For decades, international expansion largely consisted of companies entering new markets by establishing legal entities country by country. Not only was this tactic costly, but it also required months of legal preparation, further hampering hiring efforts. While effective in a slower, office-centric environment, this approach was slow and poorly suited for today’s fast-paced global economy.
Additionally, thanks to advancements in digital technology, today’s talent is typically distributed globally, not concentrated in a handful of markets. Companies, meanwhile, are under pressure to move faster and compete for scarce skills by scaling teams wherever opportunity exists; at the same time, regulatory complexity has increased, making cross-border employment harder to manage through traditional structures.
The result of these interwoven complications is a growing gap between global hiring ambition and the infrastructure required to support it. A recent survey reflects this trend, with 86% of HR and finance leaders planning to expand hiring abroad within the next two years as domestic talent pressures intensify. Many organizations are discovering, however, that their expansion models haven’t kept pace with the accelerating demand for global hiring.
This shift in hiring practices has contributed to the development of Employers of Record (EOR), a model that enables companies to hire, pay, and manage global talent without establishing local entities. EORs streamline many of the processes needed for effective global hiring, such as onboarding and compliance across jurisdictions. In doing so, EORs help make global hiring accessible to organizations of all sizes.
An Effortless Option for Global Hiring
Pebl, among the companies that helped define and shape the modern Employer of Record (EOR) category, formerly known as Velocity Global, helps businesses do just that.
Founded in 2014 and now led by CEO Francois Brougher, the Palo Alto-based company was built on the belief that global hiring shouldn’t be constrained by geography or fear of navigating regulations. The company rebranded as Pebl in 2025 to reflect its broader mission of making global hiring effortless through a complete global employment platform.
With operations spanning more than 185 countries, Pebl combines over a decade of global employment expertise with a platform designed to facilitate cross-border hiring. Backed by global legal partner Baker McKenzie, the number one rated law firm for EOR, Pebl maintains licensed EOR entities across multiple jurisdictions and has passed more than 100 compliance audits, providing the company with credentials that underscore the growing importance of trust and reliability in global employment.
Rather than treating compliance as something to react to, Pebl has embedded AI-powered regulatory intelligence directly into its platform, giving companies the resources and support they need to hire with confidence while adapting to changing labor laws and tax requirements around the world.
The Value of Global Employment Expertise
Compliance remains one of the most significant barriers to international hiring, especially since regulations can vary widely and change constantly across markets. Pebl’s extensive track record and legal partnerships give employers confidence that global hiring can be done correctly and consistently without needing to navigate unknown risks or blind spots.
That expertise is embedded directly into Pebl’s platform, giving companies the resources they need to hire international employees in minutes rather than the months it often takes to do so. These same skills help reduce administrative burden and minimize risk by centralizing complex but routine administrative tasks.
Technology Designed for Efficient Use
In competitive labor markets, delays can cost companies top talent. To minimize or outright remove these delays, Pebl’s platform simplifies how compliant employment contracts are created and managed across countries, thereby removing friction from the hiring process.
Additionally, the company’s compliance intelligence and real-time reporting automate routine checks and provide greater visibility across global teams. Pebl also integrates with more than 250 HR and finance systems, helping companies sync employment data, accelerate onboarding, and reduce the risk of manual errors.
A People-First Approach to Global Employment
Given how valuable each employee is within a distributed network, employee experience has become a strategic priority for these teams. As a means of helping them do their best work, Pebl supports global employees with 24/7 on-demand support. The platform also delivers 99.9% timely and accurate payroll and helps employers offer locally compliant and competitive benefits, keeping employees feeling engaged and appreciated.
Pebl’s attention to user experience also extends to pricing. The market’s complex pricing structures and hidden fees make Pebl’s transparent and all-inclusive pricing model all the more valuable. By managing employment through directly operated entities rather than layered handoffs, Pebl provides consistency and accountability for employers and employees alike.
Together, these elements reflect a broader shift in the market, signaling a move from fragmented service models toward integrated global employment platforms designed to support growth at scale.
Empowering Developments in Borderless Work
The post-pandemic workforce has permanently changed expectations around flexibility. Research from institutions such as Boston College, Harvard Business School, and Gallup consistently shows that remote and hybrid work offer a number of benefits for both employers and employees.
For example, Boston College research shows 80% of employees believe flexible work improves retention, while Harvard Business School reports 40% of workers would take a pay cut to remain remote. Gallup, meanwhile, finds 76% of hybrid and 85% of remote employees cite improved work-life balance as their top benefit.
Pebl aligns itself directly with these trends by enabling companies to hire and pay global teams anywhere in the world while remaining compliant with local labor laws. Organizations are then able to test new markets and access specialized talent without the commonly associated overhead and risk.
Remaining Competitive Through Compliance, Benefits, and Transparency
As global teams grow, compliance and benefits administration become more complex in turn. Each country has its own statutory requirements, and failure to meet them can result in financial penalties and reputational damage.
Pebl addresses these and other challenges through its compliance workflows and centralized benefits management, both of which utilize leading administrative technologies. The company’s Global Benefits offering allows employers to meet local statutory requirements while offering supplemental benefits that improve employee satisfaction and retention within a single, transparent system.
This upfront, all-inclusive pricing model only becomes more valuable over time as the industry continues to see unclear pricing and fragmented services. Pebl’s model reduces this uncertainty and helps employers forecast costs accurately as they scale.
Changes to Come for Global Teams
Global hiring momentum continues to build, particularly across Southeast Asia and Latin America, as these regions showcase strong potential for economic investment and workforce demographics. At the same time, the World Economic Forum predicts that 22% of current jobs will shift between 2025 and 2030, creating demand for 170 million roles and displacing 92 million others.
Pebl is working toward this future through novel workforce management tools that support automated compliance and localized salary benchmarking systems. The company’s approach helps businesses remain competitive without introducing issues that might compromise ethics or compliance in their hiring practices.
Keeping Pace With International Work
Global expansion is no longer defined by the number of offices a company opens, but instead by how effectively it can build and support teams across borders. Pebl’s expertise, technology, and humanistic approach to scalability give the company the ability to support businesses looking to expand internationally with speed and operational confidence.
Platforms like Pebl will continue to prove instrumental as global work continues to mature, and through these platforms’ continued support, organizations of all sizes will be able to view borderless hiring as a practical and attainable means of staying competitive.
