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10 Best Global HR Service Providers of 2023: Reviewed & Compared

Best Global HR Services Shortlist

Here are my top choices for HR service providers, and a summary of what each service provider does best:

  1. 1. Deel — Best for remote teams seeking simplified payroll & compliance services worldwide
  2. 2. Atlas HXM — Best for international employer of record (EOR) services
  3. 3. Mauve — Best for scaling compliantly in new markets and territories
  4. 4. IRIS FMP — Best for onboarding & offboarding international employees
  5. 5. Airswift — Best global workforce solutions provider for STEM companies
  6. 6. Velocity Global — Best for global PEO services
  7. 7. Global HR Research — Best for handling international pre-employment screening programs
  8. 8. Mercans — Best for global talent acquisition and multi-country payroll
  9. 9. Execupay — Best for SMBs seeking HR and payroll services
  10. 10. BlueMarble Global Payroll — Best for treasury management services

Thanks to global HR service providers, there are no limits on hiring top talent across the globe. Most HR service management providers and software platforms come with multiple features and benefits that allow you to hire candidates worldwide.

To assist you in selecting the most appropriate global HR service provider for your business, here’s a detailed guide with some of the industry-best options, selection criteria, and FAQs.

What are Global HR Services?

Global human resource (HR) services comprise a comprehensive set of HR functions and solutions. HR service providers seek to assist organizations ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. These services address the problems associated with international talent acquisition and global workforce management.

By leveraging global HR service providers, organizations can expand their international workforce, without investing heavily in in-house functionalities. These services enable businesses to concentrate on their core competencies and scale operations efficiently, while relying on the local expertise of their HR consulting partner to meet the diverse expectations of their global workforce.

Overviews of the 10 Best Global HR Service Providers

Here’s a comprehensive overview that showcases each service provider’s notable features, services, pricing, and more.

1

Deel

Best for remote teams seeking simplified payroll & compliance services worldwide

Deel offers multiple HR management services, like payroll, admin, and compliance.

With Deel, you can hire top talent without setting up multiple legal entities in various countries. Moreover, Deel enables you to track time off, maintain employee engagement, manage equity, and streamline global workflows, to scale your business to greater heights internationally. 

Why I picked Deel: Deel offers industry-best contractor management and EOR functionalities. Additionally, Deel helps businesses hire, manage, and pay freelancers and contractors across the globe while adhering to international compliance and tax laws. 

Deel has stationed local country experts in-house to provide valuable consultation for global hiring. As a result, their HR platform allows you to manage your staff from start to finish, including custom contract changes, cost reimbursements, and off-cycle payroll adjustments. Moreover, the initial setup and implementation procedures are fairly simple.

Deel Key Services:

Deel offers great versatility in its payroll processing solutions. The platform offers 10+ options at their disposal for payroll processing, from bank transfers to cryptocurrency payouts. Your employees can easily cash out payments using 15+ international financial service provider portals like Wise, Payoneer, and PayPal, etc.

Deel's ACA reporting solution streamlines compliance adherence according to the Affordable Care Act by automatically creating and filing forms 1094-C and 1095-C. It also has built-in compliance checks to help prevent mistakes and penalties. 

Furthermore, Deel’s global hiring guide offers detailed information about country-specific requirements and standards, for hiring and onboarding contractors and EOR employees. 

Deel’s platform integrates seamlessly with several key HR tools like BambooHR, Expensify, Greenhouse, Okta, NetSuite, Quickbooks and others.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 1220

Free demo available

Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people

Pros

  • Hassle-free global payroll in 100+ countries
  • Extensive EOR services for global talent acquisition
  • Seamless employee and contractor onboarding

Cons

  • Complicated to track failed payments
  • Costs increase with the size of the workforce
2

Atlas HXM

Best for international employer of record (EOR) services

Altas HXM, previously known as Elements Global Services (Elements GS), provides end-to-end global HR services for hiring top tier remote talent and expanding your business internationally. They offer fully-managed payroll, benefits administration, and global compliance assurance.

The Atlas Human Experience Management (HXM) platform offers a secure employee portal, data on local market conditions from a global perspective, and forecasts on future compliance changes.

