Our verdict
People2.0 is a leading global Employer of Record (EOR) and Agent of Record (AOR) supporting the global hire of employees. It has a special focus on supporting the talent acquisition industry, including recruitment firms, staffing and temp agencies.
Pros
- Specialist expertise in the talent management industry
- Operates through its own subsidiaries and acquisitions with local expertise
Cons
- No publicly disclosed pricing data
- Does not yet have global coverage
60+
Unknown
ACH and SWIFT/Wire Transfer
People2.0 is a leader in the world of global employee hire and payment.
The globalized economy and the remote work revolution allow for amazing new options for international company expansion and HR strategy. Successful national brands, and even startups, can quickly expand into global markets whether they sell software, services, or physical products. Successful companies can also operate completely without a home office, and instead via a distributed global team connected by software. The key component needed to make this possibility a reality, however, is hiring international employees easily and compliantly.
Global Employers of Record (EORs) enable companies to hire new employees in every jurisdiction in which they operate. The employee technically works for the EOR, which is responsible for maintaining compliance, paying salaries, and tax reporting. All decisions relating to work are handled by the client of the EOR.
Most EORs leave candidate search and recruitment to their clients, who may go through a recruiter or a staffing agency. People2.0 fills this gap by providing Global EOR services for workforce providers themselves.
Overview
Most Global EOR services focus on supplying professional employees to internationally distributed remote teams, often with a focus on the IT or Fintech industries. Some other Global EORs focus on supplying skilled labor and outsourced accounting services directly to multinational companies who wish to enter new labor or consumer markets. People2.0 targets a client base that is different from either of these. While other EOR services focus on business end-users as clients, People2.0 serves the talent ecosystem; recruiters, talent procurement agencies, and staffing companies.
A recruitment service could work with People2.0 and advertise its ability to provide qualified and compliant programmers and other professionals to IT companies building remote teams. A national size staffing agency could work with People2.0 to expand its market to international staffing. A talent acquisition company could work with People2.0 in order to serve multinational clients, managing the HR needs of their international facilities.
Since it focuses on providing staff to other agencies, the offerings from People2.0 can appear somewhat barebones in comparison to other services that focus more on the end-user. According to its website, it does not appear to provide an online platform, for instance (though note below the recent acquisition of Husys; all of its invoicing and question answering is done directly via company representatives. This approach, though, will be exactly what many of its clients in the talent ecosystem are looking for. Many of these services will have their own client-facing portal, or at least dedicated client relationship managers, and would prefer to keep their EOR service “white label”.
People2.0 has merged with or acquired a range of providers over the years including Capital GES in 2019, TCP solutions, WePayPeople and Entity Solutions in 2020, and WillHire in 2021. In 2022 People2.0 ramped up its strategic partnerships even further acquiring India-based HRIS Husys, the UK’s Brookson Group, Abu Dhabi’s BOTH, Sydney’s Ayers Group.
People2.0 — A Company Driven By Global Partnerships
Key features
Employer of Record
People2.0 owns all of its own legal entities, either through purchasing established national EORs or setting up its own wholly own subsidiaries. Its focus is limited compared to other farther-flung Global EOR services, however, it can boast a high level of expertise and direct control over workers in those areas in which it does operate. At the time of writing, People2.0 offered EOR services in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In many cases, People2.0 is not only able to onboard new employees and administer payroll and benefits, they are also able to procure the talent required. This ability, which sets them apart from many Global EORs, speaks to their strong local expertise and capabilities.
As an EOR, People2.0 handles onboarding and offboarding, pre-employment screening, timecard management, expense reimbursement, payroll processing, tax filing, withholding, and insurance, benefits, and workers’ compensation administration.
People2.0 can also support the hiring of independent contracts with Agent of Record (AOR) services. It can help correctly classify contractors and freelancers, provide documentation, manage contractors and potential contractors pre-engagement, maintain audit defense files, administer contractors, manage invoices and payments, and ensure ongoing compliance.
As an EOR, People2.0 takes on liability for local compliance as the official employer. As an AOR, it can help mitigate risk and provide indemnification for its clients.
Payroll
Like other Global EORs, People2.0 helps clients pay employees and contractors on time through consolidated invoicing and payments in the currency of the clients’ choosing. People2.0 will convert payments to local currencies, deposit to employees’ bank accounts, handle all withholdings for tax and benefits, and compliantly report to meet local regulations.
The specific attention to independent contractor hire and payment through its ‘Agent of Record’ service, is the reason People2.0 was judged the best EOR for contractors in 2023.
