Recruitment agency and employer of record: how they work together when you hire in Asia

TL;DR

A recruitment agency finds, assesses and shortlists the people you hire. An employer of record (EOR) becomes their legal employer in-country and handles contracts, payroll, benefits and statutory filings. US and European companies hiring in Asia without a local entity often use both: a recruitment partner such as GoAsia Talent manages the search, while an EOR partner handles employment. The two coordinate on the package, timing and onboarding. GoAsia Talent manages the recruitment and does not provide EOR or payroll services itself, but advises on the right fit and introduces clients to EOR platforms and specialist providers.

Key Overview

• GoAsia Talent advises on salary benchmarks and market entry before a search starts.
• Shortlists contain 3 to 4 candidates, each video-screened before submission. The first shortlist arrives in 3 to 5 working days as standard.
• 89% of GoAsia Talent's shortlisted candidates have been taken to interview this year.
• GoAsia Talent has delivery teams on the ground in eight locations across Asia and the Middle East: Dubai, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan. It also supports clients hiring into China.
• Several of the major global EOR platforms use GoAsia Talent as their APAC hiring arm.
• Western management, with 20+ years operating in Asia.

What a recruitment agency does when you hire in Asia

A recruitment agency finds, assesses and presents candidates for a role you need filled. Take a US company hiring its first country manager in Singapore or its first engineers in Vietnam. The agency maps a market where the company has no network, approaches the right people, screens them and puts a shortlist in front of the hiring manager.

The hiring company still makes the decision. The recruiter manages the search through acceptance and the agreed handover. Any support after the start date depends on the engagement.

Permanent recruitment and executive search vs temporary staffing

Many comparisons blur two different models. In permanent recruitment and executive search, the agency never employs the person it places. The hire joins the client's own entity or the EOR's.

Temporary staffing works differently: the agency employs the worker and supplies them to the client. Most "EOR vs staffing agency" articles describe this second model, which is not how first-in-market hires like a country manager are usually made.

What an employer of record does

An employer of record legally employs workers on behalf of another company, so that company does not need its own entity in the country. The EOR takes care of:

• the employment contract
• payroll and tax
• benefits
• HR administration
• the statutory obligations that come with being an employer

What an EOR usually does not do is find the person. It employs someone you have already chosen. That is why many companies sort out the employment vehicle first and then realise that finding and judging the actual people is the harder problem.

An EOR is also different from a professional employer organisation (PEO). A PEO shares employer responsibilities with the client in a co-employment arrangement. An EOR is the sole legal employer.

EOR or your own entity?

Companies typically use an EOR for a first hire or a small first team, when they are not yet ready to commit to a local entity. As the team grows, some consider incorporating and moving staff onto their own payroll. That decision turns on tax, legal and commercial questions, so companies usually make it with their EOR and legal advisers rather than with a recruiter.

Recruitment agency vs employer of record at a glance

Do you need both?

The simplest way to think about it is that the EOR answers how you employ someone and the recruiter answers who. Which partner you need depends on which question is still open:

If you have no local entity and still need to find the person, a recruiter can run the search while an EOR partner helps you establish the employment arrangement.

If you already have your own entity, a recruiter can find the person, who then joins your payroll.

If you have already identified the candidate, you may only need support with employment, through your own entity or an EOR.

How the handover works, step by step

Every engagement differs in the details. The sequence below is how companies typically run a hire when both a recruiter and an EOR are involved.

Before the search: employment vehicle and salary benchmarks

Two decisions shape everything else: how the person will be employed, and what the role should pay. The recruiter's salary benchmarks show what the market expects. The EOR can show what the full employment cost looks like on top of that salary. Settling both before the brief is final prevents an awkward gap later.

Search, screening and shortlist

The recruiter runs the search, interviews candidates on video and submits a shortlist. A short list is the point: it is an exercise in judgement, with a few people your hiring manager would genuinely want to meet rather than a pile of CVs to sift. That is why buyers in this position tend to value quality of shortlist over volume of CVs.