Why I picked Atlas HXM: The EOR model used by Atlas HXM is truly impressive. The “Direct EOR model” makes Atlas the legal employer of your global workforce once you outsource your recruitment and employment processes to them. Using Atlas HXM, you can hire employees and contractors worldwide without creating a local legal entity. 

Additionally, with Atlas HXM, you can establish locally compatible and compliant contracts and administer payroll in the local currency while withholding and remitting all applicable income taxes, payroll taxes, and social contributions. Your business will deal with one partner internationally, without any potential employer liabilities or delays in HR processes and responses from multiple third-party service providers.

Atlas HXM Key Services: 

Their professional services include global payroll processing for remote teams based anywhere. Their global compliance adherence ensures minimized risks of employee misclassification, adherence to local labor laws when contracting and onboarding talent from anywhere, and upholding data security guidelines regarding employee information. They also offer additional HR management and consultancy solutions like immigration, relocation, visa support and sponsorship, contractor payments, and more. 

The Atlas HXM platform integrates seamlessly with major HCM platforms like BambooHR and Freshworks, and accounting solutions like NetSuite, SAP, and Zoho.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
5 3

Free demo available

From $595/employee/month or $49/contractor/month

Pros

  • Payroll processing for multi-national teams directly
  • User-friendly and seamless onboarding
  • Hassle-free hiring in 160+ countries

Cons

  • EOR service is considerably more expensive
  • No outsourced payroll-only solution
3

Mauve

Best for scaling compliantly in new markets and territories

The Mauve Group is a global Employer of Record (EOR) service provider that eases your international compliance woes.  

Mauve is a reliable global HR services provider with 26+ years of experience and a global staff with expertise in various industries like IT, compliance, telecoms, finance, sales, and taxes.

Why I picked Mauve: Expanding your business into new markets and territories can be overwhelming. Mauve provides the most tailored solutions, including EOR services, independent contractor hiring solutions, and international payroll processing.

Mauve Key Services:

From formulating the ideal expansion strategy to facilities, staffing, tax filings, legal considerations and more, Mauve handles it all. Their services ensure that every aspect of your new venture is compliant and fully translated, thus, making it simple to start a business in new markets and territories.

Mauve’s independent contractor solutions reduce your recruitment workload by minimizing administrative responsibilities and compliance risks. With Mauve, you can also reap the benefits of consistent and timely global payroll processing, visa and immigration assistance, and global mobilization.

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Project management services
  • All-in-one platform for global mobility, payroll, and expansion needs
  • 24/7 customer service

Cons

  • Dedicated account manager is unavailable outside US time zones
  • Occasional delays in payroll processing
4

IRIS FMP

Best for onboarding & offboarding international employees

IRIS FMP specializes in global payroll processing software. Additionally, they provide HR services like recruitment, administration, training, benefits, and legal advice to companies in more than 135 countries. IRIS FMP is ideal for SMBs with less than 1,000 employees.

With 90,000 happy customers across industries worldwide, IRIS FMP is a reliable HR consultancy partner.  

Why I picked IRIS FMP: IRIS FMP offers a fully automatic payroll processing solution tailored to the specific needs of your business. It comes with additional capabilities such as BACS payments, third-party disbursements, multi-currency support, and file management. IRIS FMP is instrumental in complete HR lifecycle management, thereby, contributing to increased HR efficiency.

IRIS FMP Key Services:

With IRIS FMP, you can generate real-time data for workforce analytics and compliance using their reports on employee demographics and compliance laws. 

Additionally, IRIS FMP allows you to set your company’s payroll schedule, and you can even include provisions for pensions, loans, and vacations. IRIS FMP has connections with Paychex and Western Union to provide payroll services, allowing you to pay employees in their home currency. 

IRIS FMP also offers a full suite of international HR services. They specialize in employee onboarding & offboarding, employee relations, and compensation management. Their onboarding services include HR policies, offer letters, inductions, employment rights, and contracts. Similarly, their offboarding services include managing resignations, redundancies, and dismissals.

