How IFLA uses Multiplier’s EOR to grow internationally

The challenge: Employing across borders

When Bruno Marques took on the role of President following a long association with IFLA, his mission was to grow the organization and its secretariats. Keen to employ someone to handle communications and events management, IFLA soon found the right person. The only problem was that they weren’t based in France.

“There was no way we could compliantly employ someone based in Germany,” explains Marques. The fear was that IFLA would lose the preferred candidate because they could not provide the required contributions and entitlements in a legally compliant manner. “I found myself in a place of frustration, but I thought: ‘Surely we are not the first organization thinking about this problem.’”

This legal hurdle meant IFLA faced the daunting prospect of having to learn the labor law — not just for Germany, but from each country where they might employ staff. To hire the right candidate regardless of location, IFLA needed a flexible, intuitive, and unified solution, which led them to look into the Employer of Record (EOR) concept.

The solution: Effortless international compliance via EOR

“Implementation was easy-breezy”

Bruno Marques,

President, IFLA

Multiplier solved IFLA’s inability to hire international talent via its EOR platform, a solution which employs workers on another company’s behalf while fully handling international compliance. After comparing alternatives, IFLA chose Multiplier thanks to its intuitive platform.

“As a not-for-profit organization, we can’t spend ages trying to master a platform,” says Marques. “Multiplier stood out because of how easy it was to use.”

Multiplier ensured complete compliance by providing all necessary entitlements and benefits for IFLA’s Germany-based employee, as well as voluntary health insurance. IFLA further used Multiplier to provide a laptop to its new worker.

Centralized HR management

Multiplier also functions as the HR management tool for the small organization. IFLA frequently uses features such as annual leave booking, expense claim reimbursement, and time sheets. That last feature helps IFLA understand how new employees are spending their time and allows them to map the new roles against the job descriptions.

The implementation process was smooth. The Multiplier team provided advice on contractual clauses that needed to be included due to country-specific requirements and were open and upfront in guiding IFLA through available services like health insurance or IT asset management. Support is ongoing, and IFLA engages in monthly catch ups with their CSM to stay informed about new features.

“The team behind on boarding was fantastic. They really made our life much easier.”

Bruno Marques,

President, IFLA

The result: Time saved, growth enabled

By centralizing employment and HR management with Multiplier, IFLA unlocked significant savings in time and effort.

The IT asset process was fast, with the employee receiving a new laptop within three or four days once the invoice was cleared, ensuring they could rapidly get to work. Multiplier’s integration with QuickBooks also allowed transactions and invoices to be automatically imported and reconciled with bank statements, eliminating the need for manual processing.

A foundation for the future

Multiplier’s EOR not only allowed IFLA to legally employ their preferred candidate in Germany, but later additional members of staff in the UK and US — bringing a sense of control to leadership and staff alike.

Employees find the platform easy to use for essential tasks like booking annual leave and submitting expenses for reimbursement, while Marques says: “The thing that gives me peace of mind when I go to bed is knowing that we are doing the right thing for our employees: In terms of pension, in terms of taxes, in terms of annual leave.

Multiplier’s platform is enabling IFLA to confidently pursue future growth plans, which involve potentially hiring two more roles within the next 12 months, including an executive director or CEO. Multiplier’s global hiring capability allows IFLA to fill these critical roles by securing the right talent, without being constrained by the legal boundaries of their French headquarters.

A solution fit for the non-profit sector

Aside from ease of use, IFLA chose Multiplier due to its competitive pricing and first-party ownership of entities. IFLA believes Multiplier addresses a significant need for international organizations like theirs and encourages others to consider the platform.

“There are many international organizations like ours that are employing people all over the world who do not know that something like this exists,” says Marques.

Ultimately, the move to Multiplier allowed IFLA to pivot from being geographically bound by their French headquarters to being able to hire regardless of location, supporting the organization’s core goal of growth.

“We’re not really looking for a country — we’re looking for the right talent and the right person.”

Bruno Marques,

President, IFLA