In a recent episode of the podcast "You Should Know," hosted by William Tincup of WRKdefined, Barry Gauch, Executive Vice President at isolved, and Pim Altena, GM for Remote Embedded and VP of Partnerships at Remote, discussed their partnership aimed at opening global hiring to small and midsized businesses (SMBs). The conversation highlighted how the collaboration collapses legal, payroll, and compliance barriers that have traditionally locked SMBs out of international hiring.
The partnership emerged from a formal RFP process where isolved evaluated ten providers and narrowed them down to five before selecting Remote. Gauch explained that customer demand for global hiring had increased, and isolved chose to partner rather than build in-house because "it's not our key competency, but we know we needed to deliver it." Remote's API-first model and three hiring modalities—Employer of Record (EOR) for fast market entry, contractor management for flexible engagements, and global payroll for established international teams—were key differentiators.
Altena framed the opportunity in personal terms, recalling his experience as a Remote customer trying to hire an Italian candidate he could not legally employ. He emphasized that companies should hire for skills but are often constrained by compliance capabilities and legal entity footprints. The partnership aims to remove those constraints, allowing SMBs to compete for talent globally.
The discussion delved into the operational realities of global employment, noting that the State Department recognizes 192 countries, each with its own federal, state, and municipal payroll rules. Altena pointed to extreme divergences in labor law, such as mandatory pre-employment medical exams in some jurisdictions and forbidden in others, and highlighted high employee-protection regimes in France and Germany. Gauch stressed that affordability and white-glove customer treatment were non-negotiable criteria, and previewed integration with ApplicantPro, now fully part of isolved, which will benefit talent acquisition teams and staffing-company resellers.
The episode, titled "How isolved and Remote Are Opening Global Hiring to SMBs," is available now wherever podcasts are heard. For more information, visit isolved and Remote.