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Useful self-starter guide
  • User-friendly dashboard with calendar notifications, task lists, and deadlines
  • Includes online payslips and audited payroll calculations

Cons

  • Lacks time tracking and expense management tools
  • Complicated menu layout
5

Airswift

Best global workforce solutions provider for STEM companies

Airswift is a seasoned global workforce solutions provider for the energy, process, and infrastructure industries. With more than 7,000 contractors and a candidate database of 1.5 million, Airswift has great exposure and expertise in supplying top talent for STEM industries.

Airswift offers various HR services like international talent management, global employment, and mobility. Additionally, they also offer managed solutions and consulting for recruitment process outsourcing. 

Why I picked Airswift: The STEM industries like energy, engineering, and infrastructure, which drive global development and innovation, truly demand top talent. Airswift caters to such industries and offers top-notch solutions for hiring, onboarding, managing, and paying quality talent for these sectors, across the globe.

Airswift Key Services: 

Airswift offers global employment and recruitment process outsourcing. Additionally, they also provide talent mapping, benchmarking of compensation and benefits, and assistance formulating progressive workforce policies. Moreover, Airswift services include charting the skills and talent required for upcoming projects or global business expansion, and maintaining employee relations.  

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • 24/7 customer service
  • Great geographic coverage
  • Technical talent recruitment

Cons

  • Serves only STEM companies
  • The platform has a slightly steep learning curve
6

Velocity Global

Best for global PEO services

Velocity Global is an international expansion and professional employer organization (PEO) service provider. Velocity Global provides various services such as global employment, payroll, HR compliance, and benefits administration.

Why I picked Velocity Global: The sheer coverage provided by Velocity Global’s PEO services is impressive. With its full-service suite of EOR and multi-country payroll solutions, you can hire, pay, and manage top talent in over 185+ countries. Furthermore, Velocity Global also covers all 50 US States under its services.

Velocity Global also provides independent contractor management solutions on a global scale. As a result, the service provider is a one-stop solution for business owners looking to expand internationally, with a distributed workforce. 

Velocity Global Key Services:

I’m impressed by Velocity Global’s multi-country payroll system. Using a centralized platform for paying your employees worldwide saves time and money. Velocity Global also provides customizable payment methods (from ACH to wire transfers), and extensive reporting to optimize payroll metrics.

Velocity Global also offers a comprehensive global employment overview, employee onboarding visibility, a supported employee welcome experience, enhanced time-off tracking, integrated employee training, and more.  

Velocity Global integrates seamlessly with customer HRIS, ERP, ATS, and other HR software systems that help maintain a unified view of your globally distributed workforce.

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • 24/7 customer service
  • Ideal for company expansion, market entry, and talent relocation
  • Extensive geographical coverage

Cons

  • Pricing structure is complex and not publicly available
  • User interface can be difficult to navigate
7

Global HR Research

Best for handling international pre-employment screening programs

Global HR Research (GHRR) offers intelligent pre-employment background checks and other talent acquisition solutions to global businesses. Their proprietary employee screening platform, Clariti, has assisted hundreds of large corporations in managing the risks associated with global recruitment.

As a global HR service provider, GHRR provides comprehensive background checks, drug testing, employment verifications, criminal record checks, and other pre-employment screening services.

Why I picked Global HR Research: Hiring remote top talent to expand your business globally has many benefits, but it can be a tad risky. Global HR Research ensures that a new hire has valid credentials. You can also customize the background checks required for specific job categories and positions.

Global HR Research Key Services:

Global HR Research provides multiple screening services through its self-owned platform, Clariti. These include civil and criminal background checks and screening of motor vehicle records and licenses. They also perform risk and compliance checks, social media searches, credit reporting, drug and health screening, and identity and biometric screening procedures such as fingerprinting. 

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Intuitive user interface
  • Prompt and helpful customer service
  • Quick and reliable background checks

Cons

  • Ocasional reporting inconsistencies
  • Reporting format must be more user-friendly
8

Mercans

Best for global talent acquisition and multi-country payroll

Mercans is your go-to for ramping up global talent acquisition efforts. Additionally, Mercans ensures that your foreign employees have access to all essentials, including insurance, credit card options, and loans.

