We started April by attending the Future of Work conference in Toronto, Canada. Across two days, we met with companies and business leaders with international expansion plans and - of course - attended a number of key events, roundtables and plenary sessions where the Future of Work was discussed.
We were at the conference with our own message on what we think the future of work looks like.
For many companies, international expansion is still framed around cost savings, compliance, and access to new markets. But this framing misses something essential.
As companies expand globally, it can be easy to focus on the road to profitability - whilst forgetting how your employees experience the journey.
Too often, businesses struggle with the logistics of global employment: payroll, compliance with employment law, employee onboarding.
Building a great team? That becomes a secondary consideration.
Speed, clarity, and simplicity. The best global hiring experiences eliminate the friction, so teams can focus on what really matters: building, growing, and innovating. It’s one of the reasons why the Employer of Record model is becoming so popular as a method of global expansion.
As we’ve worked with more and more companies across 160 countries, we’ve seen the difference that an employee-first approach to expansion looks like.
So what does this look like in practice?
Onboarding that sets the tone
Employees get clear contracts, compliant setups, and their first month’s pay on time — every time. No delays. No confusion. Just a sense that their employer is organised, credible, and ready for them.
Benefits that actually benefit employees
Employee first expansion starts with offering relevant health cover, pensions, and paid leave, not a one-size-fits-none global policy. This, in turn, improves pay equity and drives employee retention.
Tailored, localised benefits send a clear message to employees: you’re valued here, no matter where ‘here’ is.
Expert support that doesn't disappear after sign-on
Even after an employee has successfully joined a globalising company, they don’t stop having questions and queries, especially when you’re working with an Employer of Record.
How do I register for health insurance? Am I eligible for parental leave? Why does my payslip look different this month?
For employers, too, the complexity adds up fast. What if someone relocates mid-contract? Can we offer equity in this market? How do we navigate local statutory leave alongside our company-wide holiday policy?
This is where a good Employer of Record makes all the difference. A good EOR support team understands the legal, cultural and logistical nuances of global employment and responds quickly, with clear answers. No faceless chatbots, no generic help centre articles. Just practical guidance, from people who know the terrain.
For companies hiring internationally, navigating markets like Germany, Italy, and Spain can be complex. But it doesn't have to be. With the right expertise, expanding into new regions becomes an opportunity instead of a challenge.
And when the employee experience is truly peerless, employee attrition stays low, just 3.2% from offer to onboarding, because candidates feel supported every step of the way.
But it’s not just EORs that’s shaping the future of work. Over the course of the conference, one thing became clear: scaling successfully in the global economy requires much more than adding headcount. It demands a rethinking of how companies design benefits, manage large-scale change, and build global, borderless teams.
Here are some of our other key takeaways from the conference.
Rethinking benefits for a new era of work
In a powerful session led by Faizal Mitha, the message was unmistakable: traditional benefits models are being pushed to breaking point.
Benefit and retirement plan costs continue to rise - with no sign of slowing.
At the same time, employee expectations have evolved. Workers now demand support that extends beyond basic healthcare or pension plans; they want integrated wellbeing that spans physical, mental, and financial health.
Organisations that fail to evolve risk offering packages that feel outdated or irrelevant.
Key strategies discussed included:
- Sustainability: benefits must be designed to endure economic fluctuations without sacrificing core value.
- Holistic wellbeing: companies need to move beyond isolated benefits and invest in integrated support systems.
- Preventative focus: programmes promoting virtual therapy, preventative healthcare, and financial wellness are becoming central to staying competitive.
- Innovation through data: analytics can and should be used to fine-tune benefits to meet the diverse needs of a global workforce.
Ultimately, benefits are no longer just about pure legal compliance. It’s important that companies understand they’re a critical part of how companies unlock human potential and stand out in competitive talent markets.
Driving global change that actually sticks
Leading large-scale change across global teams isn’t a communications exercise — it’s a discipline grounded in science.
In her session, Angella Alexander emphasised that successful global transformation starts by understanding how people experience change, and respecting the complexity of managing it across cultures.
Here are some of the key learnings from Angella’s talk that really stayed with us.
Change is a science
Models like Kotter’s 8-Step Change Framework exist for a reason. Without a clear structure, global change initiatives are far more likely to falter.
Governance creates momentum
Defining clear roles, responsibilities, and escalation paths early makes large change initiatives smoother, especially across multiple regions and time zones.
Communication must be localised
Messaging can't simply be translated; it must be adapted to cultural contexts, local expectations, and regional realities.
Trust and transparency matter
Employees must feel seen and heard during change, or resistance and fatigue will set in quickly.
Good onboarding and good offboarding were also flagged as crucial bookends to any employee experience, reminders that change management isn’t just about big initiatives but about everyday moments too.
From remote to borderless: the new workforce reality
The conference also made it clear that the conversation around remote work is evolving - fast.
Companies are no longer thinking about remote-first; they’re building borderless teams, where geography becomes irrelevant to growth.
This shift demands new capabilities:
Stronger compliance foundations
Companies must be proactive about tax, employment law, and privacy obligations — not reactively fixing issues after they arise.
Agile HR & benefits systems
HR teams need global policies that flex to local needs without losing consistency.
Cultural fluency
Building engagement across time zones and cultures isn’t optional — it’s central to productivity and retention.
Legal engagement isn’t a checkpoint anymore; it’s a launchpad for faster global growth.
Companies that embed compliance into their global expansion plans from day one are able to move faster, scale smarter, and build lasting trust with employees across markets.
