Cote d’Ivoire (formally called Ivory Coast) is a country located on the western coast of Africa and borders Guinea, Mali, Liberia, and Ghana. It has a population of about 27.9 Million people, and it’s the home to the third largest French-speaking city in the world, Abidjan. Cote d’Ivoire’s economy is primarily service-based. The agricultural and chemical industries (petroleum and hydrocarbons) contribute enormously to the economy. Notably, it is ranked 4^th in the economic freedom score 2022 among 47 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Employers can easily access professionals in fields such as tourism, finance, export, telecommunication, food processing, and transportation, automobile, sales, and marketing from its vast population. Above all, employers should understand and adhere to the employment laws, among other aspects, while hiring and paying remote workers in Cote d’Ivoire. Let’s explore more.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Hiring Remote Workers and Contractors in Cote d’Ivoire?

Advantages/Benefits

1. Skills are abundant and widely available

Africa is home to a vast pool of skilled professionals/talents in different industries that international employers can hire to work remotely.

2. Remote employees are more productive

It’s easy for a business to achieve its objective when employees when productivity is at the top. A survey shows that remote workers were 20-25% more productive than their counterpart employees working in the office. Remote employees have the flexibility and motivation to work from a location of choice when they can do their best. As a result, they remain highly motivated and deliver incredible results.

3. Reduces business cost

Hiring remote employees means an employer has fewer employees working from a physical location; therefore, you have reduced business costs on certain things such as rent, utility bills, cleaning services, food, and taxes.

4. Reduces cost for employees

Hiring remote employees also benefit employees by reducing cost on their side. For instance, they don’t have to commute daily or buy food from restaurants. Overall, it saves them a small portion of their expenses.

Disadvantages

1. The feeling of isolation and lack of relationships among coworkers

One thing about remote work is that employees work from various remote locations. As a result, some employees might feel they have a minimal connection to the organization with which they work. Further, an employee may lack the ability to establish relationships with coworkers since they work from different geographical locations and rarely or have never interacted.

Pro tip: Organizations should encourage using teleconferencing and other digital communications tools and software such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and online chat systems. It also entails scheduling video conferences for teams to socialize and to encourage check-ins with colleagues.

2. Hiring and managing remote workers can be challenging

Onboarding and managing remote workers can be difficult and time-consuming sometimes. For instance, an employer must select and assess the best talents from the large pool of skilled remote workers. Additionally, an employer must understand employment laws and requirements before onboarding a remote employee worldwide.

In addition, communication among remote workers can be challenging due to differences in time zones and language barriers.

Pro tip

Employers should consider outsourcing some functions, such as hiring and paying remote employees, to an Employer of Record (EOR) service provider to help hire and pay remote workers in different countries. For example, employers should consider using Workpay, an ideal EOR provider in assisting employers in hiring remote workers across African countries, including Cote d’Ivoire.

Additionally, the employer ought to invest in essential management tools such as Trello (for project management), Slack (for team communication), Google Drive (best for file sharing), time tracking software, etc.

What is the Best Way to Hire Remote Employees and Contractors in Cote d’Ivoire?

Below are three main ways an employer can hire remote workers and contractors in Cote d’Ivoire:

1. Use an EOR provider

The best way to hire remote employees and contractors in Cote d’Ivoire is through Employer of Records or a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). Who is an EOR anyway?

It’s a third-party organization that takes over hiring and paying employees, among other employment-related tasks of an employer.

Why is working with an EOR such as Workpay to hire remote workers in Cote d’Ivoire the best way? Through an EOR service provider, you can easily access the best talents in Cote d’Ivoire, regardless of your business size, without needing to set up a local entity in this particular country. More importantly, an EOR service provider is responsible for maintaining compliance with local labour and tax laws on behalf of an employer (guaranteed full compliance).

2. Set up a subsidiary

 Another way to hire remote employees and contractors in Cote d’Ivoire is by setting up a local entity or subsidiary. It means having a physical location of your company with all licenses and other requirements. It also includes setting up local payroll and hiring staff.

This option provides more flexibility and lower compliance risks to an employer. However, it’s time-consuming and expensive. Additionally, it's unsuitable for startups or small businesses that don’t plan to go internationally to specific locations.

3. Direct-client engagement

Lastly, an employer may opt for a direct-client engagement whereby they hire remote workers as independent contractors. This option gives employers staffing flexibility and saves on costs.

However, the greatest challenge of hiring independent contractors is the risk of misclassifying workers. Penalties for misclassifying employees can cause financial, reputational, and ethical damages to an organization. Additionally, direct client engagement involves many administrative tasks, including preparing employment contracts and managing payroll.

What is the Best Way to Pay Remote Employees and Independent Contractors in Cote d’Ivoire?

There are several ways to pay remote workers and independent contractors in Cote d’Ivoire. However, how you pay them depends on the way you hire them. They include:

1. Outsource payroll to an EOR

Often most EORs have everything a business needs in one place, including payroll management and human resource operations. Therefore, they make it easy for employers to hire and pay remote employees and contractors. Above all, an EOR provider helps employers with complex tax regulations; therefore, they remain less prone to breaking local laws in Cote d’Ivoire.

2. Run a local payroll

Suppose an employer sets up a local entity in Cote d’Ivoire to hire remote employees and contractors. In that case, they’ll have to set up and run a local payroll to help them pay remote employees and contractors per Cote d'Ivoire's labour and employment laws.

It also entails complying with the Ivorian complex tax systems.

3. Pay remote employees and contractors directly through bank transfers, online money transfers, or cash pickup transfers

Suppose an employer opts for direct client engagement; they can pay their remote employees and contractors through any of the above methods. All employers need is details of the remote workers to send them payment as per their agreement.

The common online money transfer platforms include PayPal, WISE, Payoneer, Worldremit, and Remitly. Reliable cash pickups include MoneyGram and Western Union.