Millions of us are now part of mobile workforces, collaborating both in and out of conventional office settings – and across borders. Here’s how HR can manage it all more easily.
4 June 2025 | Alex Schulte
Mobile workforce management is the technical term for what countless HR departments have been doing for over five years now: hiring, managing and tracking a staff of mobile employees who work from different locations. In many respects, it is the brain that moves the limbs of the global economy.
But while it is probably quite familar, it still isn’t easy. Managing teams in multiple time zones and different locations poses problems. There are different regulatory systems to consider, unique reporting obligations and employment laws. Failing to comply will lead to penalties or tax burdens that the average business can’t afford.
There are also cultural factors to consider with globally mobile workforces. Every culture approaches business slightly differently. In some countries, rigid hierarchies are encouraged, while others favour flexibility and independence.
This guide will help HR and Global Mobility professionals trying to get a grip on it all. We’ll go through the challenges one by one before unpacking the best mobile workforce management solutions.
But first:
What is a Mobile Workforce?
A mobile workforce means a team comprised of off-site employees connected via technology. This includes anyone from remote-first employees, deskless workers, field workers, hybrid workers or Aircraft on the Ground (AOG) employees in aviation – in short, anyone not tied to an office. In a global business, this also includes anyone working overseas.
What is Mobile Workforce Management?
Mobile workforce management is everything HR teams do to co-ordinate teams who are working away from a fixed location. It involves:
- Ensuring harmony between teams spread over multiple jurisdictions and locations
- Avoiding feelings of disconnection and isolation
- Minimising the legal and tax risks of a globally dispersed workforce
Once a niche concern, this mode of HR is probably now the norm, as ever more companies hire foreign contractors and remote-first mobile workers to fill talent shortages.
Good mobile workforce management often relies on new technologies like real-time tracking to monitor productivity, mitigate challenges, and ensure seamless communication during business operations.
There are four challenges to consider:
- Recruitment
- Taxation risks
- Legal compliance
- Culture and communication.
Let’s start with recruitment.
Hiring and Retaining a Global Workforce
With access to an international talent pool, employers have never had more choice in who to hire. But this comes with more friction than some companies bargain for.
Challenges
Fraud and cybersecurity
These risks pose an enormous challenge to hiring a globally dispersed workforce.
- Remote-first companies are often targeted by scammers and hackers, particularly those in the tech industry.
- These bad actors use deepfake technology to assist them in the remote hiring process and AI-generated fake passports to bypass compliance checks.
Fierce competition
Skills shortages are a major bottleneck, owing to a talent scarcity across the West.
- The more highly skilled the worker, the harder it is to retain them – especially true for engineers and AI researchers.
- Retaining mobile workers is much harder today than it was, with the average employee attrition increasing yearly.
Compliance obligations
If you hire from overseas without having an established presence in the country you’re hiring from, in some circumstances, you may trigger unforeseen tax obligations by creating a Permanent Establishment.
You may also have payroll obligations spread over multiple jurisdictions, in countries with different employment laws and protections, and different reporting requirements.
Solutions
Building talent pools
Many tech businesses are now reorienting their global hiring strategies around talent-rich hubs worldwide. This locational approach zeroes in on a few high-growth clusters abundant in educated and qualified knowledge workers, such as London, Singapore or Bangalore. Companies pick these spots to build pipelines and cultivate relationships with educational institutions. This has a few benefits:
- It allows you to take advantage of worker referrals, which significantly reduces recruitment spend.
- You can streamline compliance obligations in one or two places, rather than many different locations.
Tailor incentives
You can adjust your package of perks for each job, based on employment type, location and industry.
- Employees in some countries might value generous maternity leave.
- People in the tech industry often value flexibility.
- AI researchers value creativity and the space to experiment.
Spot the signs of fraud
Sadly, fraud is rampant in hiring processes today. Vigilance must be start early during the onboarding process. This includes:
- Trusting only verified LinkedIn accounts
- Leveraging AI, providing in-house training to enable HR teams to spot the red flags
- Always asking for (and following up on) references.
Contractor-first hiring strategies
When you’re recruiting someone in another country, it might be hard to replicate your domestic hiring playbook of in-person interviews. Hiring someone as a contractor or freelancer before you onboard them full-time gives you the chance to quickly onboard skilled mobile workers in other countries without worrying about making a long-term commitment that might not work out.
