By Anton van Heerden, Managing Director, DNA EOR

Every week, I speak to HR managers, COOs, and founders from the US to the UK to the Netherlands, who all tell me some version of the same story.

They’re struggling to find the right people, tired of compliance grey areas, and weighing up how to hire internationally without spending months setting up a local entity or risking missteps with independent contractors.

And almost every time, they’ll say something like, “I wish someone had just told me what the whole process would be like from the start.”

So, I thought I’d do exactly that.

What follows is a stitched-together version of those real conversations: a diary-style look at what happens inside companies when they decide to go global with their hiring, zero in on South Africa, and ultimately choose the EOR route.

Let’s take a walk in their shoes.

Monday: Talent Shortage. Board Pressure. Options?

Our CTO dropped the bomb in our leadership sync: “We can’t keep scaling if we can’t find the people.” Roles went unfilled for months in the UK and US. It’s the same story in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, more employees were quietly resisting return-to-office mandates. “Can I stay remote or… should I start looking?” one of our high-performers had asked me last week.

I couldn’t blame them. Work had evolved, and our hiring strategy hadn’t. So, I pitched the idea to leadership: what if we start hiring globally – remote-first? What if we consider markets like South Africa?

Heads nodded, but I could already hear the next question: “How do we do that compliantly?”

Tuesday: Contractors? Or Employees?

The first idea on the table is to hire a couple of independent contractors. It’s quick, low-cost, and seemingly simple.

I started reading up. That rabbit hole got deep, fast. Turns out, if someone works only for you, follows your processes, and reports to your managers,  they’re not truly “independent.” South African law, specifically the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act), doesn’t mess around with misclassification. Backpay, fines, tax issues, even reputational risk – “we cannot have that” – I say out loud!

Several HR blogs warned against contractor misuse or misclassification. And one testimonial stuck with me: “We thought it was easy until SARS got involved. We’re still untangling that mess.”

Scratch that. If we’re building for the long term, we’re hiring properly, with contracts, benefits, and full compliance.

Wednesday: Entity or EOR?

I called another meeting. I was up the whole night researching this and how we can solve the challenge we have. We debated setting up an entity. But the legal team quickly laid out what that entails:

• Local tax registration
• Payroll setup and statutory filings
• Drafting compliant employment contracts
• Administering leave in line with BCEA
• Processing UIF, PAYE, and medical aid contributions
• BBBEE compliance

Add in bank accounts, a local address, legal representation, and… well, suddenly we were looking at months before we could hire even one person.

I phoned a previous colleague of mine and I remembered a LinkedIn post she made about going through exactly this scenario… and that’s when she mentioned an EOR – Employer of Record. We’d never even heard of that before. I started Googling.

Thursday: Down the EOR Rabbit Hole

My screen lit up with options. “Hire anyone, anywhere,” said one. “Global HR in your pocket,” said another.

I booked three demos. One had a sleek dashboard but no actual team in South Africa, and another outsourced compliance to a third party.

The third… well, they tried to convince me South Africa had no 13th cheque or mandatory leave.

That’s when I saw DNA EOR’s blog: real insight on SA labour law, detailed guidance on leave (minimum 15 working days per BCEA), clarity on payroll (monthly tax filings, payslips, statutory benefits), and a breakdown of how they manage the entire employment lifecycle.

And their Google reviews? Legit glowing. “Responsive, local experts who made hiring in SA easy.” “They went above and beyond — even helped us set up home office equipment.” “Wish they had a presence in every market.”

Friday: We Booked the Call

We met with a DNA EOR – an actual person based in Johannesburg, South Africa. They walked us through how they:

• Act as the legal employer for SA hires
• Recruit top candidates on our behalf
• Draft watertight employment contracts (aligned with BCEA)
• Process payroll, tax, leave, and benefits
• Provide real-time support for us and our team members
• Even couriered a welcome pack and helped set up internet and a PC for our new designer

Best part? They would take us through the process step by step – no guesswork, no risk all within days. Our team could stay focused on scaling, not chasing compliance.

Monday (2 weeks later): Hired. Onboarded. Thriving

We made our first SA hire: a product designer based in Cape Town. Within 48 hours of signing, she was fully onboarded, with contract, tax setup, payroll registration, Slack and Teams access, and also a DNA EOR account manager for everything related to employment compliance and ongoing local support.

During our check-in, she told me, “This was smoother than any local onboarding I’ve done.” That felt like a win. Phew!

6 Months Later: Building the Dream Team

We’ve now hired three more team members through DNA EOR – in Cape Town, Durban, and Joburg. All compliant and all high-performers. We’ve even had one promoted to a global lead role.

The difference? They’re not just people on contracts, they’re also part of the company – with proper leave, medical aid, UIF, training budgets, and a clear career path.

Final Thoughts

Hiring globally isn’t always smooth, but it can be with the right EOR partner. When you do it right, you tap into incredible talent and loyalty.

My advice to any HR lead navigating this: avoid the contractor trap, forget DIY entity setups, and find an EOR that knows the country you’re hiring in, properly PLUS you will always have a human to speak to, because South African employment law is scary, but not for us.

Don’t just take our word – here’s what one of our first EOR clients said to us:

“I consider using an Employer of Record like DNA a no-brainer. If we had to set up a legal entity ourselves, we probably wouldn’t have done it – it’s just too much work. Using DNA saved us so much time and effort. If you’re thinking about expanding to South Africa, just give DNA a call. I’m sure they’ll do an amazing job for you.” – Ben Tellez, Business Director, Talent Force Global