Safeguard Global Reviews

“Very cooperative customer rep

Pros

The technology and platform are impressive. It's great to have a single place to manage oversight of our people overseas and control costs. Safeguard offers the most advanced platform we have encountered for this kind of service.

Cons

The payroll service wasn't as organized or accessible as the Employer of Record (EOR) we previously used but since being acquired by Deel, things have improved. I suggested they promote their services more during reviews and I noticed a better effort in the last quarterly meeting.

“Our true partnership

Pros

The team we work with is outstanding, their helpful attitudes make everything smoother. Their customer support is top notch. The assigned account manager feels more like a true partner, always looking for ways to improve our collaboration. They go above and beyond to meet our needs.

Cons

Their online systems could be more integrated and offer more features to help manage employees better.

“Professional and dependable

Pros

Their deep understanding of laws and regulations across different countries is invaluable. They are always available to assist and ensure things get done. Their follow-up on outstanding issues is reliable and communication is excellent.

Cons

I don't really see any major downsides to using Safeguard. Sometimes employees get confused by instructions from both Safeguard and the employer but that's not really the company's fault.

“A team focused on solutions

Pros

Whenever issues arise, the team responds positively and resolves problems efficiently.

Cons

On occasion, we have experienced some delays, which can be frustrating.

“I really value my relationship with the Safeguard support team

Pros

I appreciate their focus on building strong, trusted partnerships with genuine care and integrity. They are always willing to collaborate on solutions that enhance both employee and client experiences.

Cons

I appreciate the multi-layered approach with local partners where needed but I'm excited to see Safeguard further develop its own local entities. I'm looking forward to tech improvements in 2025.

“Completely incompetent

Pros

Honestly the whole system is tough to navigate and the service has been quite disappointing.

Cons

As I approached the tax year end, I submitted all required documents to ensure correct taxation from the start. However Safeguard apparently didn't forward my earnings form to payroll, which led to incorrect tax deductions and a large unexpected bill. This issue was not caused by me.

“Great team! everyone is friendly and helpful

Pros

I really like that they assign a dedicated contact person to work directly with us, so we can get all our questions answered promptly.

Cons

The portal used to be a bit challenging, but their team made updates that significantly improved usability.

“Excellent account reps and support

Pros

The account managers are fantastic, they genuinely care about providing a positive experience for both clients and employees. The recent update to the payroll platform has been a big improvement. Collaborating with recruiters on our global job openings has gone smoothly.

Cons

Local HR representatives are not often available during US business hours, causing delays and making it hard to get quick answers. It would be great to have a direct line to the in-country HR reps or at least regular check-ins to reduce the feeling of disconnect.

“aligned global payroll

Pros

Paying employees or contractors is very easy and the whole process runs smoothly. I'd definitely recommend it for companies managing overseas HR and it's also simple to get up and running.

Cons

Customer support could be better.

“Helpful payroll platform

Pros

Handling employee payments with this tool has been quite convenient. It gives me one integrated platform for all my payroll-related needs and getting it implemented was fairly easy as well.

Cons

accuracy and speed could be better, although they are still manageable for now. Customer support also has room for improvement.

“Versatile features and helpful support

Pros

Getting started with this software was very easy for me and the implementation process went smoothly as well. I regularly use it and really appreciate the customer support. It offers a variety of useful features and the integrations are simple to set up too.

Cons

Interface could be improved and made more attractive for users.

“helpful guidance from day one!!

Pros

Starting out with an EOR tool for the first time, I also contacted two other companies to compare options alongside this one. What I appreciated right away was that my first point of contact was an actual employee of the company who really understood the product. I also valued that Rachel K. stayed with me throughout the onboarding of our first global candidate. This was a big step for our organization and involved a significant cost, so I did not want to be passed around between multiple representatives or feel like I was just being sold something. With the other companies, I received mixed messages and unfortunately none of the representatives were based in the US. With this tool, the team gave me clear, useful information about the process, what to expect and the services they offer. I never felt uncertain about what was going to happen next. Rachel answered my questions early on and gave me a lot of detail about what would affect my bottom line. That is exactly why I chose this tool and it is also why the process has gone so well.

Cons

At this point I have not run into anything I dislike.

“awful promises and zero delivery

Pros

They started strong with grand promises but it quickly became clear they had no intention of following through. Not a single commitment was honored.

Cons

Support team doesn't seem to understand the legal requirements in the countries they're supposed to help with. Their staff is based in India and there's very little transparency overall. They even miss employee payments and then brush it off as a "system error." I would not recommend using them.

“fantastic recruiting partner

Pros

This tool and Rio Montoya in particular, have been an outstanding asset in supporting the AuST Group's recruiting efforts as we work to quickly bring in highly capable people who fit our culture and mission well. Rio is responsive, thorough, professional and genuinely a pleasure to work with.

Cons

haven't experienced any drawbacks at all from working with this tool and Rio Montoya.

