Azhar Janjua
Managing Director
Communitech Outposts
Hiring local talent in international locations is one of the best ways for Canadian companies to accelerate global expansion, especially in a time of restricted international travel. After all, locals know best how to engage clients in their specific markets.
Still, hiring in other countries comes with a lot of red tape, unforeseen complications and potential risks.
Enter Communitech Outposts.
Communitech Outposts was first introduced in 2019 to help Canadian companies hire sales employees and foster revenue growth in international markets. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend to remote work, prompting companies to consider hiring a broader range of talent – not just sales people – outside Canada.
Through this program, startup and scaleup organizations can work with Communitech to get the expert, cost-effective help they need to hire top international talent in-market, whether it’s in sales, marketing or R&D.
“COVID-19 has brought the future of work into the present, prompting many companies to take a proximity-optional approach to hiring for the foreseeable future,” said Azhar Janjua, Head of Communitech Outposts. “Communitech Outposts offers a comprehensive level of support for Canadian companies looking to employ remote talent internationally or conduct business virtually, across borders.”
For companies working on their own, the amount of work and risk associated with setting up an international entity to hire talent can be prohibitive. Communitech Outposts removes those obstacles by managing all aspects of employing people in foreign jurisdictions – such as payroll, benefits and statutory filings – enabling companies to access previously out-of-reach talent and enter new markets more quickly, with minimal regulatory risk.
Communitech Outposts grew out of an idea from Dave Caputo, Chair of Communitech’s Board of Directors. Through his previous leadership of Waterloo-based company PixStream, Caputo experienced the headaches that come with international employment. PixStream was able to quickly expand internationally with help from a major investor, who had offices around the world to handle hiring for them. Other companies that Dave worked with did not have such access and had to handle international hiring on their own, resulting in long delays and complications.
“Having a trusted partner who can handle the back-office headaches of international personnel is a huge time and cost saver,” Caputo said. “Communitech Outposts – which can get boots on the ground in weeks – saves companies at least nine months in set-up time while lowering the risks associated with managing employment in foreign countries.”
Communitech has worked with a number of its customers through the Outposts program including Aterlo Networks, an innovative networking products and solutions company.
"We’re a Canadian company, but we have a lot of customers in the United States. Through the Communitech Outposts program, we were able to execute on a strategic US-based hire at a pivotal moment for our business. When we found out the program was run by Communitech, we knew we were in the right hands,” said Gerrit Nagelhout, CEO at Aterlo Networks. “The expertise of the Communitech Outposts team has been tremendously valuable in helping us navigate the costs of health benefits, taxes, regulatory filings and more. In a proximity-optional world, Communitech Outposts is highly recommended for companies looking to hire and expand internationally.”
Through partnerships with business development organizations across the country, such as the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada, Communitech Outposts is a one-stop-shop for international expansion that gives customers preferred access to incentive grant and loan programs to facilitate global growth. With this expansion, Outposts is now operational in more than 160 countries including key international markets such as the U.S., U.K., Germany, India, Netherlands, Ireland, France, Australia, China and more.
Interested in learning more about Communitech Outposts? Reach out to outposts@communitech.ca to discuss how this program can help your organization hire and expand internationally.