Interviews, selection and offer

Your hiring managers interview, and your company decides who to hire and approves the offer terms. The recruiter typically manages the candidate through offer and acceptance, including counter-offers and notice periods. The salary, title, benefits and start date in the offer should match what the EOR will put in the contract.

Handover to the EOR

Once the candidate accepts, their details and the agreed terms go to the EOR. The EOR issues the employment contract and runs onboarding, including payroll set-up and benefits enrolment. Background checks, work permits and right-to-work questions sit with the EOR or specialist providers. GoAsia Talent can advise on the right fit and make the introductions.

After the start date

The EOR stays the legal employer and your managers direct the work. Any recruiter support after the start date depends on the engagement. If you are choosing a vehicle and starting a search at the same time, book a 30-minute intro call and we can walk through how the two would fit for your market.

Where GoAsia Talent fits

GoAsia Talent covers the recruitment side of that handover: benchmarking, search, screening, shortlisting and getting the chosen candidate to a signed acceptance. It works alongside EOR, payroll and HR technology partners across the region and takes a neutral approach across its EOR partnerships. When a client has no employment vehicle yet, GoAsia Talent advises on the best fit for their situation and makes the introductions.

The arrangement is straightforward. The client's employment compliance sits with a specialist, its hiring sits with GoAsia Talent, and the two stay connected. EOR platforms plugging a recruiter in as their hiring arm shows how naturally the two roles fit together.

Common mistakes when combining the two

These are illustrations of where hires tend to go wrong, not statistics:

• Assuming the EOR will recruit. The employment vehicle is ready on day one, but nobody is looking for the person.
• Benchmarking salary in isolation. A salary that looks right can become a budget problem once the full employment cost is added.
• Mismatched terms. A title or benefit promised during the offer stage does not appear in the EOR contract, and trust takes a hit before day one.
• Slow onboarding after acceptance. A strong candidate serving notice is still on the market, and delays give competitors a window.

What to ask your recruitment partner and your EOR

Questions for a recruitment partner:

• How well do you know this market and this role?
• Will you give us salary benchmarks before the search starts?
• How do you screen candidates before submitting them, and how many reach interview?
• Do you have people on the ground in this country?
• Can you work alongside our EOR, or introduce one?

Questions for an EOR:

• Do you employ through your own entity in this country, or through a partner?
• What does the total employment cost include?
• How long does it take to go from an accepted offer to a signed contract?
• Who handles background checks and work permits?
• What happens if we set up our own entity later?

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an employer of record find candidates for me?

An EOR’s core role is to employ the person you choose. Some also help with recruitment through their own teams or partners. A specialist recruitment partner such as GoAsia Talent can manage the search alongside your EOR, bringing local market knowledge and candidate assessment.

Does a recruitment agency employ the person it places?

Not in permanent recruitment or executive search. The hire becomes an employee of your entity or of your EOR. Temporary or contract staffing follows a different model, where the staffing provider may employ the workers it supplies.

Can we hire in Vietnam, India or the Philippines without a legal entity?

Many companies do, by employing their first hires through an EOR. The rules differ by country, so check the specifics with your EOR or legal advisers. The search can run while you choose a vehicle, and if you have not picked an EOR yet, speak to us about introductions to suit your market.

Who sets the salary: the recruiter, the EOR or us?

You do. The recruiter's benchmarks show what the market will accept for the role, and the EOR confirms what that salary costs you once employment costs are added. The final number is your decision.

Should one firm handle both recruitment and employment?

Some firms offer both, while others specialise. What matters most is that the search is run by people who know the market and the role, that employment sits with a specialist, and that the two stay closely connected through the handover.

Who handles background checks, visas and work permits?

GoAsia Talent does not provide these services itself, but advises on the right fit and makes introductions to EOR and specialist partners. Questions about visas or compliance should go to those providers or to your legal advisers.

Is this different for a capability centre than for a single hire?

The scale changes, but the principle stays the same. For capability centres of 50 to 200 people, mainly in India and the Philippines, GoAsia Talent can be involved from before the location decision through to delivery, with tailored reporting to hiring managers. Its Philippines experience includes a 26-placement, multi-year team build for a US technology company.

Ready to find the people your EOR will employ? Book an intro call with GoAsia Talent.

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