As organizations compete for talent, flexible work arrangements are no longer a perk, they are an expectation. However, while employees gain flexibility, employers may take on new and often unseen compliance risks.
To you, the HR manager, “home” means employees should work from the address reflected in company records and payroll systems. But to the employee, “home” may simply mean they can work remotely from anywhere they choose. Some employees may choose to work from another state, while others may spend their time working internationally.
When employees work outside of their Home jurisdiction, they may create additional reporting, withholding, payroll, and tax compliance considerations for both themselves and their employer. As a result, organizations need clear visibility into where employees are working to assess and manage potential risks. Doing so often requires companies to establish formal tracking procedures, approval processes, and clear workforce policies while continuing to support employee flexibility and business operations.
For HR and mobility teams already balancing numerous responsibilities, managing a geographically dispersed workforce can quickly become complex and time-consuming.
Remote and hybrid work arrangements remain a standard part of the workforce landscape for many organizations, and managing these populations continues to create additional responsibilities for HR and mobility teams. According to Gallup, 26 percent of full-time workers in the US work remotely exclusively as of 2026, while more than half of all employees (52 percent) work in a hybrid model combining remote and in-office work. Globally, 16 percent of companies operate fully remotely without a physical office presence.
As employees work across multiple jurisdictions, whether temporarily, permanently, domestically, or internationally, companies face increasing complexity related to payroll, tax, compliance, employment law, and duty of care considerations. At the same time, many HR and mobility teams are being asked to manage these evolving workforce arrangements without additional resources or dedicated internal support.
Below, we explore several key challenges HR and mobility teams face today and provide actionable ideas organizations can implement to better manage a distributed workforce.
Across the marketplace, HR and mobility managers continue to face growing pressure as they navigate increasingly complex workforce arrangements. Managing remote, hybrid, commuter, and internationally mobile employees often introduces additional administrative responsibilities, compliance considerations, and coordination challenges across multiple departments.
Some of the primary challenges organizations face today include:
Many organizations lack the resources or dedicated personnel to develop and maintain comprehensive remote workforce policies, approval processes, and governance frameworks. Processes are often built reactively as new situations arise, leaving teams to manage evolving workforce arrangements alongside other responsibilities.
Ideally, organizations would have a dedicated team responsible for overseeing all workforce segments, including international assignees, business travelers, remote workers, and hybrid employees, with visibility into:
This team would also manage policies and approval processes for employees working outside of their Home jurisdiction, while addressing tax, payroll, immigration, and compliance obligations.
In practice, however, workforce mobility responsibilities are often spread across a small group, or even a single individual, making consistent compliance oversight difficult.
Maintaining accurate visibility into where employees are working remains one of the most persistent challenges organizations face.
Common questions include:
Traditional tools, such as travel booking systems or emergency tracking platforms, often do not capture remote or hybrid work locations accurately. Similarly, employee home addresses in HR systems may not reflect where work is actually performed.
This lack of visibility impacts not only tax and payroll compliance, but also broader duty of care responsibilities. These may include obligations related to:
Most organizations rely on technology to manage workforce activity, but many lack integrated solutions that transform data into actionable insights.
Workforce technology may include:
However, access to data alone is not sufficient. Organizations benefit most from integrated technology that centralizes information and helps interpret it across teams, vendors, and processes.
The right technology approach can help organizations identify compliance gaps, assess risks, streamline approvals, and improve coordination, allowing HR and mobility teams to focus on higher-value strategic priorities rather than manual administrative tasks.
Leading practices to reduce administrative burden
So, what can organizations do to better manage these workforce challenges? The following leading practices can help reduce administrative strain and improve coordination among HR and mobility teams managing a distributed workforce:
Many organizations today recognize that flexible work arrangements are an important part of attracting and retaining talent. However, HR and mobility teams are often tasked with managing the resulting compliance, payroll, tax, and operational considerations without sufficient organizational alignment or support.
Here are several key actions senior leaders should consider:
1. Let company priorities guide efforts.
Organizations generally balance three primary priorities when developing workforce policies: employee experience, cost management, and corporate compliance. By identifying which priorities are most important to the business, companies can more effectively shape workforce policies, approval processes, and risk management strategies that align with organizational goals.
2. Designate a workforce mobility project manager.
Assigning a dedicated project manager—or clearly defining ownership within the organization—can help establish accountability for workforce mobility initiatives. This individual can help coordinate policies, manage employee requests, identify process gaps, and drive consistency across departments as workforce arrangements evolve.
3. Give your project manager suitable support.
Even with strong internal ownership, workforce mobility management often requires cross-functional coordination. Managing employee work arrangements on a case-by-case basis can quickly create administrative bottlenecks for HR and mobility teams.
To effectively manage workforce compliance considerations, organizations may need input from multiple functions, including payroll, immigration, corporate tax, legal, benefits, and data privacy teams. Building a coordinated internal process helps employees receive appropriate approvals before working outside of their Home jurisdiction and helps reduce organizational risk.
Organizations should also evaluate whether additional external support is needed to address complex mobility tax, payroll, immigration, and regulatory considerations associated with a distributed workforce.
HR departments are not always fully aware of the downstream reporting, payroll, tax, and compliance implications that can arise when employees work across multiple jurisdictions. Bringing relevant stakeholders together to establish processes and share information is an important step in managing workforce compliance obligations.
Organizations should understand what each department is responsible for, what data they have access to, and where coordination is required.
Consider the following example structure:
Organizations often benefit from working closely with their mobility tax provider or external advisors to develop a workforce mobility roadmap. Establishing a structured approach can help identify compliance gaps, clarify responsibilities, and prioritize next steps for managing workforce arrangements across jurisdictions.
GTN works with clients to develop phased implementation plans that address both immediate priorities and longer-term workforce management considerations. A phased approach can help organizations better manage internal workloads while improving policy consistency and compliance oversight.
A typical roadmap includes:
External mobility vendors, including mobility tax providers, relocation management companies, and immigration firms, can provide valuable guidance when developing workforce policies and processes. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, these organizations often support companies across a wide range of industries and workforce structures and can help identify practical approaches based on real-world experience.
Organizations should leverage these relationships to help establish policies and processes that align with their workforce needs, risk profile, and operational goals.
Download our Mobility Program Evaluation Checklist for considerations at each step of an international assignment and guidance on determining when outside support may be beneficial.
With the right structure, communication, and support, organizations can reduce the administrative burden and compliance risks associated with managing a distributed workforce.
GTN helps organizations design and implement practical, scalable solutions, combining mobility tax expertise, workforce insights, and technology-enabled processes to improve visibility, compliance, and program efficiency.
If your organization is navigating remote work policies, workforce tracking challenges, or cross-border compliance risks, connect with our team to explore how we can help.