What is Offshore Staffing – and Why Is It Software Development’s Ace in the Hole?
Thanks to technology, the world has gotten very small. Companies can now create offshore software development hubs which allow them to stay connected easily, and makes building and scaling development teams more affordable. It also enables them to hire specialized talent in other countries that can’t be found locally. This concept—Offshoring—has become incredibly popular. It’s in the same pot as the Outsourcing and Onshoring noodles, but Offshoring holds the sauce much better when it comes to software development. Let’s boil it all down:
You Know Where You’re Going And We Know How To Get You There. Call TurnKey Today To Get Your Team—And Your Product.
What is offshore staffing?
Offshore staff augmentation, or Offshoring, is the hiring process that some of the smartest software companies use to build teams of employees. These teams are jam-packed with highly specialized technical talent, are found and built overseas, and are well-known for their ability to help companies scale product development while coming in under budget.
If you’re reading this, it’s probably because a) you need talented and experienced software developers, and b) you’re geeks like us (congrats!). And like us, you’ve got your eye on the dollars and cents you’re tossing at every solution that comes your way.
You have options. But when you insist on hiring locally, one of three things is likely to happen: you pay through the nose, you get whoever is available (whether good or not), or you can’t find what you need when you need it.
That’s when offshore tech staffing saunters in the room. Ready to make your dreams come true, she’s hard-working, talented, and all about the work. But do you know how to navigate this situation on your own? Even the smoothest talker needs a wingman—TurnKey has your back. With us, hiring an offshore team is a win/win. Here’s why:
- We not only understand what types of developers you need—we can find them for you too.
- We get your business and what makes the hiring process go smoothly.
- We ensure that your offshore staff is dedicated to you (and so happy that they stay with you for years).
- We embed your remote staff into your culture, your communication style, and your product goals so they feel like the home team, not the visitors.
We also suggest watching this video by our CEO Sterling Lanier to learn more about offshoring.
What are the six primary benefits of Offshoring?
Based on the YouGov study, nearly half (48%) of businesses offshore their software development operations overseas, with the market anticipated to reach a valuation of $620 billion by 2032. Several factors fuel this growth, including the availability of a talented workforce in overseas locations, the cost benefits of offshoring, and the growing worldwide demand for digital enhancements in business procedures. Here’s a brief overview of the advantages of offshoring:
You’re going to love these:
- Cost-efficiency. There’s a time and place to make it rain. Hiring your development team doesn’t have to be one of them. Countries where Offshoring talent is prolific have another aspect from which you can benefit—their cost of living is likely lower than it is where you live. That means you pay a solid rate to your remote staff (and they enjoy it) but it’s way less than you would pay for someone else who lives closer to you.
- Access to a global talent pool. Finding the right candidates with the necessary skills and the dedication to your product in your home country isn’t always easy. Heck, sometimes it’s downright impossible. The talent pool in the United States is scarce at best. Thanks to Offshoring, your organization can hire the most qualified tech specialists around the world. Yes, you!
- Retained control. Offshoring delivers staff that sticks. They’re dedicated to your team, your product, and your timeline—they are a true extension of your home team. Your local teams can focus on their work knowing that the offshore group is going to bring it. Technology makes it simple to communicate with and manage those hires from anywhere and you hold the reins, guiding them to the finish line on time and in front of the pack.
- 24/7 operations. You’re going to rock around the clock with Offshoring. When you have a team in a vastly different time zone, your product never sleeps. You are productive during your day, and your offshore team takes the handoff and keeps the ball rolling during theirs. When you hire an offshore team in Eastern Europe or Latin America, you are going to become a city that never sleeps, kid.
- Business expansion. With your offshore team bolstering your efforts, your internal resources are free to do their jobs without being overwhelmed by too many tasks. They might even be willing and able to take on new projects, and you might be inspired to expand your business. (If the latter is the case, we know just who to call when you are ready to scale…Hint: it’s called TurnKey!).
