In 2021, Seatti set out to solve a problem all hybrid workers face when they show up in person to HQ: where will they sit when they get there? Seatti’s software manages office space for employers so their employees always have access to a dedicated working area and can see when relevant team members are present. Their platform was a hit — which meant this remote-first company needed to expand its international team.
Compliance, country-specific expertise, and prompt support are critical for companies growing their global footprint. Read below to discover what made Seatti choose Remote for this pivotal time in their international expansion.
Seatti at a glance
Headquarters: Germany
Founded: 2021
Company size: 15 employees
Industry: IT Services and IT Consulting (office management, collaboration, meetups, flexdesk, workspace)
Total employee countries:
5, with 16 nationalities represented
While working for Tesla in Amsterdam, Seatti co-founder Chris Bieri often found himself making the hour-long commute to headquarters only to find a lack of desk space (and the colleagues he needed). In short, it was a huge waste of his time.
“Sometimes you arrive all sweaty from your bike-commute and you realize none of your colleagues are there, and you're like ‘Oh, I could have worked from home today.’” But then other days, the office would be so full that you couldn't even find a desk anymore. In the worst cases, people would cram up next to each other and share one small desk with each other.”
That’s when the idea materialized: create a solution where you can not only see the availability of offices and space, but also where your colleagues are planning to work from so you can create meaningful connections.
Seatti’s platform immediately resonated with companies in the new world of work, solving three critical issues:
Efficiently managing office real estate so employees always feel they have a space and employers aren’t wasting money.
Fostering culture and collaboration with their employee meetup dashboard.
For companies, analyzing and integrating booking data in a fully GDPR compliant manner to improve their office spaces, hybrid work policies, and regulatory compliance.
Seatti’s intense attention to compliance was also top of mind when they began looking to expand their workforce. To source international talent, they wanted a partner who knew the ins-and-outs of compliance in whatever countries their prospective hires lived. And with the need to triple their workforce quickly, that partner couldn’t come fast enough.
Harnessing owned entities, not third-party partnerships
How would Seatti address its two biggest concerns — cost and compliance — when partnering with an EOR to expand their global workforce? After Chris did the research, he found Remote offered the best of both.
“With Remote, what caught our eye is the fact that you have your own legal entities in so many countries around the world. A lot of other similar providers that we looked at often just did it through partnerships. I think the growth and traction of Remote probably also speaks for itself and gives a strong indication that you're doing a lot of things right.”
Chris knew that with Remote owning its entities in every country , and not using third-party providers or partnerships, he didn’t run the risk of HR costs spiraling out of control. And Remote’s in-house, country-specific compliance experts meant Seatti wouldn’t have to worry about keeping its own employees compliant while also monitoring the compliance of their customers. The choice, as Chris said, was “super easy.”
Remote offers a flat pricing structure and no hidden fees when hiring new employees.
Remote’s employment and compliance experts on the ground around the world give Seatti the peace of mind to hire talent globally .
How Remote empowers Seatti to hire like a multinational.
Seatti has an interesting mantra when it comes to hiring: “It's better to have the right person in the wrong place than the wrong person in the right place.” To the team at Seatti, location is irrelevant as long as the candidate is top-tier. But as a small, still relatively young startup, committing resources to navigating the murky waters of international hiring wasn’t realistic. Chris kept asking, “How can Seatti make it as easy as possible to onboard and employ people from all over the world?”
Soon after connecting with Remote, Chris and Seatti discovered that hiring internationally would be easier than they thought. With Remote’s intuitive EOR platform and self-onboarding, the team was able to double in size within a couple of months — a must for a company building tools to improve the work-life balance of hundreds of thousands of people.
“The aspect of being able to hire people in other countries without massive operational efforts was definitely the biggest help, and then also the support on an ongoing basis, whenever we had any questions on aspects like local labor laws. We always got quick and good feedback.”
With Remote, Seatti can access a talent pool normally reserved for companies 100 times their size. More than that, Seatti gets a growth partner who understands the importance of remote work, culture, and happiness.
Hiring confidently and compliantly with Remote
Since partnering with Remote, the Seatti team no longer worries about issues like misclassifying employees in Germany or incorrectly filing taxes in Spain . Remote’s on-the-ground experts handle everything for them. And if Seatti has questions about existing or potential employees, they get the answers they need.
“We have a single point of contact that we can talk to and won't just be passed on to a million different people depending on which country we're in.”
In addition to the quick onboarding process and easy-to-use platform, Seatti has found Remote’s benefits information particularly helpful.
“What's always really complicated is there is the tax aspect behind a benefit, especially on an international basis, because every single country has its own weird tax law tied to benefits. Which benefits are deductible, which benefits do your employees have to pay taxes on and which ones not.”
But even though Remote takes care of all of Seatti’s country-specific benefits needs, there is one benefit offered by Seatti that they have to handle all on their own: tattoos offered by their Chief Product Officer, Johannes.
“I don't think he would dare to call himself a tattoo artist, but he has the equipment and occasionally gives people random tattoos. So yeah, we have the option and a few employees have actually already made use of it.”
The future of Seatti’s international hiring
Seatti has big plans for its workforce, namely tripling its size in the coming year. Currently, most of Seatti’s employees are working from all over Europe, but that’s sure to change as they onboard talent from the places they’re the happiest and most productive.
“Letting people accommodate all of their different needs, at the end of the day, makes them the most successful in the company as well.”
Seatti currently has global job openings for candidates in a variety of positions who are ready to advance the company from a startup to a rapidly growing organization.
And no matter where Seatti finds its next talented hire, Remote will be right there to support them with powerful employer of record services that inspire confidence.
Do you want to enjoy stress-free international hiring like Seatti? Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of Remote’s global hiring experts. If you’re ready to get started, you can set up your profile now and begin onboarding employees and contractors around the world in minutes.
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