HIRING NEARSHORE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS

A Helpful Guide

Introduction to Hiring Nearshore Developers

Are you interested in hiring nearshore (same time zone) software development talent for your team that is less expensive than US-based resources? Nearshore software developers and software engineers offer you the opportunity to get highly skilled nearshore resources that can easily integrate with your existing software team(s), which can help you reach your company’s software development product lifecycle goals faster and more cost-effectively. 

This nearshore software hiring guide will provide you helpful information and key tips for your consideration if you want to hire nearshore software engineers directly.

Some Items To First Consider when hiring Nearshore Software Engineers:

Are you looking for LONG-TERM (6 months or more) or SHORT-TERM (less than 6 months) software development resources?

If you are looking for long-term nearshore software development resources, will your team hire these resources directly as full-time employees of your team or as nearshore / offshore contractors?

If you are looking for short-term nearshore software development resources, are you looking for gig workers that are not dedicated to your projects for outsourcing nearshore or offshore– Fiverr, up work, etc.?

Are you interested in working with a trusted Nearshore Software Development Outsourcing company?

 

Let’s Dive In and learn more about how to
hire nearshore software development resources!

Chapter 1:   Your Company

Is your Company an Ideal Career Destination for Nearshore Software Developers?

Getting strong nearshore software engineering talent is very challenging right now. In addition to great pay, nearshore software developers are looking for companies where they can grow and expand their career and technology knowledge.

Some things to consider about your company:

1. Does your company have positive Glassdoor and Indeed reviews so candidates can research employees’ happiness? Positive reviews are essential to understanding the culture of the company.

2. Candidates are also looking for companies with cutting-edge technology, opportunities to advance their careers and the overall work environment for developers.

Some things to consider about your software development company needs:

1. Are you looking for additional developer resources to supplement your existing software team?

If you are hiring them directly, nearshore software engineers can help supplement your existing team. Most Senior Developers will look at the structure of your software engineering team, your technology stack, and your product roadmap to create a plan for working on your projects. They will also look at your HR processes.

These developer resources focus on building meaningful working relationships that foster your company’s growth.

2. Are you looking for a Nearshore Software Outsourcing Company to take over specific projects or your entire software engineering needs?

If your company is looking for this type of outsourcing, it is suggested that you work with a trusted nearshore software development outsourcing company with a solid executive team and agile project management structure to ensure project success.

Chapter 2:   How to Hire Nearshore Resources

A nearshore employee with benefits (preferred by nearshore software development resources).

An employer who offers benefits additional to their salaries attracts nearshore employees. Employers who provide their nearshore software development team attractive benefits such as health insurance, overtime, paid time off, and retirement benefits are a motivation to attract nearshore (and offshore) team. Nearshore employees have an opportunity to work effectively without strain leading to quality nearshore software development results.

Challenges

Getting a reliable plan for offshore or nearshore employees may prove a big challenge, especially considering the difference in laws. Nearshore and Offshore laws and taxes may be different and thus prove challenging to get the software development team fully covered or take a more protracted process due to taxes and other regulations.

Contractual Work

A common practice in the U.S. is paying taxes by employers. Nearshore and Offshore Independent contractors have to pay their taxes, which may differ from the laws and regulations that differ from what you may be used to. In HR sourcing for these companies, you must check into such details to help budget your plans to create an effective nearshore development paying process.

Challenge

Long-term retention is more difficult with nearshore software development contractors. While trying to maintain and retain nearshore (or offshore )developers, it is essential to consider the working conditions and motivational needs. Long-term retention for these software development resources is a challenge, especially with the different offshore and nearshore working environments or laws and regulations that may hinder further engagements. Software Developers willingly accept to retain employment if the benefits or other motivating activities are offered. Thus, even though they provide good services, it may still be hard to have prolonged engagements with these teams.

Chapter 3:   How to Compensate

Hiring Top Notch Nearshore Software Development talent- Compensation Process & Options

International Wires / ACH

ACH transfer involves transactions with financial bodies outside the United States. This transaction will directly link you to the foreign bank account from the nearshore team, and a direct deposit is made. The trades make it easier to monitor the funds in the banks. However, with ACH transfers, not all banks can do the transactions; thus, it may limit you to specific banks.

International wires for paying offshore or nearshore developers are also a standard option often chosen due to their effectiveness in money transfer. Clearance can easily take a day or two depending on the destination, thus reliable. International wires are done between two banks and are adequate for ease of bank transfer.

