How we work has changed radically in recent years. And it's still changing.
As the pioneering Employer of Record service provider, Atlas understands how the world of work is changing and how to best access and manage global teams to build a competitive advantage.
We asked global HR leaders about the opportunities they were seeing and the challenges they were facing.
Here are the main findings we uncovered.
HR Leaders Turn to AI for Compliance — But at What Cost?
As the global workforce expands, HR leaders are turning to generative AI tools to navigate the complex web of international compliance.
According to The Global Atlas: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions for HR Leaders in 2025, a staggering 95% of HR leaders have already used AI tools to research international employment laws, benefits, or talent benchmarks.
Yet, this embrace of AI is shadowed by a significant concern: 86% of HR professionals who already manage international workforces say that ensuring compliance with foreign labor laws remains one of their greatest challenges.
While AI offers speed and efficiency, it lacks the nuanced, contextual understanding required for legally sound workforce decisions across borders.
Even more telling is the majority of respondents indicating plans to continue using AI tools to assess employment law, regulations, and market-specific HR policies—tasks traditionally reserved for legal or compliance experts.
Despite this, 51% of companies that engage external advisors said they rely on them specifically for "market entry and compliance advice," underscoring the continued importance of human expertise.
The data reveals a paradox: AI is quickly becoming a go-to tool in compliance workflows, even as HR leaders acknowledge that the risks are too great to navigate alone.
The Corporate Subsidiary Model Is Under Siege
Global businesses are rethinking the traditional model of international expansion — and the numbers speak volumes.
According to The Global Atlas: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions for HR Leaders in 2025, 80% of companies with international workforces still use owned entities or subsidiaries to manage teams abroad.
However, this legacy model is increasingly under threat from rising costs and compliance risks. In fact, 63% of surveyed organizations said the cost of operating entities would drive them to consider alternative employment models, while 65% cited regulatory and compliance risk as another key factor.
The shift isn't theoretical: 56% of North American and 42% of UK-based companies reported that they are already considering reducing or consolidating their international entities over the next 12–18 months.
This pressure is fueling growing interest in more flexible alternatives. Employer of Record (EOR) services, for instance, were cited by 41% of companies as a current workforce management strategy. In Europe, 46% of respondents already use EORs — nearly double the rate seen in North America (27%).
As geopolitical volatility and trade restrictions complicate traditional expansion routes, these data points suggest that companies are now prioritizing scalability and risk mitigation over physical footprint.
Global Hiring Goes Borderless, Without the Bureaucracy
The world is flattening for HR leaders and flexible workforce strategies are taking center stage.
The Global Atlas: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions for HR Leaders in 2025 reveals that access to specialized talent is the top reason companies with international workforces continue to hire globally.
For companies planning international expansion, cost optimization and market expansion lead the list of motivations. But across both groups, the top three priorities remain consistent: access to talent, cost savings, and business growth.
Flexibility in execution is just as important. Among companies planning to build global teams, independent contractors and EOR services are the preferred models — far outpacing traditional entities. This signals a clear shift toward agile, scalable approaches that avoid the long setup times and overheads associated with subsidiaries.
The message is clear: organizations are no longer building global teams the old-fashioned way. They're building leaner, more nimble global operations that can scale with market needs and talent availability.