The tech talent shortage is a serious problem in America. In fact, a survey by IDC reveals that two-thirds of IT leaders say a lack of necessary IT skills has caused their organization to experience quality problems, reduced customer satisfaction and even resulted in missed growth goals. In addition, it’s estimated that by 2026, over 90% of organizations will experience such negative outcomes due to a lack of qualified IT talent.
However, just because organizations can’t find IT talent domestically, doesn’t mean they have to give up altogether. In reality, nearshoring IT talent from Latin America can provide an effective solution for all types of organizations that need to improve their IT operations.
1. Time Zone Alignment
One of the top reasons why nearshoring is a more viable solution to the IT talent shortage than traditional offshoring is the proximity of nearshore teams. In terms of time zones, most major Latin American cities are within one to two hours of their counterparts in the United States. Time zone alignment makes it significantly easier for IT teams to achieve real-time communication and collaboration, which vastly improves productivity and overall service.
The ability to collaborate in real time enables organizations that use nearshore IT talent to function as efficiently as if they were working with locally-based hires, which helps to minimize delays and other challenges that could arise with more geographically distant offshore teams. No need for late night video conferences, helping everyone maintain a stronger work-life balance, which will improve satisfaction and engagement.
2. Growing IT Workforce
Latin America’s growing IT workforce is also noteworthy — and a clear indication of the burgeoning talent that is available in the region. In fact, the push for nearshoring has helped contribute to the growth of IT talent in Latin America, where 25.8% of higher education graduates in Mexico, 23.9% in Colombia, 21.4% in Chile and 17.5% in Brazil are graduating with a STEM degree.
As the quantity and quality of talent in the region continues to increase, nearshoring becomes even more viable for a broader range of organizations. While there may be a shortage of talent domestically, nearshore IT talent is more readily available and willing to explore these types of working arrangements.
3. Cost Efficiency
Despite there being a talent shortage in IT overall, many organizations find themselves unable to fill their IT needs due to the high costs of domestic IT talent and services. With nearshoring, on the other hand, organizations can unlock significant savings while still treating IT talent fairly.
Quite simply, the cost of living is significantly lower in Latin America than it is within the United States. Because of this, salary expectations also tend to be much lower among IT professionals who live in these regions. While they still expect and deserve a competitive salary for their local economy, this can come out to be significantly less expensive for U.S.-based businesses.
These savings can help organizations better allocate their budget to cover other necessary business expenses, or they could pass some of the savings on to their clients to make their own products and services more desirable, thereby fueling additional growth.
4. Cultural Affinity and Language Proficiency
Relative geographic proximity doesn’t just ensure better time zone alignment with nearshore teams. Major companies such as Amazon and Apple have used Latin American tech talent for over a decade. As a result, IT workers in this region have a strong understanding of the expectations and work culture of companies based in the United States. Latin America as a whole shares many cultural values with large segments of the United States, which can also facilitate an easier working relationship.
In the tech world particularly, proficiency in English has come to be expected among nearshore talent in Latin America. While the level of overall English proficiency within countries can vary, LATAM populations as a whole are becoming better equipped to communicate professionally in English. And for U.S.-based organizations with fluent Spanish speakers, language barriers become even less of an issue.
5. Faster Onboarding
According to SHRM, the average time to hire recently hit an all-time high of 44 days. Part of this can be attributed to the shortage of IT talent in the United States, while others indicate that increasingly complex worker classification standards on a federal, state and local level can further lengthen the hiring process.
While those hiring nearshore talent must also ensure compliance with local regulations, nearshore arrangements typically enable a much faster onboarding process, allowing IT hires to get to work that much sooner. This doesn’t just improve a business’ IT productivity — it also gives them the agility and flexibility necessary to scale teams based on project needs and market changes.
Rather than falling behind while going through an extensive domestic hiring process, faster onboarding with nearshore talent can become a distant competitive advantage.
Nearshoring: A Viable Solution to America’s IT Challenges
As these points reveal, nearshoring offers several inherent advantages for businesses in need of IT talent. With a talented (and growing) workforce that offers time zone alignment, cultural affinity and language proficiency, you can consistently manage your organization’s IT needs. And with the faster onboarding and cost efficiency enabled by utilizing a nearshore workforce, businesses can remain flexible and agile, while better managing their own costs.
Prosource IT can help you build your nearshore team with highly experienced, screened talent from Latin America and Canada, enabling you to find qualified candidates who will help you achieve your IT goals.
5 Reasons Nearshoring Is the Solution to America’s Serious Lack of IT Talent
