Laminar Projects
at a glance
Founded in London in 2017, Laminar Projects is a construction consultancy that digitalizes the delivery of complex construction projects around the world. Their globally distributed team of 300 people operates across 16 countries on four continents.
After facing service quality issues with another EOR, Laminar switched to Oyster for a compliant and seamless global employment experience. With Oyster, they’ve been able to scale confidently with expert support while ensuring an excellent employee experience.
- Laminar has hired 29 team members in 16 countries with Oyster
- Laminar can hire faster and fill specialized roles more easily
- The People team's admin workload has decreased significantly
The challenge
Driving innovation in a traditional industry, Laminar Projects combines deep knowledge of the construction sector with digital solutions to streamline the delivery of complex construction projects worldwide. Whether it’s high-tech facilities, commercial developments, civil infrastructure, or power projects, the Laminar team keeps construction management on track and within budget.
Since they serve clients worldwide and need talent with highly specialized skill sets, Laminar has grown to 300people working from 16 countries on four continents. “Building a global team is essential to stay competitive in a fast-growing industry,” says Lídia Pereira, People Operations Director at Laminar Projects.
However, handling the logistics of cross-border employment in-house was expensive and time-consuming since it required painstaking research on local labor laws. “Previously, we faced difficulties with setting up legal entities and understanding employment legislation in different countries where we wanted to hire people,” Lídia recalls.
Laminar tried using an EOR provider, but they struggled with service quality issues, leaving their People team with a heavy admin burden as well as concerns about compliance risks.
“Before Oyster, we worked with another EOR but we had several challenges. There was a lack of transparency and the software platform was not very user-friendly. We also had a lot of difficulties in terms of compliance and employee experience. That’s why we decided to change providers.”
It became clear that Laminar needed a reliable EOR partner in order to scale confidently without worrying about compliance issues.
“We were growing very fast, and the EOR provider we had was not able to help us scale. We were risking a lot in compliance and there was a lot of admin work on us, so we couldn’t be as efficient. That’s when we realized we need a better EOR partner and a much more compliant one.”
The solution
After considering other options, Laminar Projects eventually switched to Oyster as their EOR partner in October 2023. For the People team, Oyster was the clear choice because of the fast and reliable support and the ability to hire confidently with trustworthy guidance on local compliance.
“We chose Oyster because of the incredibly fast response in terms of support, which we were not used to. Oyster is amazing in terms of compliance knowledge and guidance. Every time we have questions about local requirements, they respond immediately in a way that leaves no doubts or further questions.”
When it was time to transition Laminar’s global employees to Oyster, Lídia recalls that the EOR migration process was smooth and seamless. The Oyster team’s proactive support and collaboration made them a trusted partner that Laminar could rely on.
“The migration process from our previous EOR to Oyster was extremely smooth. We had a fantastic team from Oyster supporting us from day one, having conversations with our team and meetings with everyone involved. So it was very smooth, not only on the operational side but also on the compliance side. It helped build the trust we have in our partnership with Oyster.”
In their day-to-day work, Lídia’s team appreciates the user-friendly and intuitive platform which speeds up their admin tasks. If they reach out for support, they know they’ll hear back quickly from Oyster’s helpful and responsive support team.
“From a People Ops perspective, our experience working with Oyster has been amazing. The platform is very modern, intuitive, and user-friendly. And the Oyster service and support team is incredible and very responsive. For any questions we have, they provide fast and accurate information.”
On the employee side, Lídia is pleased that Oyster provides an excellent employee experience for their global team members, from a smooth onboarding to being seamlessly integrated with Laminar.
“Oyster treats our team members as their own, acting as an extension of Laminar, not like a middleman or third party. If they reach out for any reason, Oyster is always very fast and responsive. We know we made the right decision going with Oyster because they deliver an incredible employee experience where our team members feel supported and valued.”
Since switching to Oyster, Laminar has been able to scale quickly and compliantly in 16 countries, and currently have 29 team members on Oyster across Europe, North America, and Australia. The ability to hire globally has made it easier to onboard highly specialized talent in regions where Laminar’s construction projects are located.
“Oyster makes it easy to stay compliant and hire talent wherever we need it. We’ve hired people in 16 countries with Oyster. Most of them are civil engineers, which are really hard profiles to recruit.”
Lídia estimates that the People Ops team previously spent 20-30% of their time on HR admin, which is time and effort saved thanks to Oyster. More importantly, by switching to Oyster, they’ve reduced compliance risks and can hire confidently with peace of mind.
“Switching to Oyster has been a game-changer for the People Ops team because it’s decreased our admin work tremendously. And it’s given us peace of mind about compliance because we don’t have to worry about employment legislation in different countries where we hire people.”
Lídia recalls one particular example where the Oyster team helped them successfully navigate hiring in a new country. Laminar was very familiar with hiring in Europe, but when they expanded into the U.S., they found it challenging to understand the regulatory requirements and local nuances.
“When we first started hiring in the U.S., the Oyster team went above and beyond to help us navigate employment laws, salary benchmarking, contracts, compliance, everything. When we made our first hire, they were amazing with the onboarding, not only supporting us but also the team member. Now we have five people in the U.S. and we’re super happy with Oyster as our EOR partner.”
In terms of business impact, Oyster has enabled Laminar to scale faster with significant cost savings. Having recently established their own entity in the UAE, Lídia knows firsthand how much cheaper it is to expand with Oyster. “Oyster has helped us grow and scale much faster, with tremendous cost savings compared to setting up an entity. Now we can hire faster, work more efficiently, and reduce risk,” she says.
As a People leader, Lídia cares deeply about the employee experience and is happy to report that Oyster has improved engagement and retention for their global team.
“The employee experience has been fantastic for our team members on Oyster, which has helped us with employee retention and engagement. Oyster connects with team members in a way that feels like an extension of Laminar instead of a third party. We’re able to give them the same experience they would have internally at Laminar.”
Looking ahead, Lídia is excited about Laminar’s continued global expansion in partnership with Oyster. “With Oyster as our partner in growth, Laminar will continue to scale fast by hiring globally and compliantly while providing an amazing employee experience to our team members,” she says.
Having seen firsthand the difference between Oyster and other EOR providers, Lídia is happy to recommend Oyster to other companies that want to scale across borders.
“Compared to other EORs, Oyster is amazing in terms of compliance, service quality and support, and employee experience. If you’re looking for peace of mind when hiring globally, Oyster would be your partner.”
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