Moreover, Mercans offers native payroll technologies to businesses, from SMB startups to multinational corporations. Mercans’ proprietary HRM SaaS product, HR Blizz, offers multi-country coverage for processing payroll for your global workforce, all within a single global platform, without the involvement of any subcontractors, ICPs, or third-party software.     

Why I picked Mercans: The accuracy, turnaround time, and cost-effectiveness provided by Mercans’ payroll processing solution are unmatched, when compared to any other HR service provider in the industry. The platform boasts payroll accuracy of up to 99.7%, processes payments for workers worldwide within 48 hours, and can reduce your payroll overheads by 50%.

From a talent acquisition perspective, Mercans can help you source contractual, temporary, and permanent employees across several industries. Moreover, Mercans also features an effective job portal tailored for international candidates.

Mercans ships an intuitive UX and a fully-controllable Administrator Console to manage your full payroll lifecycle. Additionally, Mercans provides a self-service portal for employees, mobile app connectivity, and 24/7 dedicated customer support.

Mercans Key Services:

They offer several HRM functionalities, such as a centralized dashboard for viewing employee information. Additionally, the platform also covers real-time performance assessments, time and attendance tracking, and dynamic reporting on payroll processing. 

Mercans integrates seamlessly with third-party software like Oracle, Microsoft, Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, and more.

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • 24/7 customer support
  • Digitized employee experience with self-service features
  • High-quality automated payroll processing

Cons

  • Lacks comprehensive tutorials
  • Slightly cluttered UI
9

Execupay

Best for SMBs seeking HR and payroll services

Execupay is a leading global HR services provider for SMBs, with over 40 years of experience in catering human capital management (HCM) solutions for global teams. Execupay offers HR services under four pillars—Pay, Build, Manage, and Retain. From applicant tracking, to background checks for recruitment, to payment management, Execupay does it all.

Why I picked Execupay: Execupay offers a versatile payroll solution that streamlines the process of paying employees. The platform offers other useful features like automating employee benefit accruals, delivering payments, and importing data from a timeclock file. Moreover, Execupay accepts negative '-' values for easy adjustments and error fixes.

Execupay Key Services:

Execupay offers many powerful HCM solutions like applicant tracking, employee self-service, and onboarding documents with e-signatures. With Execupay, you can streamline performance reviews, assign training classes, and establish a comprehensive, system-wide auditing process.

Free trial available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • 24/7 customer service
  • Flexible payroll processing with real-time aggregated data reports
  • Straightforward user interface

Cons

  • No “ad-hoc” reporting
  • No general ledger payroll reconciliations or customizations available
10

BlueMarble Global Payroll

Best for treasury management services

Blue Marble offers various HR and compliance services including recruitment, benchmarking, and compliance reporting. Additionally, Blue Marble offers employee self-service and time tracking.

Why I picked Blue Marble Global Payroll: Blue Marble simplifies payroll processing by aggregating all international payroll data into one centralized system. Moreover, Blue Marble streamlines payroll processing implementation. As a result, setting up the system takes a much shorter amount of time, and with the software interface being intuitive, easy to use, and well-supported, Blue Marble is a reliable option for global payroll processing. 

On the services front, Blue Marble specializes in international expansion by setting up new business entities and local bank accounts. Furthermore, Blue Marble handles international VAT registration and corporate compliance requirements.   

Blue Marble Global Payroll Key Services:

Blue Marble offers effective treasury management services, including the consolidation of all international payments into a single currency. With Blue Marble, you can seamlessly create new beneficiaries and facilitate quick payments. Additionally, they offer transaction tracking and auditing services for enhanced security.  

Blue Marble also offers global consulting services, including expansion and retraction. Their services are available in 100+ countries. Furthermore, Blue Marble simplifies labor law compliance complexities like labor codes, employment practices, and contracts.

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Intuitive user interface
  • Supports all international payrolls in the same system
  • Excellent support, training, and reporting capabilities

Cons

  • Pricing in some countries could be more competitive
  • Payroll processes could be smoother, more informative, and offer more clarity

The 10 Best Global HR Service Providers Comparison Chart

This comparison chart summarizes basic details about each of my top global HR service provider selections side-by-side to help you find the best option for your budget and business needs.