“Life-changing support for global hiring

Pros

Running a small business from Portland, Oregon, I never would have managed the bureaucracy, filings, reporting and tax obligations involved in hiring someone in Ukraine without this tool. It gave me and my company a way to employ an old friend whose life was completely disrupted by the Russian invasion after he could no longer work at his family's multi-generational business. With the support of the team behind this tool, he now has flexible full-time work and the salary he earns is enough to help support his family and even his community. Being able to help the people of Ukraine matters a lot to me and there's no way I could have done that without this tool.

Cons

One small frustration is that I sometimes receive emails in the middle of the night on Pacific Standard Time and by the time I get to my computer in the morning, the deadline to respond has already passed. That can occasionally create delays that stretch on for a month. Still, that really feels like nitpicking because I genuinely love this tool. I'm very thankful it helped me support my friend.

“excellent onboarding and support

Pros

From the moment we started using this tool, our experience has been nothing but positive. Elliott Altland and Zinzan Elan-Puttick were both incredibly helpful and made the institutional and employee onboarding process feel smooth and easy. The pricing has also been transparent and simple to follow and we've especially valued how quickly the team responds whenever any questions come up.

Cons

no issues with this tool.

“strong support on global labor laws

Pros

its reassuring to have specialists on hand who really understand international labor laws.

Cons

initial setup can feel a bit clunky when the process isn't fully clear at first.

“helpful central support

Pros

It's really helpful to have a central coordinator in place to troubleshoot issues whenever they come up.

Cons

The generic geoservices email address makes it hard to tell who you're speaking with or which country is being discussed. Adding some kind of identifier in the subject line or another way to clearly separate one country from another would make communication much clearer.

“Billing errors and invoice confusion

Pros

One thing this tool does well is handle all of our EOR needs in one place and there's real value in having those processes aligned through a single provider. While our experience with the previous rep wasn't the best, the new rep has been much better to work with and I'm optimistic that the relationship will improve from here.

Cons

A major frustration has been the volume of invoices that later have to be credited and reissued because of mistakes. The way refundable deposits are managed has also been inconsistent which has turned reconciliation into a headache for our accounting teams. There have even been cases where we received both a credit memo and a refund for the same deposit. Getting backup documentation for expenses used to be difficult as well, although our new rep is now helping us gain access to the Unity tool so we can pull that information ourselves.

“fast and reliable support

Pros

Whenever I need help, the support team is dependable and gets back to me quickly.

Cons

I haven't run into anything I dislike. The company has been excellent.

“costly service with slow support

Pros

It works as an employer of record for our company in countries where we don't have a physical presence. Once the initial setup is finished, the platform provides reliable payroll processing for our international employees. In places where the company doesn't maintain central offices, they partner with local providers which helps extend coverage to more countries.

Cons

The downside, as with a lot of PEO providers, is that it can get expensive and the fee structure changes depending on the country. If your registration is handled through a local office in a less common market, response times can be noticeably delayed. There also seems to be quite a bit of turnover among account managers, so it's not unusual to end up with a new contact every few months.

“global hiring but with delays

Pros

It gives us confidence that the company stays compliant and protected if something goes wrong. On top of that, it lets us hire in almost any country around the world.

Cons

platform's team does reply and tries to help but getting responses from the local partners feels slow. Because of that, we haven't been able to onboard a single person within the timeline the tool originally estimates.

“Responsive support!

Pros

i love how quickly the team responds whenever something comes up. The assistance and guidance have been consistently helpful any time there's been an issue.

Cons

haven't come across anything negative to say about this tool.

“flexible teams and seamless integration

Pros

It is really helpful to be able to have staff work with the firm from different locations which gives us access to people we otherwise wouldn't be able to bring on. The integration process was also very easy. On top of that, Zinzan did a good job of keeping me on track and making sure the implementation kept moving forward.

Cons

can't think of any downsides.

“helpful support for employees

Pros

One thing that has been really valuable is how quickly our employees can get help and have their questions answered.

Cons

At times, it feels like there's some turnover or new people are stepping into roles fairly often.

“Friendly support for global hiring

Pros

Hiring people in other countries has been much more manageable thanks to the knowledgeable and friendly team.

Cons

It's definitely a pricey solution but it does save a lot of time.

“reasonable pricing but limited control

Pros

With a broad global presence, this tool has been a dependable EOR for us. The pricing feels fair and our current agreement can be used in pretty much any country which is a big advantage. It's also a plus that they provide both health insurance and life insurance.

Cons

Dealing with the local HR and this tool contacts can be frustrating at times. One downside is the lack of self-service options for customers, compared with other EOR providers, we have a lot less direct control over employee-related tasks. With this tool, nearly every request has to be sent by email which can be limiting.

“responsive and attentive support

Pros

Whenever I reach out, the team gets back to me quickly and stays very attentive.

Cons

It would be helpful to have more training available for the portal.

“professional support

Pros

One thing that really stands out is how responsive the team is. The person I'm in contact with is knowledgeable, pleasant to deal with and clearly knows their work well. The combination of quick replies, real expertise and a friendly attitude has made the experience very positive.

Cons

I honestly haven't run into any issues so far.