If your contractor turns out to be a perfect fit, you can offer them a full-time position. If not, you’ve lost nothing.
Maintaining Tax Obligations for Mobile Employees
Hiring from across the world can increase your tax exposure in multiple jurisdictions. This creates compliance hurdles as well as incurring extra expenses.
Challenges
Managing payroll obligations
Managing payroll in multiple jurisdictions is complicated.
It means maintaining:
- Tax
- Social security
- And reporting obligations
All in different countries with different laws and regulatory systems.
Some countries, like Brazil, require employees to be paid in local currency.
Tax and social security obligations differ by country.
Permanent establishment risks
These arise when globally dispersed employees act as
- Dependent agents for the company (signing deals, negotiating contracts)
- Or work from a fixed business address.
This means they might be signing contracts or negotiating sales deals.
Without an established legal entity in the country they work from – and without ensuring their activities are strictly kept within a certain framework, you may trigger corporate tax obligations.
Double taxation
You will be taxed twice if your country either:
- Doesn’t have a double taxation agreement (DTA) with another country
- Or the worker resides there for more than 183 days.
Remember: DTAs, while widespread, are not necessarily comprehensive. The UK doesn’t have a DTA with Paraguay, and Germany doesn’t have one with the UAE.
This is even truer for totalisation agreements, which cover social security contributions.
Solutions
Running shadow payrolls
This useful technique works well for businesses that send employees to other countries on secondments and other assignments. It allows you to operate a payroll system in the home country, while paying and fulfilling your reporting obligations in the new destination.
But you have to do your due diligence to make sure it’s worth it – you’ll have to:
- Wait for a tax rebate at the end of every year
- Adjust for currency fluctuations
- Closely monitor regulatory changes
Use AI-powered compliance tools
Travel Compliance Assistant software enables you to:
- Monitor risks in real time
- Track regulatory changes that might impact you
- Respond quickly to risks and mitigate them before they happen.
Utilise payroll and employee expense management software
The new breed of accounting software allows employers to:
- Track how much mobile workers are spending
- Manage cross-border expense policies
- Helps you make cost savings
- And remain compliant globally.
How to Maintain Legal Compliance When Managing Mobile Workforces
Operating outside your home market is a milestone for any business. But it instantly expands your legal risk surface area.
Challenges
Visa issues
Getting to grips with immigration and visa compliance is a prerequisite for bringing in talent or sending talent on international assignments.
Even short-term assignments require work permits – the authorisation to actually work in the jurisdiction.
There are enormous legal and reputational risks associated with getting this wrong
- Long delays in arranging visas cost companies money and delay projects.
- Getting the wrong visa – or not having one at all – can lead to penalties, arrests or deportation, or trigger tax obligations.
Complying with local employment law
No easy feat: every country does things differently. The number of areas you need to abide by can be challenging.
- Even in the EU, laws like the Posted Workers Directive are interpreted differently when it comes to third-country nationals.
- Anti-discrimination laws differ: e.g., the Netherlands considers forcing an employee to relocate to somewhere with a lower standard of living is discrimination
- The UK considers sighing at a colleague a sign of discrimination. Knowing these nuances is critical.
Solutions
With a bit of preparation, skill and outside help, it’s more than possible to get the many benefits of a global team without the risk. Here are some rules of thumb.
Partner with good immigration vendors
It is, in fact, all about who you know. Good immigration vendors are:
- Proactive
- Boast round-the-clock availability
- Have long-standing relationships with consular officials, allowing them to expedite the visa application process faster.
Know the law
This one’s obvious, but a deep understanding of a different country’s laws and legal landscape will de-risk you.
- Some countries are stricter than others. E.g., German courts are strict on what constitutes the creation of a permanent establishment.
- Posting workers abroad – even for a short time – requires that you pay and treat employees the same as local workers, and (in some cases) notify the authorities you’re doing so.
Know your options
Some countries allow for exemptions for certain work, if carried out:
- Under certain conditions
- For limited time
- For certain employment types
For example, engineers – with the right documentation – can enter Singapore, France, Poland or Denmark to carry out repairs without a work permit for a specified time. This allows you to respond quickly to situations without sacrificing customer satisfaction.
