The prospect for global business expansion grows as modern markets become more interconnected by the day.
For firms, the opportunity to scale is thrilling, and a sense of urgency might pivot the direction of your operations toward penetrating these new markets sooner rather than later.
From a commercial perspective, businesses inherently will, and should, react to this potential… however where rapid growth becomes your intention, it is important to recognise that the internal infrastructures required to support and stabilise this growth need equally focused attention.
To paint the picture more clearly, and from our customers’ experience, it might help to consider an industry facing these exact challenges today: Genomics
GENOMICS
In defining the building blocks for life, genomics is becoming a global growth story.
Expanding beyond merely a specialist science, genomics is no longer confined to being ‘research lab’ centric, but instead has illustrated an increasing link to the likes of precision medicine, diagnostics, population health, bioinformatics, AI, personalised healthcare, and so much more…
These advances have paved the way for companies to scale not only domestically but expand their operations internationally at expeditious rates.
Valued at $21.8bn in 2025, Grand View Research predict that in merely 8 years, the global genomics market will rise to $72.5bn.
IMARC estimated that these figures should be near doubled ($43.3bn – $127.2bn).
Regardless of the specifics, the rapid commercial momentum is clear.
But can your infrastructure sustain this?
Let’s take a closer look…
Whether it be through newly secured investments, open access to an emerging market, or signing new public health contracts, a genomics company may now need a workforce in several locations with specialist skills including:
It is THIS arm of expansion that our attention needs to focus on
That same company’s ability to implement this list amenably, and, compliantly, may be reliant on an internal HR team built solely around their home jurisdiction.
Now before this same team begins to manage the expansion of the above list in an entirely new jurisdiction… here are 10 things they must first consider, with some figures reflecting how long each consideration can take:
| 1. The specific local entity formation (Ltd Co, Pty Ltd, LLC, GMBH etc) | 2-6 months practical average, 3-12 months in complex jurisdictions |
| 2. Amended employment contracts to that jurisdiction | 1–3 weeks for one jurisdiction; longer if the role is senior, regulated or multi-country. |
| 3. Local payroll | 4–8 weeks after the right registrations are available. |
| 4. Expert knowledge of mandatory benefits | 1-3 weeks for research and adviser confirmation; ongoing maintenance required. |
| 5. Termination rules/laws | 1–3 weeks to understand and document; much longer if a live termination issue arises. |
| 6. Social security registrations | 2–10 weeks where foreign employer registration is available; often 6–8 weeks as a working average. |
| 7. Compliant onboarding | 1–2 weeks once the employment framework exists; 4–8+ weeks if payroll/social security/entity registration is not ready. |
| 8. Leave, sickness and holiday processes | 1–3 weeks to design for one jurisdiction; ongoing updates needed. |
| 9. Local HR support | 2–6 weeks to establish a basic support model; longer to mature it and make it business specific. |
| 10. A clear plan for employee data security and confidentiality (think GDPR and Data Privacy regulations) | 2–6 weeks for a basic employment data framework; longer for genomics because data sensitivity is higher. |
More Problems…
Regardless of the industry, expanding a company’s employment and HR infrastructures to new jurisdictions is inevitably arduous.
Genomics specifically, has more nuanced features that are crucial for expanding companies to consider.
Expansion within this industry depends on highly specialised expertise that may be limited within a company’s local capabilities.
More often than not, talent must be sourced across borders, rather than attracted through the development of fast new entities.
What Else?
Genomics involves drastically high sensitivity issues concerning health & genetics data.
Companies onboarding this globally need to be particularly careful. Implementation must take place within the reigns of structures which can confidently support full clarity and compliance: who the employee works for, the duties they perform, how to onboard them correctly and, importantly, what contractual protections are in place for the employer and employee.
Experience is Imperative
In sectors under the utmost regulatory scrutiny, such as genomics, inexperienced employment and HR models can pose devastating risks to expansion endeavours.
Moving too Fast
Expansion does not simply require vision and acceleration.
It requires stability.
A compatible Employment and HR support structure will facilitate this expansion dependably.
Incompatible infrastructures threaten compliance with:
We’re listing only a handful of risks. These expansive threats can excessively burden HR teams by diverting attention away from their daily internal management and operational tasks.
Where candidates reveal themselves, talent attraction creates pressure.
Delay can cost opportunity, but speed without structure cultivates risk.
In Genomics, and many other growing industries, there is no room for error.
But there is also no time to waste.
The assistance of an Employer of Record serves to balance this dilemma. We have the experience, infrastructure and capability to support your growth ambitions. For nearly 10 years, we have been assisting companies across different industries achieve their outcomes.
