams are carrying global weight
Many companies no longer have large HR departments, yet that hasn’t stopped them from managing hiring, payroll and compliance across borders—often more effectively.
87%
of companies have HR teams with fewer than 10 people
International hires are becoming the default
Leaders expect most new roles to be filled overseas, indicating international hiring 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 moving into the background of HR operations, streamlining admin 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 the area where companies most often stumble
Cross-border growth is picking up, but many employers keep hitting regulatory challenges that slow progress and raise costs.
74%
have faced compliance challenges abroad
$42,000 USD
average cost of each compliance incident
Actionable insights within 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, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Singapore and South Korea.
A clear message from the 2025 data: leaders are tired of juggling multiple systems, and many are actively looking to replace their HRIS.
In fact, 51% say they’re currently looking for a new platform, and another 36% would consider switching later in exchange for a single integrated solution that can handle global payroll, compliance and reporting.
The report examines how companies are managing this shift and what ‘good’ looks like.
Employer of Record services have gone mainstream, moving beyond niche use.
55% of companies employing internationally already use an EOR, and satisfaction levels are high, 76% of leaders using EORs say they’re happy with the model. The report unpacks how leaders are weighing entity setup, contractor use and EOR partnerships, and what mix works best in practice.
Contractors are increasingly part of planned workforce design rather than a fallback. 79% of leaders say contractors and freelancers have become a more important part of their strategy.
Many companies use contractors to test new markets, tap niche skills and flex headcount without long-term risk. The report looks at how firms balance this approach with the realities of compliance and misclassification.
Employees are asking tougher questions about pay. 82% of HR leaders say they face more pay pressure because of cost-of-living increases, while 77% believe pay transparency will strengthen culture. The report looks at how leaders are responding to these twin pressures by rethinking compensation, retention and global fairness.e report looks at how leaders are responding to these twin pressures by rethinking compensation, retention, and global fairness.
Unsurprisingly, AI is now part of everyday HR, though adoption varies.64% of leaders expect two-thirds of HR’s routine tasks to be automated by 2026.
At the same time, 28% reported they stopped using an AI hiring tool over fairness concerns, while 27% adopted new ones.
The report highlights where AI is already making an impact, where it’s causing problems, and how leaders are approaching governance.
Most companies have had employees ask to relocate or to work while travelling over the past year.
80% of leaders reported receiving these requests, so employee mobility is no longer an edge case. HR must plan for this now.
The report examines strategies for work-from-anywhere requests, relocation policies, and payroll and compliance tools for a workforce that won’t stay put.