Strategic deployment
This means a number of things.
- Sponsoring mobile employees based on backlog – for example, sponsoring H-1B visas in the US for Fillipino engineers instead of Indian nationals, who face huge processing backlogs.
- Deploying mobile workers overseas strategically – so, sending batches of engineers to solve a problem on short-stay visas (which take quicker to process), instead of one small cohort of engineers on long-stay visas.
Use the AI-powered Travel Compliance Assistant
This compliance-first, mobile workforce management software will tell you, in real time, what legal and tax risks your company will face – before they happen. It shows you all your employees’ obligations as they work, and tells you the necessary legal documents they need to travel, work and remain compliant in another country.
Communication in Mobile Workforce Management
When employees are collaborating across business units spread acros borders and continents, keeping healthy lines of communication is crucial. But this isn’t always easy.
Challenges
Language barriers
This is a recurrent feature of managing globally dispersed teams. You may well onboard highly-skilled mobile workers for whom English is a second language.
Company leaders and HR teams must ensure these people don’t feel isolated, or sidelined during company meetings.
Managers should be alive to this. Make sure not to allow fluent English speakers to dominate all conversations, and take care to facilitate discussions on a level playing field, as far as possible.
Data protection
This is a major barrier. Companies have to comply with data protection laws like the GDPR to protect employee critical information from hackers and bad actors. Make sure to know the ins and outs of any rules that apply where you’re working.
Cultural differences
Different cultures have different approaches to work. These gaps can cause conflict and create misunderstandin when not properly handled. For example:
- European employees value flexibility, independence and a work-life balance
- Japanese employees work longer hours (even admiring unpaid overtime) and are more likely to value hierarchical structures.
It’s important to take local factors into consideration in order to avoid crossed wires.
Work-Life Balance
Digital nomads and remote-first mobile workers, especially in different countries, are more likely to experience burnout or a sense of disconnection.
Solutions
Using streamlined communication channels
Laying down robust and rapid communication channels should be your first area of focus. All communication, including email, video conferencing and messaging, should take place on no more than two platforms – Slack plus Gmail and Teams plus Outlook for example, with clear rules of engagement for each.
You may also want your tools to integrate with resources like calendars and project management boards, keeping everything in one place.
Implement robust security measures
This means using:
- Encrypted files
- Two-factor authentication
- Access controls
- Regular audits
Create policies that specify what information can be accessed where. For example, can workers get real-time access to customer information on mobile devices?
Utilise Mobile Workforce Management Technology
Mobile workforce management software tools help you track mobile workers’ progress, including:
- Employee performance
- Location
- Scheduling
- Time and attendance
The balance lies in increasing productivity while respecting autonomy. Over-surveillance will erode trust.
Build a culture that reflects your globally mobile workforce
An international talent strategy is based on adaptation and respect. How you put this into practice is up to you. But here are a few ideas:
- Managers are required to allow for a five-minute period of unstructured conversation at the start of each call, allowing employees to compare notes on the weather or discuss their day-to-day lives. This can facilitate cultural exchange and provide a valuable insight into life in other countries.
- Encouraging meaningful work relationships among globally dispersed employees is tricky, but not impossible.
- Regular “coffee catchups” are a good way of doing this.
- Encourage collective activities (like reading or other hobby groups).
- Encourage flexibility to prevent burnout. This provision will undoubtedly increase your appeal to prospective remote-first employees.
The Future of HR for Global Businesses
Everything is changing.
The OECD’s global minimum tax project, Pillar II, states that companies should deduct payroll taxes according to where their employees live or work, rather than the country in which they are officially paid. This will have huge implications for employers with global teams in low-tax jurisdictions. Under the OECD’s new rules, the head entity may have to top up the tax.
Don’t get caught out. Know your tax and legal obligations in real time with Centuro Global’s Travel Compliance Assistant. This mobile workforce management software is tailor-made for companies with globally dispersed workforces. Its AI-powered knowledge engine provides accurate legal and compliance advice instantly, plus round-the-clock support from our team of experts.
In just a few clicks, it tells you what risks your workforce faces, what obligations you’ll be lumped with, and how to mitigate any potential disaster, long before it happens. All in one place.
Speak to us today to de-risk your global footprint.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What exactly is a mobile workforce?