Unlike other Global EORs, People2.0 also provides payroll funding. This adds an extra layer of protection to its clients, who must invoice their own corporate clients for payroll expenses. Payroll funding ensures that workers and contractors get paid on time and provides some added security for workforce suppliers who may occasionally experience late payments from their own clients.
Human Resources
With decades in the business and wholly-owned local offices, People2.0 is an expert in the field. It’s experience on the ground in providing workforces of all different sizes, in dozens of countries, on both temporary and long-term contracts, in many different industries, gives them a tremendous advantage in global HR management.
Compliance
People2.0 is an expert in classification and compliance. For their b2b clients, who may be providing hundreds or thousands of contractors and employees to large global businesses, classifying that workforce correctly is extremely important. Work schedules that may be classified as contract work in some countries, for instance, may require a full-time employee classification in other countries. Misclassification can lead to fines and work stoppages; People2.0 touts its ability to correctly classify all types of employees around the world, in keeping with changing regulatory landscapes.
People2.0 is experienced in meeting regulatory compliance in many jurisdictions and for many industries. As the owner of the local EORs that hire employees around the world, they are also directly liable, adding another layer of compliance assurance for clients.
Platform
People2.0 does not appear to provide a unified online platform at this time. It work with clients one-on-one and provides customized support that best suits clients’ business and the industries they supply labor for. As an EOR for workforce suppliers, an online platform is not necessarily desirable; many of these suppliers will prefer that their business clients log in to their own platform to pay invoices, ask questions, view onboarding status, and access other services offered.
Note, however, that People2.0 has recently acquired the leading HRIS Husys, which through its app, provides a leading HR interface. It will be necessary to check withe People2.0 whether this app or other in-house platforms will be accessible from your location.
Pricing
Pricing for People2.0 is available by direct request.
Pros and Cons
People2.0 Pros
Benefits of the People2.0 EOR solution cinlude
- Services specifically for the talent ecosystem — People2.0 knows what staffing and recruitment companies need
- 30+ years of experience in the field — most Employers of Record have a short history of supporting global employment. People2.0 and its predecessor companies have been doing this for decades
- All entities wholly owned — through its ambitious merger and acquisition approach, People2.0 has legal entities all over the world.
- Custom solutions for b2b workforce suppliers.
People2.0 Cons
Potential drawbacks of going with People2.0 include:
- No product specifically for small and medium-sized companies — People2.0 clearly targets larger enterprises
- Smaller list of countries supported than competitors — some competitors offer solutions in 185+ countries
- Pricing by request only.
Unique Selling Point
People2.0 has targeted their services directly to companies in the international talent ecosystem; staffing agencies, search and recruiting, and mass talent procurement. Considering each in turn:
- Staffing Agencies. The best staffing agencies can supply fully compliant employees, with benefits packages, all over the world. Working with People2.0 allows national or regional staffing agencies to expand their operations nationally and internationally, and to serve multinational clients, without building new capabilities in-house.
- Search and Recruiting. The service allows recruiters to expand into any labor market covered by People2.0. Recruiters can easily help clients build remote teams by offering a fully compliant recruitment and EOR solution.
- Mass Talent Procurement. People2.0 can help Managed Service Providers and workforce suppliers that use their own Vendor Management System by providing “100% vendor neutral” permanent and temporary staffing. Payroll funding helps these companies expand quickly with minimal capital requirements.
RemotePad Score for People2.0
4.3/5 Our expert score for People2.0
Our team came to this score by considering the following components in the following weightings:
| Employer of Record features | 25% |
| Payroll features | 10% |
| HR features | 10% |
| Compliance features | 10% |
| Platform features | 10% |
| Pricing | 20% |
| User reviews | 15% |
For each component, People2.0 received the following score:
| Employer of Record features | 22/25 |
| Payroll features | 9/10 |
| HR features | 9/10 |
| Compliance features | 10/10 |
| Platform features | 7/10 |
| Pricing | 15/20 |
| User reviews | 13/15 |
People 2.0 Competitors and Alternatives
Velocity Global vs People 2.0
Top provider for:
US coverage (all 50 states)
Monthly fee per employee
Custom Pricing
Remote vs People 2.0
Top provider for:
Direct EOR solutions
Monthly fee per employee
From $599+
Deel vs People 2.0
Top provider for:
Compliance
Monthly fee per employee
From $599+
People2.0 — the Final Take
If you are a workforce supplier, People2.0 is a clear choice: A trusted, experienced Global EOR that can finance payroll support businesses in the talent ecosystem grow quickly with little additional investment or headaches.
FAQ
Yes. People2.0 acquired TCP solutions in 2020.
Yes. People2.0 acquired Capital GES in 2019.