Challenges

Difficulties that can be faced involve – it can be expensive, and there are often hidden fees; for transactions using ACH, some of the account transactions cannot be done offshore / nearshore. Exchange rate issues can also be a hindrance in creating adequate budgets with the inclusion of other fees. payment identification, compatibility of your bank and the resources of the local and offshore / nearshore bank, etc. These challenges weigh heavily on the HR communication process and the software development resource’s work effectiveness. For this reason, it becomes essential to choose a bank that has offshore and nearshore presence and an account and wire transfer plan that will not affect the transaction process, especially the duration of processing money in the accounts.

PayPal, Payoneer, Skrill, Google Pay, Stripe

PayPal transfer includes the linking of accounts in the PayPal credit system. Therefore, when sending money to clients or overseas employees, you would only need their payola account whereby you send money from your bank to the other account. The PayPal account users can access the funds within a few hours or a day. It forms an efficient transfer mode due to its accessibility and effectiveness in transferring money, even using different currencies. The program also allows business accounts, which may be another efficient transfer mode compared to other programs.

Payoneer is also a program that works close to PayPal and facilitates international transfer payments. It is a safe and secure form of payment that can broadly impact good relations. It fosters payments locally and internationally; hence you can opt to use it if it efficiently serves the business.

Other forms of international money transfer for offshore and nearshore software development resources include Skrill, Google Pay, and Stripe, which also facilitate the transfer of money internationally. Payment processing is essential in helping establish the effectiveness of your work. It is important to have talks with the nearshore software developer teams to work on accounts that can be accessed with ease creating solutions for all businesses.

Challenges can include:

Expensive fees. There is a big challenge with the exchange fees, which may be a bit pricey. These transaction fees are critical to presenting a burden to transfers which may eventually amount to less money.

Other challenges may also arise, especially with the safety of money. Fraudulent activities are daily in such instances, and you may need to check that your transactions are fully protected. Challenges in payment and transactions are crucial in creating a better relationship with others. Despite all obstacles like transaction processing costs, it is critical to work with trusted programs or banks that ensure that instances of fraud and any other form of theft are not possible.

Chapter 4:  How to do Background Checks

Background checks on companies that deal with the software are very critical. It can help reduce the chances of criminal activities by verifying their work credibility. When considering working with nearshore companies, this becomes even more critical to choosing the right partner. The track records presented in the background checks are essential for the safety and stability of your company and the teams involved. An example is the educational background and documents that give evidence of the individual having acquired the skills and the software comparisons or previous work done by the individual.

Things to look for when vetting a Nearshore Software Developer

Public court records, criminal history, fraud watch lists, known affiliations, global sanctions & enforcement check (OFAC), sex offender, and public safety check. These records are essential to prove the track record of any team. Aspects such as fraud watch list and public safety are especially critical to the development and management of software. Background checks ensure that your team is credible and has integrity. Collaborating with individuals who may not be in the same region or the U.S. affiliations with other individuals or companies can also inform you of the type of team you are partnering with. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the background checks are well and strictly enforced to prevent instances that may affect your company’s credibility at any stage. These checks should be strict to avoid bad hires that may compromise your business or company.

Chapter 5:   Marketing Jobs

Hire Nearshore: Marketing Your Job Openings

Unfortunately, in this ultra-competitive job market environment for software developers, you have to do more than just paid job postings on platforms such as LinkedIn. Marketing must include a catching outline that interests users and any other interested personnel. For software development, specific details must be identified to attract individuals with the qualifications. LinkedIn and other job posting platforms may offer opportunities, but you have to ensure that it catches the eye of potential companies and teams that are credible. A positive impression draws individuals to your offer.

Most software developers utilize LinkedIn. If you pay for advanced tools from LinkedIn, like recruiter seats, which can cost $6k+ per year, you can have access to people beyond your direct networks. This is a better approach to ensure you interact with established individuals who may offer good services. Software developers may provide different ranges of information and thus help you determine which services you will opt for. This type of access helps get professionals and like-minded individuals with direct skills and connections to help you out. It also allows you to specify the maximum amount of money you are willing to pay for the project.

Social media outreach on other platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. The power of social media is unmatched, many individuals post about their work on social media, and it becomes an accessible platform that fosters communication. The platforms can be used to market different services and also a chance for you to post about any related information. Software development services can also be found this way, primarily through platforms like Twitter which also helps educate individuals on the different ways to reach out and credible teams to work with. These platforms quickly access their reviews, highlighting their networking and job assignment track records. Gig workers may be present on these platforms offering effective software development services.