A mobile workforce is made up of employees who can work from any location, not just a fixed workplace. Unlike remote workers (who usually work from home) or field workers (like technicians or sales reps), mobile workers are on the move, often working across time zones or locations.
Why is mobile workforce management important for HR now?
The shift to flexible work is here to stay. Employees now expect freedom over when and where they work, and top talent is increasingly global. At the same time, organisations are navigating labour shortages, rising costs, and the need to stay competitive.
How can HR ensure legal compliance with a global mobile workforce?
Compliance is complex but critical. HR must stay on top of:
- Tax laws (e.g. permanent establishment risk, payroll tax obligations)
- Immigration and visas (especially for digital nomads)
- Labour laws (minimum wage, working hours, benefits)
- Data privacy (like GDPR or other local regulations)
Partnering with legal, tax, and mobility experts, and using up-to-date tech, helps manage these risks.
How do you keep mobile workers engaged and connected to company culture?
- Schedule regular check-ins and 1:1s
- Run virtual team-building events that are fun and inclusive
- Launch recognition programs to celebrate wins publicly
- Share company updates consistently across channels
- Encourage employee-led groups (e.g., reading groups)
The goal: keep people connected, valued, and informed, no matter where they work.
How should leaders adapt their management style for mobile teams?
Good leadership for mobile teams means:
- Trusting employees to get the job done
- Focusing on outcomes over hours
- Leading with empathy and flexibility
- Getting trained in remote-first management skills (Oracle offers guidance)
Consistency, clarity, and compassion are key.
What policies should companies update for mobile work?
Review and revise policies to reflect today’s working realities:
- Remote work and travel policies (clear rules on locations, time zones, eligibility)
- Expense reimbursement (internet, co-working spaces, travel)
- Equipment provision and support
- Data security and acceptable use (e.g., what information can be accessed on mobile devices)
Policies should be easy to understand, mobile-accessible, and globally consistent where possible.
How can HR measure and report the success of a mobile workforce program?
Track what matters:
- Productivity levels (output, goals met)
- Retention and turnover (Stanford found a 33% lower turnover in remote-friendly teams)
- Employee engagement and sentiment (via pulse surveys and feedback)
- Time-to-hire and access to new talent pools
- Compliance and cost efficiency metrics
Strong data helps HR make the case for continued investment in mobility.
How does the compensation and benefits strategy change for a globally mobile workforce?
Global mobility means pay and benefits can’t be one-size-fits-all. HR must balance:
- Local market rates and cost of living
- Currency and tax implications
- Equity in total rewards (so mobile workers feel fairly treated)
- Benefits portability (like international health coverage, pensions, and leave policies
Clear, transparent compensation frameworks, often anchored in geo-banding or location-based salary models, are key to fairness and retention.
How can HR effectively address the mental health and wellbeing of remote and globally dispersed employees?
It starts with proactive support and inclusive policies. Best practices include:
- Offering 24/7 access to EAPs or mental health platforms
- Training managers to spot signs of burnout and isolation
- Encouraging healthy work boundaries (e.g. no-meeting days, right to disconnect)
- Running wellbeing check-ins and pulse surveys regularly
- Promoting mental health days and peer support networks
Wellbeing should be embedded into culture, not just a benefits page.
What are the key security considerations for a mobile workforce beyond general data protection?
In addition to GDPR and data privacy laws, HR and IT must consider:
- Secure access: Ensure VPNs, MFA (multi-factor authentication), and access control
- Device management: Use MDM (mobile device management) to secure company tech
- Location-based risks: Monitor employee safety in high-risk regions
- Phishing and social engineering: Run regular training to build awareness
- Offboarding protocols: Quickly revoke access and retrieve assets when employees leave
Security is a shared responsibility. Make it a part of onboarding and ongoing training.
What are the emerging trends impacting mobile workforce management in the next 5–10 years?
Several trends in operations are reshaping the future of mobile work:
- AI-driven HR tools for workforce planning and personalisation
- Rise of borderless employment platforms (e.g. Deel, Remote.com)
- Work-from-anywhere policies becoming standard
- Greater focus on ESG and ethical global hiring
- Digital nomad visa expansion
- Advanced analytics to predict attrition, engagement, and compliance risks
HR will need to stay agile, tech-savvy, and globally minded to keep up.
