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Singapore has long been a regional hub for innovation, finance, and tech. But as companies seek to scale with agility and control costs, many are turning to offshore hiring, not just as a workaround, but as a long-term strategy.
In a landscape where talent is scarce and competition is high, building distributed teams across Southeast Asia offers a more flexible and cost-effective path to growth. Offshore hiring allows Singapore-based businesses to access high-quality talent, optimize headcount costs, and operate without the burden of local legal setup.
Here’s how it works and why more companies are embracing it.
Offshore hiring enables businesses to recruit remote professionals from outside Singapore without establishing a legal presence in the candidate’s home country. This approach is especially valuable for startups and growth-stage companies that want to scale lean while minimising operational risk.
Singapore’s talent market is competitive and limited in supply, especially in fields like technology, design, marketing, and customer support. By hiring from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, companies gain access to high-quality candidates who are often English-proficient and culturally aligned.
Example: A Singapore SaaS company partnered with Glints TalentHub to build a development team in Vietnam. Within six weeks, the company successfully hired five engineers and a QA lead, reducing staffing costs by 40% without compromising on skill quality.
If you’re considering Indonesia in particular, here are 5 reasons why offshoring to Indonesia is becoming a top choice for Singapore-based employers.
Offshore hiring can reduce employment costs by 30 to 60 percent. For instance, a full-time data analyst in Indonesia may cost significantly less than a local hire, while delivering the same level of expertise. This saving also extends to office overheads and employee benefits.
Statistic: Companies report up to 45% operational cost savings when they adopt offshore hiring models in Southeast Asia.
Markets like Vietnam and the Philippines often have shorter notice periods and larger talent pools. This means roles can be filled in weeks instead of months, a key advantage for fast-moving industries such as SaaS, fintech, and digital marketing.
With teams spread across multiple Southeast Asian countries, companies can operate beyond Singapore’s time zone and maintain business continuity. Offshore hiring also allows for rapid scaling into new markets without heavy capital investment in local offices.
While offshore hiring opens new opportunities, it also brings layers of complexity—especially for companies unfamiliar with employment regulations or cultural nuances in other countries.
Here are some key areas to plan for:
Each country in Southeast Asia has its own employment laws, tax regulations, and mandatory benefits. Companies must consider everything from working hours and termination clauses to 13th-month pay and national holidays. Hiring through an Employer of Record in Singapore can help businesses stay compliant without the need for entity setup. Companies using outsourcing can reduce HR-related operational costs by 27.2 % on average (People Managing People)
Processing payroll for international employees isn’t as simple as making a bank transfer. Companies need to manage local contributions, tax deductions, and legal payslip requirements. Missteps here can lead to compliance penalties or disputes. From Outsource Philippines, outsourcing payroll typically reduces errors by 50 % and delivers 18 % to 35 % cost savings through reduced penalties and lower infrastructure costs.
Processing payroll for international employees involves more than just sending salaries via bank transfers. Employers must navigate local contributions, tax deductions, and payslip regulations, each of which varies by country. Without the right systems or partners in place, errors can lead to disputes or compliance penalties.
Organizations with well-defined approaches see on average 23 % fewer losses due to compliance-related incidents (SixSigma.us). Learn more about how payroll outsourcing can simplify this process while keeping you compliant.
Building trust and collaboration remotely takes effort. Employers should establish strong onboarding processes, clear communication rhythms, and local support to help offshore hires feel integrated, not isolated. Without that, productivity and morale can suffer. From Navex Global’s statistic, 63 % of organizations report that policy management improves resolution time and reduces legal costs related to compliance issues.
It’s important to note: offshore hiring is legal for Singapore companies as long as proper contractual and tax compliance is maintained in the talent’s country. Misclassifying full-time offshore workers as freelancers can pose risks, another reason why EOR or PEO services are often preferred. Discover more about EOR VS PEO services on our comparison page.
Read Related Article : Remote Hiring in Southeast Asia: What Global Companies Should Know
Here’s a snapshot of key offshore hiring destinations for Singapore businesses:
These countries are particularly attractive for companies building offshore development teams, marketing hubs, or customer service functions across Southeast Asia.
Explore more insights in our Country Hiring Guides, which break down market-specific norms, laws, and salary benchmarks.
To help companies start strong, Glints TalentHub offers:
Explore our Performance Review Method to strengthen team management practices.
Many Singapore-based companies now choose to work with cross-border recruitment platforms and global employment solutions that specialize in navigating local compliance, payroll, and onboarding—removing friction from the hiring process.
Through a partner like Glints TalentHub, businesses gain:
Companies seeking to build a presence in Southeast Asia, without making immediate infrastructure investments. It is increasingly leaning on this model to scale smarter.
Offshore hiring is no longer just for large corporations. It has become a practical growth strategy for startups and SMEs in Singapore looking to scale efficiently while accessing skilled talent across Southeast Asia.
With the right partners and hiring structure, companies can build distributed teams faster, stay compliant with local regulations, and reduce operational costs—without compromising quality or speed.
As remote work becomes more widely accepted, building international teams is more accessible than ever. Offshore hiring gives businesses the flexibility to scale smarter, enter new markets, and rethink how growth is achieved across borders.
This article is brought to you by Glints TalentHub. Leading companies are actively building their borderless teams in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and beyond. However, the prospect of going borderless can be daunting due to complex regulations and cultural ambiguities. With Glints TalentHub, you’ll have a dedicated team of in-market legal, HR, and talent experts by your side at every step of the way.
Glints TalentHub offers an end-to-end, tech-enabled talent solution that encompasses talent acquisition, EOR, and talent development. We empower businesses to leverage the strengths of regional talent efficiently to build high-performing, cost-efficient teams.
Schedule a no-obligation consultation with our experts to receive a tailored proposal today!
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