- Higher profitability. This one is easy. Less money out + more productivity = big internal gains.
If You Need To Scale And Build But Your Internal Teams Need A Boost, Get To Offshoring. TurnKey Can Help
This isn’t a question. We know you want to scale. Remember in one of our recent blogs where we wrote that the one who scales first usually wins? We get the sense if you’re reading this, you’re one of the winners. In which case offshore development center is the answer for you. Don’t run your own team ragged when you can hire a remote team to help.
What are the disadvantages of offshore staffing? (aka the potholes to avoid!)
- Time zone differences. Obviously, when you run a software development business with distributed, global teams, you’re going to have to work to maintain efficient communication with remote employees. Patience may be a virtue you need to dust off, as delays are impossible to avoid when your teammates are sleeping during your business day. The flip side? When you sleep, they crank—and you wake up to an inbox that’s been humming for hours.
- Language barrier. On the communication front, it’s not just the time zone that can create a barrier. There are language differences that can be frustrating, as nuanced conversation, slang terms, and intimated understandings can get lost in translation. Thankfully, most offshore talent (and everyone TurnKey works with) in countries like Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil have a strong grasp on the English language. Add that fact to TurnKey’s continuing English education and Western cultural immersion, and what was once a barrier becomes a benefit.
- Cultural differences. And speaking of culture, we know ours in the United States is unique to us, just as other countries’ cultures are theirs alone. TurnKey’s expertise is invaluable here. We’ve done this dance and know all the steps. Better still? We hire talented developers and engineers who are also excited about jumping into the American culture club. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the level of understanding, collaboration, and work style alignment you find when you hire offshore with TurnKey.
- Legal and tax compliance. Do you want to learn about global implications as they relate to labor and taxes? We didn’t think so. And with TurnKey, you don’t have to. Each country has its own labor and tax regulations. We know how to operate within the existing (ever-changing) legal nuance and tax policy rules, so we’re able to ensure you can avoid the various legal issues that a less experienced firm might walk you right into.
Offshoring vs. YOURshoring
We’ve got the pros and cons down. So now let’s compare Offshoring to our YOURshoring model so you can truly understand why the second option is so good.
Quick background: before we put our TurnKey boots on, we wore your shoes. We were entrepreneurs in the software development world, and we experienced firsthand all of the frustrations that come along with scaling, building a product, and finding high-quality developers. We decided to create what we couldn’t find, and TurnKey was born. We love Offshoring, but we are obsessed with doing it your way—YOURshoring is where it’s at.
| Offshore staffing | YOURshoring |
|---|---|
You can’t directly control the team, how they’re paid, or their schedule, vibe, or work style. | Your team is fully dedicated to your product and you hold the reins that guide timing, delivery, communication, and productivity. (Feels good, doesn’t it?) |
Your remote team is doing the work, but the churn is rough. Fully 40% of remote developers bail when a better gig comes along, leaving you to start over. | YOURshoring is perfect for organizations looking to build a team that sticks—they’re focused on you, dedicated to your culture and project, and paid well. They’re happy for the long haul, which makes you happy, too. |
Most offshore firms are going to fill your roles with whoever they have available. Might be a good fit, but probably not a great one. | TurnKey recruits talent especially for you and your role. No square pegs with us…you’re going to get someone who gets you and gets the job done right. Frankly, they’re so good, they’ll keep you on the cutting edge in their area of specialty. |
Remember that 40% churn we talked about up there? Yeah. High turnover means a lot of starting over on your end. Not exactly great for productivity. | TurnKey’s talent retention program is outstanding. We reduce churn by ensuring professional development and training, keeping the culture positive, and helping talent grow personally and professionally. Why? Because happy people do good work. |
Most of the time, you are kept out of the payment loop. If you don’t know what your staff is being paid, you don’t know how to reward them or how to measure your success. | With TurnKey and YOURshoring, you are in the driver’s seat and the view is clear for miles. You’ll know how much your developers earn, how to keep them motivated, and how productive they are. |
Generally speaking, your offshore team feels like they’re disconnected. They are loyal to their firm and to themselves, so if another gig comes up, they’re not going to have you top of mind. | The YOURshore team you hire through TurnKey is embedded into your company. They don’t just work on your product, they become a valuable part of your organization. They feel it, they embrace it, and they’re loyal to it. |
How do we get some of that YOURshoring?
