How to Hire Leaders Outside the US

Borderless leadership

Partnered Insight from Shepherd*

Whenever people hear about hiring talent abroad, they think of outsourcing only their junior admin tasks.

That has always confused me.

At the end of the day, outsourcing is to help grow your company by hiring the best talent you can find at a reasonable cost.

At Firstbase.io, besides the CEO and COO (me), all our executives (ya, I said executives) lived outside the US. This included a group of people like:

• CTO → Exited his startup with a sale to Visa for $1.7B

• Head of Product → Helped Loft (valued at $2B+) scale their operations

• Head of People → Hired over 200 people in less than 3 years

Why would we hire abroad instead of only focusing on the US?

In hundreds of interviews, we found that skill set and culture match were the most important aspects we valued in someone. Not how far away they lived away from us.

Arguably, the operational and technical talent was just as good in the Philippines and South America as in the US.

If you aren't sure which positions to start sourcing, Shepherd has a list of positions you could potentially hire.

From that list, I would recommend hiring for operations-heavy roles such as Head of Customer Success, Operations Lead, and HR Manager.

Of course, hiring an executive abroad will require a bit more legwork. Especially when compared to your average contracted worker.

Try to focus on:

• Classify Workers Correctly: Avoid misclassification by understanding the nature of contractor agreements and ensuring compliance with tax laws.

• Obtain Work Visas/Permits: Secure necessary visas or permits for employees working abroad to avoid fines and immigration penalties.

• Pay Talent Accurately: Ensure global payroll compliance, using third-party providers like Deel for international employees to avoid penalties.

• Provide Statutory Benefits: Offer mandatory paid vacations, sick leave, and other statutory benefits to comply with local laws.

• Avoid Permanent Establishment Risks: Mitigate tax liabilities by managing the business presence to avoid triggering permanent establishment status.

• Partner for Compliance: Try to leverage Employer of Record solutions for compliant international hiring and operations.

A little legal compliance shouldn't stop you from looking for that ONE person who can 10x your business.