We all know finding good talent for your business is one of the hardest tasks you’ll have to do during your business life. Finding the right people can transform your business, hiring bad people can halt progress and cause countless headaches. 

Since lockdowns more and more companies have explored remote working and realized how effective it can be, this has led to more businesses looking to hire across borders into countries outside of where they operate and with this there comes many positives such as massively expanding your potential pool of talent but also a few potential issues such as making sure your compliant, different HR procedures, payments and more. 

Luckily, this is where companies like Oyster have come in to make your life much easier. Oyster provides you with a way to compliantly hire people from over 180 different countries without the need for setting up a business entity, they also help handle all of the employment functions, payroll and more all from one sleek platform. 

Now you can hire with ease that incredible marketer who is in France, the developer from Brazil, the sales person from the US and customer support reps from Senegal, Thailand, Finland and Austria. 

Typically the above would sound like a HR, compliance and hiring nightmare but with Oyster you’ll be able to do this easily and effectively. 

Why use Oyster?

As mentioned above, there are countless different benefits to using global HR software such as Oyster in your business, below we’ll go into a little more depth into each of the core reasons that companies decide to go with Oyster.

Hire talent from around the world

In the past, hiring in a different country would require you to set up your own entity their which would be costly, time consuming and a hassle just to hire one or a couple of people in that country. With Oyster’s platform you can do this quickly with their automated hiring software, creating compliant employee agreements, setting up their payroll and benefits in a matter of minutes.

As you can imagine, this opens up your pool of talent to millions all over the world.

Hire contractors easily

OysterHR allows you to generate complaint contracts quickly (within minutes) as well as editing them and signing them. No longer do you need to wait days and pay lots of money for someone to write these up for you.

They also have a wide range of management tools to help you streamline all of the paperwork, onboarding processes and payments making your life much easier.

Convert your contractors to employees

When you find a contractor who is fantastic at their role, then it’s always a good idea to make them a full time employee, you can do this effortlessly and fully compliant within the Oyster platform. 

You’ll also be able to assess worker misclassification risks and a team of experts to help make the whole process smooth and easy.

Run global payroll easily

Oyster currently is set up so you can run your global payroll across countries in over 120 different currencies. This means you typically pay your employees and contractors right into their bank account in the currency of their choice. 

You can process your salaries, expenses and bonuses all from within the Oyster dashboard, meaning you can do this quickly and on time so they are never wondering when payments are coming or having to deal with them in currencies which they aren’t happy with.

Provide benefits to each person related to their country

Setting up benefits in one country can be a task in itself, so the thought of doing this in multiple countries may seem hard but with Oyster they have this all set up with pre-created local and global benefit packages. 

This not only will make your team happier but will make sure you as a business are competitive so you will help not only retain people but also during the hire process and as well making sure you’re always compliant.

Main products Oyster offer

Within the platform that they offer there are a number of core products

Employee of Record

It's no surprise that one of the most popular offerings from Oyster is their Employer Of Record (EOR) service, an EOR is an entity that legally employs your team that Oyster provide on your behalf. They take on the full responsibility of things such as tax, payroll, benefits, taxes and compliance.

They have experts in the HR, compliance, legal and benefit side for all of the countries in which they offer this service, meaning for companies wanting to hire people in different countries they can use Oyster as their EOR and save thousands in set up costs, time and hassle.

Global Contractor Management

Another core product offering from Oyster HR is the global contractor management they offer, this helps you to reduce paperwork and the HR processes being hiring contractors around the world. They automate the process for you, from the onboarding to paying and managing them.

This means you can focus your attention on the more important aspects of your business, safely knowing that this side of things is taken care of.

Global Payroll

Paying people around the world, in different currencies, at different times, whilst complying with laws, compliance, regulations and taxes can be a minefield, however with Oysters global payroll you can quickly run compliant payroll with over 99% accuracy.

Automation means that invoices, reimbursements and reporting can all be done within the platform with no need for you to worry about them.

Mobility and Benefits

Oyster also offers visa sponsorship in over 60 countries and a range of both global and local benefits that can make your team happier as well as make your company look more appealing when hiring.

Who is Oyster aimed at?

Essentially Oyster is aimed at any business that is either currently hiring people abroad and in different countries who those who want to do so in the future.

They are great for businesses of all sizes from those just hiring a few contractors to those who have hundreds of employees spread across countries all over the world.

Pros of using Oyster

There are a long list of positives to using a global HR software and specific to Oyster we believe the below are the core pros to using them:

Global Compliance & Protection

• Mitigate risks with Oyster's robust compliant infrastructure spanning 180+ countries, backed by expansive insurance coverage and a dedicated team of legal experts. Stay ahead of regulatory changes and ensure your global operations are legally sound and protected.

