The Challenges of Global Hiring (And How to Overcome Them)

Global hiring isn’t just a trend in this brave new world of 2024. It’s a way of life for tech companies struggling after the estimated 300,000 layoffs starting in Q1 2023. As businesses push to hit their targets with decreased headcount, up to 40% of these displaced roles will be outsourced.

But what does this mean for the employees left behind?

Well, they’re suddenly face to face with globalization: one of the top buzzwords of the past decade. Globalization (in the context of hiring) is, simply put, the practice of sourcing talent from diverse locations. There are pros and cons—but regardless of opinion, it has an undeniable impact on the jobs ladder and economic mobility.  

Moving from the big picture to daily work life, employees facing globalization are affected in different ways. HR and TA teams are tasked with finding new, qualified, reliable team members at lower rates than their American counterparts. Existing departments must find ways to collaborate effectively with team members from foreign countries. This presents numerous challenges—but also opportunities.

As we’ve explored in numerous blogs, guides, and webinars, outsourced employees fall into two categories: offshore and nearshore. Offshore hires typically come from places like India, China, and the Philippines. Nearshore hires are closer to the U.S., from countries like Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil. 

Let’s talk about the most common challenges American companies face when hiring globally—and how your team can overcome them.

A big challenge facing HR professionals is the perception that outsourcing offshore results in prospects who rarely speak fluent English. There’s a significant difference between “school English” and “fluent, business English.” Learning a language in school is more theoretical than practical and leads to only basic understanding. 

Working in English requires a level of fluency with the language that can only come from years of close familiarity. It’s not just about proficiency, it’s about being able to communicate effectively and bond with the team. The ability to grasp nuance is a vital skill that speakers who’ve only learned “school English” might never have. 

This is a daunting prospect when bringing on new team members. How can your team overcome a language barrier to truly collaborate with outsourced hires?

The easiest way to overcome a language barrier is to not have one in the first place. A great way to ensure this is to work with nearshore hires, from LATAM countries. Latin American hires have grown up speaking English as a second, or even first language. The rise of the International Schools Market in the 2010’s had enormous impact: many LATAM hires attended school in English. 

Nearshoring allows companies to have the best of both worlds: valuable cultural and linguistic diversity without sacrificing communication. While LATAM hires grew up with American media and cultural touchpoints, they bring their own perspectives to the table. Diversity in the workplace comes with immeasurable benefits—and measurable ones, too. 

In a 2019 study, 84% of corporate directors said that diversity improves relationships with investors and enhances company performance. This is a no-brainer. One of the strongest arguments for globalization is the prevalence of more radically inclusive work environments across industries. 

Nearshoring brings the ease of a team that speaks fluent English while also creating a more vibrant, dynamic workplace.

When hiring globally, an obvious obstacle is The Great Time Zone Difference. Anyone who’s worked with an offshore team has experienced it: 3AM meetings, the impossibility of instant communication, limited team cohesion. After all, it’s hard to have a cohesive team when half the members are on the other side of the world. 

The time difference between Mumbai, India, and New York, USA is 9 hours and 30 minutes. That’s over an entire workday’s worth of time difference for your outsourced engineering services. It’s even more severe when heading to the west coast. Between Mumbai and Silicon Valley, there’s a time difference of 12 hours and 30 minutes. 

You can see the problem. But what’s the solution?

Much as it goes with language barriers, the best way to overcome time differences is to not have them. It’s another place where nearshore hires are the best solution to preempt a problem. Nearshore hires from LATAM countries work on the same (or similar) time zones to the US, at most within 2-3 hours.

There’s no time difference between New York and Venezuela. São Paulo, Brazil is one hour ahead of New York, as is Quito, Ecuador. When you’re working with nearshore hires, it’s as easy as setting their workday hours from 9-6 instead of 8-5. Your team can collaborate for a full day, without skipping a beat. 

It’s a practical difference when working in tech: development’s a fast-changing process and bugs often require immediate attention. If you’re working with nearshore hires on the same schedule, it’s just a matter of sending a Slack message. You’re not waiting 9 hours for an email response.

It’s a fact: the average software engineer turnover rate in India is from 20-40% per year. This is one of the biggest risks of hiring overseas: a cited result of lack of team cohesion is high turnover. With a team that looks more like a revolving door, how can you expect anyone to work at their best? 

We’ve already discussed the challenges of working with a language barrier and in different time zones—but this is the result. Outsourced staffing often feels like a never-ending cycle of hiring, onboarding, and offboarding. When moving through these steps, reduced productivity alone results in an average of $24,000 lost potential profit—per hire. 

Productivity rises when the new hire settles. A 2019 Gallup survey showed that new hires take an average of 12 months (or more) to become proficient in their roles. And just as they’ve reached that stage—poof! You’re once again stuck in the cycle. How can you break free?

At Jobsity, our developers’ average tenure at one company is over three years. That’s better than the States! U.S. software developers spend an average of two years at one company before moving to a new position elsewhere. 

This retention leads to team cohesion, that all-important factor for the full success of your company. Instead of constantly hiring, onboarding, and offboarding, you’re finding talent who’s in it for the long haul. It’s not a bandaid fix, it’s a full solution for increasing your headcount while remaining on budget. 

You need those hires: the perfect fits for your organization, the ones who stay for years and get the job done right the first time.

Jobsity’s nearshore hires represent the best of all possible worlds. Jobsity devs speak fluent English and live in the same or similar time zones to your home office. They represent the top 3% of Latin American Talent—and have for over a decade. 

Our approach to staffing helps you level up your tech team, with long-term payoff. We find your ideal candidate, on your timeline, in your budget.

Jobsity developers stand head and shoulders above the rest, specializing in programming languages such as Python, Ruby on Rails, CSS, and JavaScript. 

That’s why companies like McGraw Hill and Creed Interactive trust Jobsity to provide the talent they need to make their projects a breeze.

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