All you have to do is ask.
TurnKey has extensive operations in Eastern Europe including in countries like Poland, Ukraine, and Romania—perfect locales for businesses that aim to scale. These countries are famous for professional universities and their talented, specialized graduates (as well as their lower cost of living and tax rates).
Want a team in a closer time zone? No problem. We’ve also got incredible Nearshoring options in Latin America—particularly in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.
With TurnKey, we guarantee:
- The most experienced specialists within 30 days;
- The ability to expand your team easily;
- A dedicated recruiter who’ll know everything about your organization;
- An account manager based in Silicon Valley who you can contact at any time.
TurnKey also handles the logistics:
- We assume all liability;
- We deal with all administrative costs—legal services, taxes, payroll, and recruiting;
- We manage all the required office space and equipment.
- We provide an outstanding retention program that offers different corporate and social benefits and allows your offshore team to grow professionally and personally.
Ultimately, the talent you hire through TurnKey is YOURS. We even sign a contract and assign all IP rights to your organization.
Take for instance an international software corporation that adeptly shifted to a nearshoring with TurnKey. By choosing nearshore solutions, the company ensured effective communication, timely achievement of project goals, and fostered a positive work-life balance for its developers.
How did they make this happen? They partnered with TurnKey to establish a nearshore software development team in Latam.
Within a mere month of sealing their deal with TurnKey, the enterprise effortlessly welcomed the first batch of staff for their innovation hub in Mexico. This onboarding was swift and fluid. Encouraged by these early successes, the firm is now broadening its initial vision for the innovation center, aptly addressing the challenges posed by time zone disparities.
TurnKey’s boots-on-the-ground presence along with decades of experience building and scaling teams, mitigates against most of the cons people typically associate with offshore development (lack of transparency and high churn), while offering most of the pros (similar if not better quality of talent than in the US at a lower cost). That’s made a huge difference for us.
Some final thoughts
Offshoring has a handful of pros and another handful of cons. When you upgrade to a YOURshore situation with TurnKey, you’re going all-pro because we navigate the tough stuff and amp up the good ones.
There’s no harm in learning more. You owe it to your culture, to your leadership team, and to your existing staff. Take the opportunity to increase your profit, flexibility, and productivity.
You Miss 100% Of The Shots You Don’t Take. Lace Up Your High Tops, Warm Up, And Get Your Team In The Playoffs.
FAQs
An offshore staff is a team of specialists who live and work overseas to meet your project needs or critical business goals. Considering the time difference, such employees may perform their tasks in a different time zone. But they may adjust their work time to meet your requirements.
Let us count the ways (and the reasons):
- Cost-effectiveness
- Access to a highly specialized talent
- A convenient recruitment process
- Business expansion opportunities
- Higher profitability
- Improved scalability
- Round-the-clock productivity
Hiring offshore professionals provide US-based companies with a game-changing competitive edge. They obtain affordable access to a global talent pool with the highest possible skills and necessary technical expertise.
That’s part of what TurnKey does for firms like yours. Our team takes care of things like job posting, interviewing, and assessing talent. We hire, help retain, and handle payroll, among other things.
Offshoring is great. YOURshoring is freaking awesome. Call us and you’ll see.
TurnKey Staffing provides information for general guidance only and does not offer legal, tax, or accounting advice. We encourage you to consult with professional advisors before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business or legal rights.
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