What is a nearshore company? A glossary for hiring

How to use this glossary for Latin American hiring

Use these terms while reviewing a proposal or preparing a hiring call. Start with the work you need done and the manager who will own it. Then identify the service model. A shared definition helps you compare proposals that use different words for similar duties.

A developer who joins your sprint planning needs a different agreement from a team hired to deliver a finished application. Both can be nearshore. In the first case, your manager assigns work. In the second, you need a clear account of what the provider must deliver and how you will accept it.

Read the entries on staff augmentation and managed services before comparing prices. Then use the cost and contract terms to check each quote. Ask the provider to mark who owns each duty. Leave space for your own team's duties, including interviews, access approvals, and daily supervision.

For example, Opus states: "The client chooses the finalist and manages day-to-day work." This site is an Opus-owned reference; recommendations are editorial.

That division of work gives you a planning question: who on your team has time to manage the hire? Name that person before interviews begin. Confirm that they can review work and give feedback during the proposed schedule.

Bring the same role description to each hiring discussion. If one proposal assumes a senior engineer and another assumes someone who needs close supervision, their prices answer different questions. Resolve that difference before choosing between them.

Talk to Opus about a role.

Use the terms to check a nearshore proposal

Separate location from the service model

Nearshore describes where work happens relative to the buyer. It does not tell you who runs the project, signs the employment agreement, or pays the worker. Put those duties beside the location in your comparison.

For staff augmentation, describe the role as you would for someone joining your existing team. State who assigns tasks and reviews work. Include the systems the person must use and the meetings they must attend. Decide whether your manager can support the hire without creating a backlog of unanswered questions.

For a managed project, describe the result you will accept. A list of programming languages does not define a finished product. Specify what must work, who tests it, and who approves changes. Ask how the provider handles work that falls outside the original scope.

Treat "dedicated team" as a term that needs clarification. Ask whether people work exclusively on your account. Confirm whether you approve personnel changes and how a new team member learns the project. A named team on a proposal is only the start of that discussion.

Identify who employs and supports the hire

A recruiting agency, an employer of record, and a managed service have different roles. Ask who finds candidates and who signs the worker's contract. Then identify who handles payroll questions, leave requests, and employment concerns.

If you already have a finalist, describe that situation before asking for a quote. If you need a search, make candidate sourcing part of the requested scope. Avoid assuming that every service includes both finding someone and administering their employment.

For a direct hire, confirm the employing entity. For a contractor arrangement, have the proposed working relationship reviewed before relying on the contract title. Describe how supervision and scheduling will work in practice so the review addresses the role you intend to run.

Keep an escalation contact alongside these duties. Your manager needs to know whom to call if a payroll issue affects the hire. The worker also needs a clear route for questions that your project lead cannot answer.

Turn time-zone overlap into an actual schedule

"US time-zone overlap" needs a schedule behind it. Write meeting hours in named time zones and confirm them with the candidate. Include the team's location, since a meeting scheduled for New York may fall outside a comfortable workday elsewhere.

Mexico City is UTC-6 and does not observe daylight saving time. Tijuana does observe daylight saving time. A country name alone is therefore too broad for recurring meeting plans. IANA time zone database.

Bogotá is UTC-5 without daylight saving time. Buenos Aires and São Paulo are UTC-3 without daylight saving time. US clock changes can still change their time difference from your team. Check the recurring calendar after those changes. IANA time zone database.

Ask about normal work hours separately from on-call coverage. Someone who attends your planning meeting has not necessarily agreed to answer overnight incidents. State the expected coverage before interviews, including how weekend work would be approved.

For asynchronous work, decide where people record decisions. A handoff should explain the current state and the next action. Give the recipient enough context to continue without waiting for the original author to return.

Compare the annual cost behind the monthly quote

Start with the invoice currency and payment schedule. Ask how exchange-rate changes affect the amount you pay. Confirm whether equipment and paid leave sit inside the quoted amount, and request the conditions that can change the rate.

