77% of Indian Companies Plan to Hire Overseas: How to Do It Without Vendor Chaos

International hiring gets simpler when you stop signing a new agency contract in every country. Indian mid-market firms can staff several countries through one contract and one invoice, with specialist local recruiters behind it, and pay only when a hire is made. That is the model CBREX runs.

Key takeaways

• Demand is rising: a Deel survey found 77% of Indian companies plan to increase global hiring over the next 12-18 months.
• The real cost is admin: separate contracts, invoices and compliance checks per country eat TA bandwidth before a single hire lands.
• One contract can replace many: CBREX covers 4000+ recruiting firms in 55 countries under a single agreement.
• Risk sits with the agencies: customers pay CBREX only when they hire.
• Speed: the first shortlist typically arrives within 24 hours of posting a role.

At a glance: international hiring through one contract

What does the 77% figure mean for Indian mid-market companies?

It means overseas hiring is becoming a normal part of growth, not an exception. A Deel survey found that 77% of Indian companies plan to increase global hiring in the next 12-18 months, so most mid-market HR teams will soon recruit in unfamiliar countries.

The CXOToday coverage is not needed here; the point is the direction. Indian firms are building teams across borders rather than opening an office first and hiring second. For a company with INR 50 to 5000 crore revenue, that usually means two to five countries at once, each with its own market rules.

Our own team has a view on where this goes wrong: the ambition is fine, the plumbing is not. Companies decide where to hire before deciding how they will manage the suppliers who find the people.

Where does vendor sprawl come from in international hiring?

Vendor sprawl comes from solving each hiring need locally. A role opens in Germany, so you find a German agency; another opens in Singapore, so you sign a second. Each brings its own terms, invoice format, currency and compliance questions.

After a year you may hold a dozen agreements. Nobody owns the full picture, and your TA team spends its time chasing paperwork instead of candidates.

The three layers of admin

• Contracts: different fee terms, guarantee periods and exclusivity clauses per agency.
• Invoices: separate billing runs, currencies and payment follow-ups.
• Compliance: vendor vetting and data-handling checks repeated country by country.

For a deeper look at country specifics, see the international hiring playbook for Indian mid-market companies.

How can one contract cover agencies in many countries?

A marketplace holds the agreement with the agencies, and you sign once with the marketplace. CBREX routes each role to the most relevant specialist firms through AI matching, then bills you through one invoice when a hire is made.

The steps are simple. You post a role. C Map, the AI vendor matching tool, selects suitable agencies in the right country. Candidates pass an agency pre-screen, then AI validation through C Screen, then stack ranking. Your team sees a short list rather than a pile.

The AI does not replace the recruiters. Specialist agencies reach passive candidates who never apply on job boards, which is where hard roles usually sit.

A worked example: three countries, one invoice

Consider a hypothetical Pune manufacturer hiring a plant manager in Poland, a sales head in the UAE and a developer in Singapore. This is an illustration, not a client case.

Country detail still matters. Read the handbooks for Poland and the UK before you set salary bands.

What CBREX has delivered so far

CBREX was launched in early 2019. It has made 6500+ global hires through a network of 4000+ recruiting firms across 55 countries.

The team led by co-founders Gautam Sinha, Sanjeev Punwani, Karunjay Anand and Divya Chetan. Offices are in New York and Bangalore.

The average time to source is 4-48 hours, and the first shortlist typically comes within 24 hours. For agency spend above 500K USD a year, flat pricing is available.

A checklist before you sign

1. List the countries and roles for the next 12 months.
2. Count current agency contracts and invoice formats.
3. Ask whether fees apply only on hire, with no retainer or upfront cost.
4. Check ATS integration and how candidates are screened.
5. Confirm who vets each local agency.

My view: if you hire in two or more countries within a year, consolidate early. If you hire one role in one country, a single local agency is fine. Compliance for employing the person (payroll, visas) is a separate question, and a recruiting marketplace does not settle it. Teams also weigh volume hiring at home against overseas needs, and that trade-off is still open for many firms.

Next steps

If you are planning overseas hiring, book a demo to see how one contract and one invoice would cover your target countries. You can also calculate your hidden hiring tax to see what agency sprawl costs today, or talk to the team. Recruiting firms can sign up as a talent supplier.