Nearshore Staffing: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Benefit From It

With more business owners looking for new ways to boost efficiencies and reduce expenses, nearshore outsourcing has become one of the most popular staffing strategies over recent years.

 

As the pandemic has taught business owners, companies can’t expect to succeed in the current economy without embracing modern technology as a propeller for growth. And that includes using the most innovative staffing solutions — particularly nearshore staffing.

 

Though offshore staffing has allowed many organizations to affordably outsource aspects of business for decades, nearshore sourcing combines the many advantages of outsourcing with a higher quality service.

 

In this article, we’ll outline everything you need to know about nearshore staffing and how your business stands to benefit from adopting this staffing strategy.

 

What Is Nearshore Staffing?

 

Outsourcing is a common staffing strategy across many industries, as it enables companies to find talented candidates who work remotely and can still complete important tasks. Whether a company doesn’t possess a necessary specialized skillset, or they need more contributors to fulfill a certain project, outsourcing means they have decided to look elsewhere for help.

 

Plus, the current U.S. talent supply is at a record low, and for companies that can manage to find local qualified candidates, the average cost per U.S-hire is approximately $4,425.

 

For years, many companies have looked to offshore outsourcing, which is the delegating of IT-related work from developed countries like the U.S. to other regions of the world. However, this staffing method has become impractical for many industries in today’s modern economy. Enter, nearshore outsourcing.

 

With nearshore staffing, a business can leverage services from individuals or teams located in a nearby region or country. The most common jobs involved with this staffing strategy include software development, technical support, and call center positions.

 

Why U.S. Companies Turn to Latin America for Nearshore Staffing

 

Until recent years, most remote staffing was primarily established in countries like Ukraine, Romania, India, China, and Poland. These regions are particularly known for their low labor costs and consistent quality service delivery, making them such a popular destination for U.S. companies to outsource talent.

 

However, with shifting political stabilities and difficulty overcoming language barriers, many companies have no longer been able to outsource their teams from some of these countries.

 

Fortunately, through nearshore staffing, U.S. companies have been able to acquire talent from Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru, where workers are more affordable, more available, and just as qualified, if not more talented.

 

While the Latin American hiring costs might be slightly more expensive compared to Eastern European-based workers, it’s still significantly lower than hiring a US-based individual. For example, the cost to hire three Latin American IT employees is equivalent to the cost of a single U.S. salary.

 

Plus, this method doesn’t just accommodate short-term projects. Many organizations have used the nearshore staffing strategy to locate teams in Latin America for long-term work, as well. But what about varying time zones or language barriers?

 

With a maximum two-hour difference, Latin American teams can stay in frequent communication throughout the work day. And since so many up-and-coming Latin American developers are becoming more fluent in English, companies don’t have to worry about overcoming a challenging language barrier.

 

How Your Business Can Benefit From Nearshore Staffing

 

Nearshore outsourcing offers several benefits for local companies. Let’s explore how your business can take advantage of this staffing method.

 

Since so many Latin American universities have been influenced by U.S. academics, many students operate on U.S-software and training systems. This allows them to earn degrees in IT-fields like computer sciences and engineering with a high proficiency in the English language.

 

As we mentioned before, hiring cost is always a factor. With increasing hiring expenses in the U.S, it only makes sense that companies are turning elsewhere to find affordable talent.

 

And while nearshore talent from Latin America is not as low as it is in Eastern European and Asian countries, workers still provide quality IT-related work for a considerably lower cost than States-based workers.

 

Plus, companies don’t have to worry about huge time differences between their local and remote teams. Choosing to outsource talent offshore comes with this disadvantage, and the friction often created by working with individuals this way can lead to delays, missed deadlines, and an overall lack of consistent communication between team members.

 

Since Latin American countries schedule their business days closely to that of the U.S., business owners can rest easy that their nearshore teams can integrate into company culture and procedures seamlessly.

 

Additionally, while there certainly are some key cultural differences between the United States and Latin American countries, the differences between the former and countries like Ukraine, India, and the Philippines are even more significant. These differences could pose a challenge when merging teams, or explaining the expected levels of customer service.

 

With nearshore talent, certain important core values have remained the same regardless of cultural evolution. These values include a resilient work ethic, a belief in the potential of one individual to make an overarching difference, and an understanding of the workplace hierarchy.

 

How to Make Nearshore Staffing Work

 

Your company’s staffing strategy can have a big impact on the efficiency of your operations. Now that you understand what nearshore staffing is and what it entails, you’ll need to determine if it’s the right move for your business.

 

Whether or not you choose nearshore or offshore sourcing, you should assess how each impacts your company objectives — this will help you choose the ideal staffing solution according to your goals.

 

In the modern economy, innovation can make or break your business. To succeed, companies must transform their digital solutions, pursue unique ventures, and develop engaging concepts — all without succumbing to beguiling technology commitments.

 

But to succeed in accomplishing all of the above, you must have the right people. More than ever, businesses are coming and going at a rapid rate. To truly thrive in today’s volatile business world, you must connect with quality remote talent — and with nearshore staffing, you can accomplish exactly that.