When choosing a nearshore partner, there are many things to look for to make sure they’re the right fit for your business. Making sure they have industry experience as well as tenure is generally on the top of the list for many business owners.
Weighing the costs between hiring W-2 employees vs. outsourcing with contract employees is also a valuable exercise to walk through to see if a blended team is really the best fit.
After you’ve worked through these questions and requirements, it’s time to decide on a nearshore partner for your business. One thing that is often overlooked, but extremely important, is if the business has an American HQ or an American presence at all.
Why does my nearshore partner need an American presence?
While the work will be done in another country, an American presence can save you a lot of time and headaches that you may have when working with a completely offshore company. Here are three reasons an American presence is preferred in a nearshore partner.
1. Cost
Working with a company that is headquartered in the US means they’ll most likely run their business operations as an American company. By doing so, you’ll be leveraging the American dollar, which is easier to forecast and account for the dollars you’ll be spending on the work you receive.
This also makes it easy to decide what projects should be handed off to your nearshore team vs. which projects should stay in house given the cost, timeline, and talent needed.
2. Communication
When a nearshore company is based in the US, it tends to be easier to get in contact with your point of contact as they may be someone on US soil. Even if your main point of contact is offshore, you know that they’re being managed by a team rolling up to the US and they have strong communication skills with their internal teams.
Because of this US presence, your nearshore team can easily find and hire the talent they need, ensuring more clarity around expectations, deadlines, and outcomes.
3. Operational Control
One of the main reasons companies turn to nearshore outsourcing is that the service they get from offshore companies in countries like India or China have communication barriers that make it difficult for managers and teams to be successful. By utilizing nearshore outsourcing, these barriers go away as you communicate during regular business hours. Plus, with a US presence, there is more control over operations.
By having a partner that understands and operates the same way as you run your business day-to-day means there’s less friction when it comes to completing projects.
Excel SoftSources is proud to be headquartered in Minnesota with a strong team in Costa Rica. Over the years, we’ve found that our American presence not only helps us to better work with our clients, but holds us accountable in both countries to provide the best service possible.
Interested in exploring how Excel SoftSources can help your business? Contact us today.
