Overcome Recruitment issues with IT Staff Nearshore Services

March 05, 2024

A finger hits a button which shows how to overcome recruitment problems with IT Staff Nearshore Services

Have you found recruiting the right IT staff has never been more challenging? Demand has outstripped supply, and staff expectation often exceeds practicality. When coupled with the urgency to fill a skills gap, it can seem that you or your CTO and HR are facing an impossible task.

You are not alone! 95% of IT managers surveyed said they faced problems finding the right skills.

Even if successful, the process of finding someone with a suitable skill set and realistic view of their worth can be long and drawn out. Currently, the average time for hiring new IT staff is reported to be around 35 days. Then comes the onboarding, familiarization and training.

While all these challenges and delays are stacking up, your business is at risk. The absence of the critical skills could cost you money in lost sales, fines due to missing a legal deadline or the risk of system downtime – or worse, a cyber-attack.

Why has it become so hard to recruit new IT staff? Is there a way to bypass the bottlenecks?

The reasons for the problem

The reasons for the recruitment problems for IT staff are complex. In part, the education system is not providing the skills to match the expected growth in demand. But the issues go deeper.

Technology is moving at a rapid pace - faster than ever before. However, several legacy programming languages and frameworks that have survived a decade or more can still be found in many small and large companies. But surrounding those necessary technical dinosaurs are many new technologies, with more emerging almost daily.

New languages, new apps, and new ways of doing things can bring considerable advantages in speed and functionality that enhance the core legacy systems. However, they also create a deeper and wider skills gap.

Companies with small IT teams need help keeping abreast of the changes. Even larger companies find it hard to adapt. With a fixed headcount, how do they embrace new technologies and complex skills? Retraining is one way. But can your business rely on a trainee to be conversant with all the nuances of a new widget?

An additional issue that generates skill gaps is the shortage of skills mentioned earlier. The possessor of those rare skills is a desirable commodity, and they know it! Whether it’s one of your IT team that has been with you for years or one you’ve trained on new technology, they are the targets of head hunters. Higher salaries, better conditions, and the opportunity to embrace the latest innovations are all tempting baits.

What’s the answer?

As we’ve seen, the issue is multi-layered. It is not one problem you can quickly fix. Even if you can recruit the ideal candidate and they are as good as you hoped, it is likely someone already has their eye on them. By joining your team, they’ve shown they can be tempted to move.

Even if you can retain all your IT staff, you will still face the gradual erosion of skills as new technologies, different systems and updated hardware are introduced. You could find yourself in an unending cycle of retraining, with your team working at reduced speed and, possibly, half knowledge.

The answer for many businesses is to step away from the ongoing struggle to recruit and retrain. Most companies successfully maintain a core IT team and rightly so. Your existing team know your systems well and they know your company culture.

To this reliable core team, why not add the skills you need as and when you need them? And get them immediately. And cheaper. And without affecting your headcount!

How?

IT Staff Augmentation - and its varieties!

IT staff augmentation is where a company hires external IT professionals to assist its in-house team. These professionals work remotely but work closely with the in-house team, adapting to the company's workflow and culture.

The location of the external IT professionals affects certain aspects of the relationship. You will typically hear the three types of staff augmentation referred to as

- Local
These will be based in the same country as you, the USA. Due to the location, you will have no concerns about language or culture. However, the costs are likely to be high as the provider will be facing the same challenges as you – high salaries and difficult supply and demand.

- Offshore
Offshore is the term used when the location is far from the US. The most common locations are Eastern Europe, India and Asia. The costs appear low, and the proposed skill base seems high. Unfortunately, the potential cost savings are often lost due to language issues and cultural differences. With time differences that can be as high as 12 hours, experience has shown that these factors frequently combine to create missed deadlines.

- Nearshore
Nearshore staff augmentation staff are located in countries close to the US. Salaries are lower, and IT training has created a deep talent pool. These staff members are in the same time zone as you and share a common culture, with excellent American English language skills. Each means that nearshoring offers the advantages of local and offshore staff augmentation without any of their problems.

No wonder nearshoring is growing in popularity among small, medium, and top US companies.

Man choosing staff on a display screen

Advantages of IT Staff Nearshoring Services

Engaging nearshoring services has many advantages to overcoming recruitment issues or bottlenecks.

Is it for you? Find out by clicking here: Why IT Staff Nearshoring is right for you

Some are mentioned above, but to recap, here are five of the main benefits businesses see almost immediately:

1. Avoid IT Skill Shortages by Nearshoring
As we’ve seen, finding good IT staff in today’s job market can be challenging. Nearshore staff augmentation can provide the staff you need when you need them, and without affecting your headcount.
2. Access to Specialized Expertise
Allied to the staff shortage, you need to ensure you get the right skills. Nearshoring enables your business to find expertise that might be scarce or unavailable locally.

Along with expertise, English-speaking skills are also essential. Skilled IT staff are often available offshore, but their value is often let down by poor English.

3. Flexibility and Scalability
With the rapid changes we’ve seen over the years in technology, it can be hard to predict who you need and when. Nearshoring removes this concern by allowing you to hire the number of staff you need, with the appropriate skills, for as long as you need them. And have the ability to add to that team if necessary.

4. Cost-Efficiency of Nearshoring
A key benefit of nearshore staff augmentation is its cost-effectiveness compared to hiring full-time staff.

The local salary rates allow nearshore staff to be cheaper than the US equivalent without compromising the quality. Those savings can be substantial when all the costs of recruiting and retaining permanent staff are factored in.

5. Knowledge Sharing
Inevitably, your in-house team will collaborate closely with the nearshore team. Because they have worked on different sites and a wide range of projects, the nearshore team has valuable experience that can significantly benefit the in-house team.

If you want to learn about the benefits in more detail or see more, click here: 10 Benefits of Nearshore Staff Augmentation

Global Triangles Staff Augmentation Nearshore Services

Global Triangles is a US-based leading IT staff augmentation service provider. Recognizing the challenges companies face in filling skills gaps, they offer flexible solutions to businesses across the US.

These solutions involve providing nearshore services from a pool of skilled developers based in Mexico. Literally a few hours flight south of Dallas, the Global Triangles team is in the same (or very similar) time zone to their clients. This proximity ensures that language and culture are not an issue.

The nearshore team can be reactive when you need help to resolve an IT issue. They can join an existing team or work on a separate project, whichever you need. With up-to-date expertise and experience in other sites, the Global Triangles team can share their knowledge with your team while working alongside them. And they bring their own high-quality standards.

Whether your IT staffing needs are small or large, Global Triangles can offer you cost-effective scalability without affecting your headcount. You pay for the nearshore staff you use when you use them. You don't need to worry about overhead expenses, staff bonuses, benefits or the other costs of recruiting permanent staff. You pay for what you need and then stop.