2025 global workforce report
Lean HR and global scale: how intentional AI is reshaping the global workforce
For your reference, gain insights from over 3,650 HR and business leaders about the rise of lean HR teams. Discover where global hiring is speeding up, the risks that can cost companies millions, and how next gen tech and new models help them keep pace.
Here’s what you can expect inside:
- How AI and an integrated stack for payroll, compliance, and people ops support small HR teams
- Where global hiring is surging, and why leaders expect most new hires to be abroad by 2026
- Playbooks for leaders to resolve cross-border challenges (from EOR to unified payroll)
Download the report (shared — consolidated insights into the state of payroll reports)
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The next wave: as global hiring expands, pioneering automation keeps it manageable
The surge in international hiring shows no sign of slowing, and HR teams are adapting with fresh approaches. Departments often smaller than 10 people now handle payroll, compliance, and hiring across multiple countries, with AI and integrated systems at their core.
Smaller teams are now executing global strategy more intelligently, rapidly, and intuitively, demonstrating that HR’s impact is shaped by tools and processes—not headcount.
In practice, this means small HR teams are accomplishing the work of much larger groups, and succeeding. They do so by leveraging existing EOR partnerships while driving adoption of better integrated 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 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 lead the way
Teams that are making measurable progress with new tools apply AI deliberately, exercising sufficient foresight to avoid excess. This reduces noise and repetitive administrative tasks, freeing teams to pursue higher-impact objectives. Poorly implemented AI generates extra work; thoughtfully embedded AI within the right systems delivers the opposite for a global enterprise. All-in-one platforms with a responsive, adaptable HRIS provide lean teams a unified location to manage hiring, payroll, and compliance. When combined with self-service employee portals and intelligent automation that handles routine administration behind the scenes, HR can focus on culture, retention, and growth planning. With such foundations, small HR teams can scale their workforces and craft an agile employee experience across every market.
By numbers: snapshots of second-wave expansion stats for global scale and micro HR
Small HR teams are shouldering global responsibilities
Most companies no longer maintain large HR departments, yet they continue to manage hiring, payroll, and compliance across borders—often more effectively.
87%
of companies report HR teams with fewer than 10 people
International hires are becoming the norm
Leaders anticipate most new roles will be filled abroad, indicating international hiring has become 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 migrating into the background of HR operations, streamlining administrative work and giving teams greater bandwidth for expansion plans, people-focused initiatives, and culture.
64%
of routine HR tasks are expected to be automated by 2026
Compliance is where companies most often stumble
Cross-border growth is gathering momentum, yet many employers continue to face regulatory hurdles that slow progress and raise costs.
74%
have encountered compliance challenges abroad
$42,000
average cost of each compliance incident
Actionable insights within the report
About the survey scope and the data:
To assemble 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 weary of juggling multiple systems. Many are actively seeking to replace their HRIS.
Actually, 51% report they’re searching for a new platform right now, and another 36% would consider switching in the future, in exchange for a single, integrated solution that can handle 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 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.
Increasingly, contractors are seen as a deliberate component of workforce design rather than merely a fallback. 79% of leaders say contractors and freelancers have become a more important part of their strategy.
Many companies rely on contractors to test new markets, cover niche skills, and flex headcount without long-term risk. The report examines how companies balance this approach with the realities of compliance and misclassification.
Employees are asking tougher questions about pay. 82% of HR leaders report increased pressure on pay because of cost-of-living rises, while 77% believe pay transparency will improve culture. The report examines how leaders are responding to these twin pressures by rethinking compensation, retention, and global fairness.
It is unsurprising that AI is now part of everyday HR, though adoption remains uneven. 64% of leaders expect two-thirds of HR’s routine tasks to be automated by 2026.
At the same time, 28% discontinued an AI hiring tool due to fairness concerns, while 27% adopted new ones.
The report highlights where AI is already delivering impact, where it can backfire, and how leaders are approaching governance.
Most companies have received employee requests to relocate or to work while traveling within the past year.
80% of leaders reported receiving these requests, so employee mobility has shifted out of the 'edge case' category. HR must plan for this now.
The report examines strategies for work-from-anywhere requests, relocation policies, and payroll and compliance tools suited to a workforce that won’t remain in one location.
