With remote work showing no signs of slowing down, many companies are looking beyond their own borders when it comes to hiring employees. For instance, hiring in India has become common among employers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. India is full of skilled workers, tech talent, web developers, and more.
To make matters even better, hiring in India can be done easily with an Employer of Record (EOR).
For employers looking to hire in India, here’s your comprehensive guide on what benefits you may experience, what kind of skilled workers to hire, and key considerations to keep in mind. With this guide, you can ensure that the hiring process is smooth and seamless.
Benefits of Hiring in India
Overall, hiring skilled workers in India can benefit employers in numerous ways.
India Offers a Fresh Perspective
India’s vibrant culture promotes understanding, communication, and adaptability. By hiring employees in India, companies can have seamless business interactions, increased customer satisfaction, and a more positive company culture. Additionally, employees in India can offer new perspectives, which can help with creative tasks and problem solving abilities. Essentially, hiring employees in India can boost innovation in the company.
Cost-Effective
Other than the highly skilled talent across the country, the cost is one of the primary reasons why companies hire in India. The cost of hiring employees in India is much lower than hiring employees in Europe, the United States and Canada.
For example, the average salary in some of the provinces look like the following:
- Uttar Pradesh: USD 250 per month
- Bihar: USD 241 per month
- Gujarat: USD 228 per month
- Tamil Nadu: USD 236 per month
- West Bengal: USD 244 per month
That being said, the salaries also vary by industry and role. Here are some examples:
- Software engineer: USD 1391 per month
- DevOps engineer: USD 507 per month
- Sales manager: 507 USD per month
- Marketing manager: 364 USD per month
- Financial analyst: 370 USD per month
To put it into perspective, the average salary of a DevOps engineer in the United States is approximately USD 10,000 per month. For a marketing manager, the average salary in the United States is USD 6200 per month.
Another cost-saving opportunity that employers may experience is minimal training costs. Since India is home to exceptional tech talent and web developers, you won’t need to invest in extensive — and expensive — training for new hires. It’s important to note that just because the salary is lower doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality of work is. When you hire your team of software engineers in India, you don’t have to sacrifice skills for profit.
The Opportunity to Work 24/7
The time zone in India can bring many benefits for companies in North America and Europe, especially if managed correctly. This time zone allows employees throughout the company to be working at different times of the day, constantly solving problems and tasks as they arise.
Managing a remote team, especially if you have a team in India, can be easy if managed correctly. This can be done by embracing asynchronous education. Elements of asynchronous communication at work means:
- More autonomy and less calls, virtual meetings, and online messaging
- Trusting your employees to meet their deadlines and project deliverables
- Proactive planning from managers
- Initiative from employees
This way of working is also beneficial for companies looking to expand into the South Asian market. Having employees online at the same time as other companies in South Asia allows for real-time connection and collaboration and seamless project progress.
Access to Educated and Skilled Talent
India is home to excellent universities. Hiring employees in India gives you peace of mind that they’ve received a high quality education. Because of that education, India is home to highly skilled talent, especially in the information technology and software engineering industries.
With that education and talent combined, you can ensure the employees or independent contractors in India you hire and onboard will have the necessary skills, experience, and problem-solving abilities to be a key part of the company.
Aside from many receiving a quality education, people in India are extremely proficient in tech and IT. India houses many skilled and talented web developers, making it the ideal place to hire a team of software engineers or web developers through an Employer of Record.
Companies Can Grow Quickly
The country’s large population full of skilled workers and tech talent means that hiring a large team won’t be a challenging or expensive task. Because of this, companies have the opportunity to grow quickly.
Language Proficiency
The majority of the Indian population is bilingual, and many of them speak English. In fact, it's one of the largest English-speaking countries in the world. Having this language proficiency allows for increased collaboration and seamless communication across all departments in the company. More so, a company that speaks mostly English creates a more positive and interactive remote environment.
Significant Industries in India’s Economy
India has a diverse and flourishing economy. For companies looking to hire skilled workers in India, consider the following industries for highly-skilled and sought after talent.
- Tech: India is a huge player in the global IT and tech industry. It’s home to tech hubs, like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune. The population is filled with experienced and skilled product managers, software engineers, web developers, and more. For companies like Randstad, which is headquartered in the Netherlands, India makes up a large part of the company’s talent — it employs approximately 6,000 Indian employees and plans to double that within the next two years. The company continues to hire Indian employees because the country meets the company’s need for exceptional talent.
- Pharmaceuticals: The pharmaceutical industry involves the research, development, and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals by both public institutions and private companies. India is one of the leading suppliers of generic pharmaceuticals throughout the world. It also supplies more than half of the world’s vaccine needs, 40% of the United States’ generic pharmaceutical needs, and 25% of the United Kingdom’s overall pharmaceutical needs.
- Telecommunications: India’s telecommunication sector, which includes call centers and customer service centers, has experienced exponential growth over the past two decades. With the rise of mobile phone users and expansion of internet services throughout the world, so has the need for customer service. Many large companies have looked towards India to set up shop and develop the country’s telecommunication industry.
How to Hire Employees in India
When it comes to hiring employees in India, there are three routes you can go: you can hire independent contractors, establish a foreign subsidiary on your own, or work with an Employer of Record (EOR).
