Oyster Launches People Partner Services to Provide Strategic HR Expertise Beyond EOR

New research from Everest Group finds automation alone cannot solve the complexity of global hiring, validating the need for human expertise alongside technology.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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Oyster, a global employment platform, has launched a new advisory service called People Partner Services that provides customers access to senior HR professionals for guidance, strategy, and execution across their entire global workforce. This comes as new research from Everest Group finds that organizations need integrated human expertise alongside technology to effectively manage compliance, employee experience, and workforce strategy when hiring globally. The research highlights how strategic EOR partners can deliver differentiated value in areas like compliance, employee experience, and strategic advisory.

Why it matters

As companies increasingly look to build global workforces, they face challenges around labor laws, regulatory frameworks, and geopolitical volatility that technology alone cannot solve. This research validates the need for human expertise and strategic advisory services to complement EOR platforms and help organizations navigate the complexities of international hiring and workforce management.

The details

The Everest Group research identifies three maturity levels in the EOR market: transactional providers focused on basic compliance, operational enablers that drive efficiency and scale, and strategic partners that integrate advisory expertise, analytics, and governance into workforce strategy. The research highlights how strategic partners can deliver value by proactively managing compliance, ensuring equitable employee experiences, and providing expert consultation on critical business decisions around global expansion and workforce optimization.

  • The Everest Group research was released on February 24, 2026.
  • Oyster is launching its new People Partner Services advisory offering alongside the research.

The players

Oyster

A global employment platform that helps companies hire the best people anywhere and treat them right everywhere. Oyster is the only B Corp-certified Employer of Record.

Tony Jamous

Executive Chairman of Oyster, who is focused on advancing the conversation around ethical, human-centered global employment.

Priyanka Mitra

Vice President at Everest Group, the research firm that conducted the study on the evolving EOR market.

Bianca Burke

Senior Director of Expert Operations at Oyster, who is leading the launch of the People Partner Services advisory offering.

Josh Bersin

Global Industry Analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, who provided industry validation of Oyster's approach.

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What they’re saying

“The global employment industry has spent the past five years selling a myth: that you can automate away the complexity of hiring across borders. The reality is that when labor laws change across multiple jurisdictions, when employees face sensitive HR situations requiring cultural context, when companies need strategic guidance on where to expand—these moments demand judgment, not just algorithms.”

— Tony Jamous, Executive Chairman of Oyster (businesswire.com)

“As the EOR market matures, organizations are increasingly moving beyond transactional use cases toward more strategic workforce models. Everest Group's research highlights how organizations, particularly small and mid-sized organizations, are leveraging EOR to build resilience, manage regulatory complexity, and access global talent while building enterprise-grade workforce capability.”

— Priyanka Mitra, Vice President at Everest Group (businesswire.com)

“Building and managing a global workforce is essential to companies of all sizes, and this is a complex challenge. Oyster has pioneered the use of advanced technology coupled with global in-country HR and leadership support to redefine the value of an EOR, helping companies grow and scale, not only meet compliance needs.”

— Josh Bersin (businesswire.com)

What’s next

Oyster plans to continue advancing the conversation around ethical, human-centered global employment through thought leadership, research partnerships, and honest industry discussions about the role of technology versus human expertise.

The takeaway

This research highlights the limitations of automation and the continued need for human expertise in global workforce management. As companies expand internationally, they require strategic advisory services that integrate compliance, employee experience, and workforce strategy to navigate the complexities of hiring and managing teams across borders.