Deep Intelligence

• Gain access to deep local intelligence, insights, and tools through Oyster's platform, guiding you through every stage of global employment. From understanding local labor laws to navigating cultural nuances, empower your decision-making with comprehensive data and expertise.

Automated Workflows

• Experience seamless employment processes from hiring to onboarding with Oyster's automated workflows and integrations. Say goodbye to manual tasks and hello to increased efficiency, allowing your team to focus on strategic initiatives while Oyster handles the administrative heavy lifting.

Employee-Centric Solutions

• Tailor competitive offers and employee experiences based on local insights with Oyster's employee-centric solutions. By understanding regional preferences and market trends, attract and retain top talent effortlessly, ensuring your workforce remains engaged and motivated.

Cons of using Oyster

If you only hire a small number of contractors from just one or two countries then the platform may be overkill, however hearing from our community of founders, many have done this and found it actually still saved them money and time. 

So it’s something to take into consideration but well worth looking into the pricing, features and overall benefits to see if this may actually outweigh any downside.

Our experience of Oyster

From our experience the Oyster platform is intuitive, straight forward and instantly makes the traditional minefield of managing employees, contractors, payroll, HR and compliance seem like a task that the majority of people will be able to do! 

Where we’d normally simply have to hire someone full time to deal with each aspect of this and potentially for each country we hire in, the platform suddenly stops the need for this and lets us hire the people we want rather than having the factor of location affect our hiring choices.

‍Free global employment resources

We love free stuff and Oyster is a company who provides a range of free tools related to global employment, this includes courses and guides.

This ranges from global employment cost calculators, salary insights, benefit advisor tools, a contractor vs full-time employee analyzer, time zone crossover calculator and many more. 

Oyster Pricing

So how much does it cost to use Oyster, there isn't one easy answer to this as it was vary depending on factors such as which type of service you use, which countries your team are located in etc.

We recommend visiting the Oyster website in order to get the most accurate idea of the pricing and different options available to you and that will suit your businesses needs.

Other Oyster Reviews

Never just take our word for it or any other single point of review, it’s always a good idea to get several Oyster reviews together so you can get an overall picture. After all, one company having a great experience using a company does not mean the next person will.

Overall, the general consensus of Oyster HR reviews online is positive, they currently have over a 4 out of 5 rating on TrustPilot  from around 100 reviews and over 4 out of 5 from over 350 reviews on G2. 

We also asked our community of founders about their experiences of OysterHR.com and overall they were very positive with many saying they’ve signed up and never looked back, with that side of their business that used to be a hassle now a breeze.

Oyster HR review summary

If you're considering Oyster as your global employee platform, the decision ultimately hinges on whether it aligns with your specific needs. However, in our experience, we've found their offerings to be impressive and their platform a breeze to use. If your goal is to expand your workforce internationally while ensuring compliance, simplifying processes, managing global payroll, and providing cross-border benefits, then Oyster emerges as an excellent choice.

Especially for those seeking Employer of Record (EOR) services or comprehensive global payroll solutions, Oyster is a must-explore option. Boasting one of the largest coverage of countries available and a suite of complementary features, it's undoubtedly a platform we enthusiastically recommend.

Pair this with the 20% Oyster HR promo code we offer and you’ll be able to get a great deal and a great piece of software to help your business grow and thrive.

‍Frequently Asked Questions

Although our Oyster HR review aims to answer all of your questions, there may well be some questions left unanswered, below you’ll find some frequently asked questions, if you question is still not answered then it’s best to head over to the OysterHR.com website and either jump on the live chat or get in touch directly with them to answer your questions.

Which countries do Oyster HR cover?

They currently cover over 180 different countries with the UK, US, Germany and Canada being the most popular. The full list can be found on their website as well as a monthly price so you can get an idea of how much each country will cost. 

Who owns Oyster HR?

The company was founded by Tony Jamous (currently the CEO too) and Jack Mardack, as you may expect, the company itself is a fully remote company with a team around the world. 

They have raised multiple rounds of investment with their latest round being a Series C of $150 million with a valuation of over $1 billion.

What kind of benefits do Oyster offer employees?

Oyster have a mix of global benefits which are available to employees of multiple different countries as well as country specific (local) benefits. This mix means your employees should get a good range of benefits no matter which country they are based on.

If you want to know the exact benefits for a specific country then get in touch with Oyster directly who will be able to answer this.