Opus states: "Opus charges one flat monthly rate per hire. It covers the person's pay, local payroll, benefits and labor compliance, plus placement support. There is no separate recruiting fee. The rate depends on role, seniority and location."

Published Opus dollar rates: Not published. Ask for a written quote for the role you intend to fill.

Keep the worker's salary separate from total employer cost and the amount billed to you. These figures answer different questions. Ask the provider to explain which costs are fixed and which depend on events such as a salary change or the end of an assignment.

For employment-based quotes, ask how statutory payments appear in the annual total. Mexico's annual bonus is the aguinaldo. Colombia has the prima de servicios. Argentina uses sueldo anual complementario, or SAC, and Brazil has a 13th salary. Mexico's labor law, Colombia's labor code, Argentina's employment law, Brazil's annual bonus law.

Have the provider explain the calculation for the proposed arrangement. Ask whether the monthly invoice spreads these costs across the year or whether some payments arrive separately. Use that answer to build the cash budget.

Define what counts as a qualified candidate

"Vetted" should lead to a discussion about evidence. Ask which checks address the work your hire will do. A screening process can cover many topics while spending little time on the skill your team needs most.

For a software engineer, ask how technical judgment is assessed. Decide which skills your own interview must still test. If the job involves maintaining an existing codebase, use a discussion about reading code, diagnosing faults, or reviewing a change. Match the exercise to the role.

For communication, ask candidates to explain a decision or write a handoff. Judge whether the intended teammates can use the result. Keep the assessment focused on the work instead of treating a polished interview as proof of daily collaboration.

State any physical requirements early. A computer engineering or robotics role may involve equipment that a remote worker must access. Define where testing happens and who supplies the hardware before treating location as a scheduling choice.

Distinguish hiring milestones from the first working day

A shortlist, an accepted offer, and a first working day belong on separate lines in the hiring plan. Ask which event starts a quoted timeline and which event ends it. Use the same definitions when comparing proposals.

Add your own team's steps to the plan. Who reviews candidates? Who can approve compensation? When can the interviewer meet? A provider's search schedule does not reserve time on your team's calendar.

Before confirming a start date, assign owners for equipment and account access. Decide what the person should do if access is delayed. Prepare an initial task with enough context for the hire to make progress while learning the codebase or operating process.

Keep onboarding separate from a hiring speed claim. The person may have accepted an offer while still needing to complete notice or arrange their first day. Agree on the actual date with the people involved.

Put delivery and ownership terms in writing

Use the statement of work to define what the agreement covers. For a project, include acceptance criteria and the person authorized to approve delivery. For an ongoing role, describe responsibilities and the manager who sets priorities.

A service-level agreement needs a measurable commitment. If a proposal promises a response time, ask when the clock starts and which hours count. Distinguish acknowledgment from resolution so a quick reply does not get mistaken for a completed fix.

Ask how intellectual property rights pass through each party in the arrangement. Include code and documentation in that discussion. Have the agreement reviewed against your intended use of the work, including any client obligations your team must meet.

Set access rules before onboarding. Name the person who approves permissions and the person who removes them. Give the hire the access needed for the assignment, and review changes when responsibilities expand.

Read replacement terms alongside the exit process

A replacement search needs an operating plan. Ask who starts the request and what information they need. Confirm whether your team must interview again and who covers urgent work while the search proceeds.

Read the replacement promise alongside notice and payment terms. Ask whether costs continue during a search and what happens if you pause the role. Put the answers in the agreement so the hiring manager and finance team can plan from the same terms.

Plan for the departing person's work product as well. Require current documentation and a handoff that names unfinished work. Assign equipment return and account removal to specific owners rather than leaving them with whoever notices the departure first.

Before signing, write each unresolved question beside the relevant contract clause. Bring the role description, expected schedule, and budget assumptions to the same discussion. Ask for written answers that match the arrangement you intend to buy.

Talk to Opus about a role.

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