As we come to take working from anywhere as a new norm, it is not easy to find remote job opportunities. According to the World Economic Forum, the number of global digital jobs that can be performed remotely will grow by roughly 25 per cent to 92 million, but the report fails to underscore the difficulty in finding a truly remote job.While there are many job portals listing remote jobs, the definition of remote is rather obscure and varies from time to time. Gillian O’Brien, General Manager, Remote Talent, tells me some remote jobs are rather hybrid job opportunities or opportunities where you can work remotely but need to be within a certain mile radius from HQ.She argues this is not truly a remote job opportunity and with Remote Talent, she says they are helping jobseekers find truly remote roles or ones compatible with the search criteria. Remote Talent may seem like another job portal, but it is a platform for jobseekers who are truly global in their search and looking for 100 per cent remote or distributed work. A year after its launch, it shows the need for a complete rethink and a job board without location as a barrier.Finding truly remote positionsWhat’s the common challenge with traditional job boards? O’Brien says traditional job search tools are limited because they were built before distributed work became mainstream, and 78 per cent of applicants reportedly find it difficult to find truly remote positions. She adds that 40 per cent see unclear salary ranges as another significant concern.However, the biggest challenge is jobs advertised as “remote” but are either not remote or limited to specific locations

Today HR platform and payroll provider Remote has unveiled Remote Global Benefits, allowing companies to access and manage multi-country health insurance plans without leaving the Remote platform.

Remote work can create a real headache for companies. Managing employee benefits across borders is often a fragmented, complex, broker-led challenge for multinational companies. HR leaders often have to deal with the arduous task of managing globally competitive benefits across many jurisdictions, each with different regulations and laws, while also synchronising benefits with payroll.Today HR platform and payroll provider Remote has unveiled Remote Global Benefits, allowing companies to access and manage multi-country health insurance plans without leaving the Remote platform.Powered by Kota’s infrastructure and insurer network, it makes it easy for companies to handle the selection, enrollment, and administration of high-quality, compliant local health benefits for their distributed teams without navigating complex international benefits landscapes.I spoke to Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of Remote and Luke Mackey, CEO and co-founder of Kota to learn more.According to van der Voort: Remote Global Benefits represents a significant leap forward in managing international employee benefits.Empowering global companies“Unlike traditional solutions that often involve fragmented processes and multiple intermediaries, our integration with Kota provides a unified, digital-first approach for companies with employees in multiple countries, or those expanding into new regions.”This means companies can manage their global benefits directly through the Remote platform, eliminating the need for multiple systems or brokers.The solution streamlines the entire process – from selecting plans to employee enrollment and ongoing administration. By automating many of these tasks and integrating them seamlessly with payroll, we’re not just saving companies time and money; we’re fundamentally changing how companies approach global benefits management.Mackey estimates that in a 50-person company with just one entity, HR can spend up to 30 hours per month administering benefits.He further asserts that existing solutions tend to be global insurance brokers, which typically means segregated processes, offline administration, timely set-up, and, ultimately, high costs.“As Kota has connections with insurance carriers, it means one flow and process per market, where employee data is synced back and forth between Remote and the insurance carrier and then straight into payroll.”Remote Global Benefits provides companies with teams across multiple countries, or those expanding into new regions, an efficient way to offer the competitive, localised benefits that are essential for attracting and retaining talent.As companies compete globally, strong employee benefits are critical to recruiting and retaining top talent. According to Remote’s Global Benefits Report, 60 per cent of employees consider benefits a deciding factor when choosing between job offers, and nearly 80 per cent of companies see improved retention after enhancing their benefits packages.Local regulatory compliance simplifiedI was interested in how Remote Global Benefits ensures compliance with local regulations across different jurisdictions. For example, as a remote worker myself, I am required to register locally as a freelancer because of the lack of a local company entity.van der Voort detailed that its solution is designed to automatically adapt to local requirements, ensuring that the benefits offered are always compliant with local laws – which vary by region.“This removes a significant burden from HR teams, who no longer need to navigate the complexities of multi-jurisdictional compliance on their own