Hire Independent Contractors
Overall, hiring independent contractors is an easy and efficient process. Independent contractors are not on an employers’ payroll and are required to deal with taxes on their own. Because of this, employers don’t need to administer benefits, like paid vacation, or contributing to social security. As a result, there is no formal registration required for a business to start working with an independent contractor in India.
Hiring an independent contractor requires a contract signed by both the employer and contractor. Independent contractors are paid via invoice through a payment method of their choice — this could be a wire transfer, a global banking service, such as Wise, or through a global payroll platform. However, hiring independent contractors often comes with the risk of misclassification.
Establish a Foreign Subsidiary
A foreign subsidiary is a legally independent business entity that’s set up in a foreign country. Establishing a local business entity independently takes time, money, and resources. It requires expertise and advanced knowledge of India’s labor laws, tax requirements, and employee rights and protections.
Essentially, setting up your own foreign subsidiary comes with mountains of paperwork and requires unlimited resources. Unless you have time, legal advice, and the financial means, it’s best to consider other ways to hire in India.
Work with an EOR
Working with an Employer of Record (EOR) is the simplest and most efficient way to hire employees in India. It is an ideal platform for companies looking to hire, manage, and pay employees across the world. An EOR acts as the legal employer where you want to hire. An Employer of Record services include the following.
Contracts compliant with local employment laws
An Employer of Record takes care of employment contracts with your employee in India to ensure all the information is correct and compliant. They can also set up proper independent contractor agreements as per Indian law. Meanwhile, you don't need a legal entity to engage Indian workers.
Documentation
An EOR also ensures that all documentation from the employee is correct and submitted. This includes visas, banking information, employment agreement, and more. Properly documenting your international employees prevents compliance risks whether you are onboarding remote employees, international contractors, or both.
Insurance and benefits
Employers of Record deals with all mandatory employee benefits. Also, EOR’s, like Borderless, also offer attractive global benefits. This includes medical, dental, vision and life insurance, as well as retirement savings plans.
Vacation and public holidays
Navigating public holidays and vacation for employees in India can get complicated. India has 28 states and eight union territories, so vacation and public holiday entitlement will be different in each of those states. While there are only three national holidays in the country, there are numerous different public holidays and religious holidays across each province.
It’s important to note that leave policies in India depend on where the company is registered and not where the employee resides. However, an EOR will make sure that all leave policies and paid time off are compliant with local labor laws.
Social security and tax obligations
Without a doubt, understanding taxes and social security obligations in India are complex. Employers in India are required to pay a range of taxes and social security contributions. This includes health insurance and the government managed retirement savings plan Employee Provident Fund.
For instance, in India, all employers are required to contribute 20.33% in payroll taxes. This is for the Employees Provident Fund and the Employees Pension Scheme. Thankfully, an EOR has access to local legal expertise, so it’s easy to become well-versed in Indian tax laws and to remain compliant.
Paying employees
Borderless takes care of payroll for your employees in India. This way, paying employees in the correct currency is efficient and secure.
Overall, working with an EOR comes with many benefits. Using an EOR to hire employees in India will minimize costs, mitigate risks, and make hiring abroad a fast and efficient process.
Cultural Considerations for Employers
When working with employees based in India, it’s critical for employers to understand and respect their culture. Employers must also be aware of any cultural differences that may affect communication, team collaboration and overall dynamics within the company.
Here are some considerations to keep in mind for employers looking to hire in India:
- Communication styles: Your team of employees in India may have different communication styles than other employees in your remote team. Sometimes, Indian employees have a preference for relationship-building with their colleagues. Employers should keep this in mind.
- Holidays and festivals: India is home to many holidays and festivals. These vary depending on religion and region. Employers must be aware of these holidays and respectful of employees who choose to observe them.
- Religious and cultural sensitivities: India has a rich and vibrant culture. Employers should be mindful and respectful of cultural festivals and obligations when they hire employees from India.
How to Benefit Your Team in India
Without a doubt, there are numerous benefits when it comes to hiring employees from India. But how can you benefit your team? Aside from numerous mandatory benefits, like pension, insurance, maternity leave, and vacation entitlements, there are many supplemental benefits to offer your new employees in India.
- Flexible working options: Attract top talent by offering employees flexible working options. According to the International Labor Organization, India is one of the most overworked nations in the world. By giving your employees in India the chance to work based on their schedule and improve their work-life balance, it will help with their overall well being and satisfaction with the company.
- Stock options: Employees in India value compensation packages that reflect their education, skills, and experience. Consider offering stock and equity options on top of their salary. By doing this, not only does it help attract and retain highly skilled talent, but it also gives employees the chance to share the company’s growth.
- Stipends: Consider offering your employees in India a tech or home office stipend. This helps cover the costs of office equipment, such as a monitor, keyboard, and ergonomic chair. With new equipment and access to the latest innovations, employees can work comfortably and succeed in their role.
Make Hiring Easy with Borderless
Hiring in India provides employers with many benefits. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be a challenging or long process, either. With the help of an Employer of Record, like Borderless, hiring and onboarding employees in India will be a smooth and seamless process.
Enjoy everything India has to offer. Book a demo with Borderless today.
Disclaimer
Borderless does not provide legal services or legal advice to anyone. This includes customers, contractors, employees, partners, and the general public. We are not lawyers or paralegals. Please read our full disclaimer here.