Participating in local hiring events/virtual hiring events around nearshore software development: engaging in these events is very important in growing and identifying efficient teams and individuals suitable for the job. Software developers are primarily accessible to create lasting relationships and effective workplaces through such engagements. They are hiring events to discuss opportunities to look for and address specific issues. One can freely choose suitable groups by checking their credibility or performing background checks that help make decisions. The organization of these events also helps you discover and network with other nearshore software development resources who may offer consultancy or do the job.

Chapter 6:  How to Write Good Job Descriptions

Nearshore Developers – Job Descriptions

Job descriptions are essential for attracting qualified nearshore software development talent as they help address the specific details needed for a particular job. Some of the elements to be described include:

  •   Name of the nearshore position (this is important to attract talent). It is sure to attract specific nearshore software development individuals with related qualifications.
  •   About us section. This section highlights your software development company’s background stating missions, objectives, and goals to be achieved.
  •   Nearshore Job responsibilities. It involves the scheduled tasks the individual or team should take over. This section should be detailed and focus on the primary duties and responsibilities that the person must undertake.
  •   Must have skills. These are the critical skills directly related to nearshore software development, like .NET skills, Python skills and project management.
  •   Nice to have skills. They include complementary nearshore skills like communication skills.
  •   Compensation and benefits. It is essential to ensure that interested parties know your benefits programs even when working in nearshore and offshore.

Chapter 7:  Conducting Interviews

Nearshore Software Engineer – Initial Interviews

Evaluate English/personality culture match. This is an essential step for nearshore software development to address the issue of communication, especially in understanding. It is necessary to ensure that flow of communication is not limited when the project is ongoing.

Explain process/benefits/projects. Before commencing, a deeper understanding of the software development projects and other related information is essential to the company and the software teams involved. This creates an opportunity for the openness of communication between the two parties offering better approaches and strategies to achieve the nearshore development goal.

Understand salary expectations and availability to join. Financial information is critical to creating a good foundation for the nearshore development working environment. This information should be openly discussed and provided along with details used for joining the team.

Understand their years of experience with the core technologies. You must clearly understand their software development background and ask for clarifications on the jobs and developer projects they have done before. This also highlights their track record with software development projects in the job market and their nearshore and offshore experience built along the way.

Determine if they want to move forward or not. Using the information provided and even further consultations, make a sound decision on whether to engage them more.

Note: If it seems like a good candidate, ensure you are selling your company’s benefits and culture/benefits. Most individuals want to work in a comfortable environment and grow professionally. Make them excited about the opportunity. Remember, when hiring nearshore developers, they are in high demand and typically have multiple job offers.

Code Tests for Software Development Services

Create custom code tests for software development that include the must-have and nice-to-have skills you outlined in your J.D. This will help you choose influential nearshore developers and also highlight the expected software development results. Practical custom software development tests are essential to gauge a developer’s understanding and skill level.

We typically only accept nearshore software developers that score 86% or higher. Also, choose a software development code test platform that records their tests and checks for them going to other tabs in their browser while taking the test (to see if they have to search for answers). It is a practical way to verify the software development skills of the individuals and for hiring.

Some good software development platforms for this include Coderbyte, Codillity, Hackerrank, and Devskiller. These software development company platforms can be used to create tests you can offer to individuals who countercheck coding skills. when looking to hire nearshore software development resources.

English Proficiency Tests

Most software development companies want to ensure the nearshore software development team has adequate verbal and written English skills. The skills are essential to maintain good communication and understanding of the various roles presented in the job.

Of the several language frameworks used worldwide, the most common for hiring is the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). You will want to make sure you understand this and the different levels as outsourcing companies for nearshore and offshore often utilize these. The levels help determine how deep the nearshore development hire understands the information.

Some good platforms for testing English proficiency include Emmersion, ETS, and TestGorilla.

Technical Interviews for Nearshore or Offshore Talent

This interview should be done after the other steps are completed. It is almost a final stage for the hire and before formal employment and most likely done through physical meetings.

This should be done by a competent software development services engineer skilled in the required technologies. The interviews will also rely on the description and nature of the custom software development work. It helps the interviewer know if they should hire the engineer and if they are well prepared or knows the job.

We suggest custom software development pair programming exercises for drilling down on the key skills to hire. This is a step to understanding the nearshore software developers code quality and ensuring fewer mistakes are made.

Chapter 8:  Bottom Line

Hire Nearshore for your Custom Software Development

Identifying potential candidates may be extended and tiresome but rewarding in the end. Nearshore software developers may be cheaper than in the U.S., but at the same time, careful consideration is essential to promote effective working environments and relationships. The process may take a while, but it is necessary to ensure that you have a committed individual or group to work with. Based on your nearshore development needs, you many want to consider outsourcing to a reputable software outsourcing company. 

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