When asked what compliance activities agencies spend most of their time coordinating, it comes as no surprise that the large majority of this is spent managing the day-to-day requirements to engage workers. Whilst 40% of agencies surveyed found candidate compliance the most intensive activity, 24% felt managing international compliance also had significant time impacts.

These two activities go hand in hand when mobilising an international workforce. Ensuring permanent workers have the paperwork in place to legally remain in the country, and providing international assignment support so contractors have the correct visa, travel and payroll processes created is crucial to de-risk overseas operations.

Interestingly, results from the 2018 survey showed no agencies identifying international compliance as a major obstacle in their day-to-day activity. In contrast, almost a quarter of responses this year highlighted the growing importance of this area of compliance.

What’s perhaps the most intriguing insight from the survey however is that the majority of agencies felt compliance was the least important factor for their client compared with delivering a prompt service at a low cost, despite 92% of agencies reporting increased time spent managing these obstacles. This highlights the complexity of these barriers, and the growing importance clients place upon finding a reputable recruitment agency to manage compliance on their behalf.

As uncertainties such as Brexit will no doubt add to the growing obstacles businesses will face to recruit and manage overseas workers, it’s encouraging to see companies are utilising experienced recruitment agencies to provide international assignment support in a fully compliant manner to mitigate risk.

Read the full survey: https://magazine.theglobalrecruiter.com/?article=page-14085&edition=editions_COMPSPECIAL2019

About NRL

Our International team support clients and contractors with mobilisation, taxation, insurance and repatriation through our International Assignment Support service. For each project we'll create a bespoke mobilisation solution with a focus on mitigating the potential risks of non-compliance for your business.