Tool Free Option Price
1
Deel

Best for remote teams seeking simplified payroll & compliance services worldwide

Free demo available

Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people Visit Website
2
Atlas HXM

Best for international employer of record (EOR) services

Free demo available

From $595/employee/month or $49/contractor/month Visit Website
3
Mauve

Best for scaling compliantly in new markets and territories

Not available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
4
IRIS FMP

Best for onboarding & offboarding international employees

Not available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
5
Airswift

Best global workforce solutions provider for STEM companies

Not available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
6
Velocity Global

Best for global PEO services

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
7
Global HR Research

Best for handling international pre-employment screening programs

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
8
Mercans

Best for global talent acquisition and multi-country payroll

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
9
Execupay

Best for SMBs seeking HR and payroll services

Free trial available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
10
BlueMarble Global Payroll

Best for treasury management services

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website

Other Options

Here are a few more global HR service providers which did not make the cut for this list but are still noteworthy for their capabilities:

  1. Remote

    Best HR service provider for creating international incentive plans

  2. Remofirst

    Best affordable EOR service provider to hire and manage global talent compliantly

  3. Melita

    Best for building a robust HR foundation for businesses

  4. People 2.0

    Best PEO services provider in Europe and the UK

  5. Globalization Partners

    Best fully-customizable EOR solution for global employment

  6. ADP HR Outsourcing

    Best for outsourcing HR admin tasks

  7. Horizons

    Best human-centric EOR/PEO solution on the market

  8. Mercer

    Best for consulting on digital implementation and change management

  9. Immedis

    Best for expatriate management and covering mobility tax obligations

  10. Omnipresent

    Best for multi-payroll cycle management

  11. Safeguard Global

    Best for recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)

Selection Criteria for Global HR Services

Are you having second thoughts about the reliability of my list? Or, if you’re apprehensive about trusting recommendations from a stranger on the internet, let me put your mind at ease. I have neither derived this list from ChatGPT nor curated this based on the first few options a typical Google search may offer up. 

So what did I use? I used recent research to guide me, then dug into each service provider using the criteria below as a framework. To satisfy your curiosity, here's a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best global HR services for this article:

Core Services

Here are some basic functionalities that every global HR service provider has to offer to make my list:

  • Supports basic HR needs in more than 50+ countries
  • Provides flexibility and scalability for changing workforce size and needs
  • Offers a software system with an intuitive user interface that is quick to learn and easy to navigate 

Key Features

In addition to the core services mentioned above, here are some additional key features that a global HR services provider must possess to be a truly efficient solution. I have evaluated these attributes while building my shortlist:

  • Global compliance: The service provider must ensure that employment, onboarding, and payroll processes adhere to local and global regulatory laws and regulations.
  • Customer support: Provides robust, helpful, and responsive support for clarifying user concerns, preferably 24/7.
  • Reporting capabilities: Generates real-time aggregated data to streamline company processes and improve HR services.

Customer Service

Global HR services could be complicated to onboard and may take your contractors or employees a significant amount of time and effort to get accustomed to. Overcoming such challenges requires the support of helpful and responsive customer care team members.

Industry Expertise

Global HR services rely heavily on the in-country expertise of local HR consultants and service providers. Industry knowledge is, thus, essential to deliver a quality standard of HR services from hiring and onboarding to payroll processing.

Compliance & Legal Expertise

Global HR services must align with local and global compliance regulations. These include local labor, tax, employment laws, data security, and consumer privacy legislation. Sufficient compliance and legal expertise are important attributes for global HR service providers.

Country Coverage

The global HR service providers in this list all cater to many countries (greater than 100 in most cases) and support appropriate features like multiple languages and currencies, making these platforms truly international.

People Also Ask

Here are some relevant FAQs on global HR services.

Other Software Reviews for Global Operations

Before you close this tab, take a look at these other relevant articles to learn more about global HR services and software:

Final Thoughts

Choosing the best global HR service provider for your business can be daunting. However, it can reduce your workload and save you a lot of time and money when hiring, onboarding, managing, and paying top talent from across the globe.

I hope my guide helps you choose the right HR partner that elevates the efficiency and productivity of your business operations and helps you scale it to greater heights!

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By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.