Do you have a great idea for a product, but feel daunted by the prospect of hiring a whole team to build it? Going grey thinking about the months of recruiting and vetting candidates before you can start your project? Feel like you’re fishing in a dwindling pool of tech resources in your location?
It’s time to find a new pool.
Here at MVP Match, we are constantly evolving our services to adapt to the dynamic tech market and our client’s hiring needs. To address the challenges faced by our clients, we are launching our new Hub service - Helping tech companies build remote product teams in European time zones. This is also called nearshoring.
Here’s why we developed Hub
A hybrid workforce is the new normal and it's time for organizations to make the most of it
Fast-growing tech companies need tech talent on-demand, exactly where and when they need it.
Creating more opportunities for talent and supporting their career growth is central to our purpose.
Combining hub and freelance talent is a great way to build a strong and reliable hybrid team.
We don't believe in geographical boundaries
Geography can no longer stop businesses and professionals from growing. As companies have developed virtual and remote team structures, the geographical boundaries have blurred and become less of a restraint, and this development will continue in the future.
We want to eliminate geography as a constraint for employment completely, and combine the best of two worlds; enabling people to work for their preferred employer, regardless of the location.
What is nearshoring?
Similar to offshoring, nearshoring is a tactic that allows companies to transfer some of their operations to a nearby country, hiring qualified, local talent.
There are many benefits to nearshoring:
It’s cost-efficient. Nearshoring to a nearby country with a lower cost of living and a local pool of great talent can be good value for money. However, if it’s a bargain bin deal you’re after, nearshoring isn’t the right solution. Top-quality talent should be valued wherever they are based.
It can save time and energy - when outsourced to a partner like MVP Match that will find and fully vet candidates for you, as well as take care of the admin and payroll.
The time difference and barriers are kept to a minimum. Setting up shop in a nearby country means similar time zones, allowing the teams to work synchronously if needed, and there is likely to be similarities in culture and customs of countries close to each other.
It adds diversity to the team. It is a documented fact by now that diversity is good for business. Adding team members from another country can further diversity of thought, and with it, the opportunity for more innovation and ideas.
However, it’s worth noting that successful nearshoring does require the company to have good remote work practices and communication in place.
The first Hub project - nearshoring a team in Georgia
We trialed our Hub offer with LIVEBUY, a live shopping company and one of our existing clients in Germany. They needed help nearshoring a whole new team to expand their product. The new team would be located in the vibrant and tech-talent-dense city of Tbilisi, Georgia.
By nearshoring a team in a nearby country, they could enjoy a multitude of benefits in both the short and long term. This included practical benefits like cost savings and simplicity of set-up, and long-term benefits, adding new cultures to the team and internationalizing the company, thus improving D&I and diversity of thought.
This is how LIVEBUY outlined their key reasons for building a nearshore team:
Extending our talent pool allowed us to work with the best people, regardless of their location. This also falls in line perfectly with our remote-first culture at LIVEBUY.
Companies that already have a remote workforce are in prime position to take advantage of the nearshoring trend, as they are likely to have the policies and processes in place to ensure productivity and effective communication with a potential new, nearshored team.
Getting practical: How do we build a nearshore team?
The process of building the nearshored team mirrors our existing process for vetting the technical ability of our freelancers. Depending on the location, we will already have an entity set up in the country, or we will set one up and begin targeting talent in that country.
The process itself is simple and effective, usually comprising these stages:
Once identified, talents will undergo a personality interview to ensure that they are aligned to our client’s company culture and values, using scorecards that are pre-defined and agreed.
If they are successful, they are then invited to do our technical challenge which is a take-home assessment specific to the role and then reviewed with a subject matter expert. We have a wealth of Domain Experts within our community that we utilize to assess these skills and ensure that the standard of quality we seek in our freelancers is being met.
Interestingly, there is only a 20% drop-off of interested candidates at this stage. Whilst some don’t want to invest time into doing the challenge, most see it as a form of quality control that they are happy to complete in order to enter an elite community of market-leading talent that will benefit their career.
- says Talent Acquisition Director Freddie Field.
Once the challenge is successfully completed and reviewed, we present the candidate to the client, who can then choose to invite them for a final interview stage.
Our current hit rate of submitted candidates is at 71%, which for most recruitment companies is extraordinarily high.
Once the match has been made, all legal, tax, compliance, and onboarding admin is handled by us - as well as providing premises in that specific location. The process is set up to be as streamlined and straightforward for our clients as possible. This is how LIVEBUY summarise their experience of the hiring process:
Match provided detailed descriptions of the candidates. On top we got the chance to review the code challenges they did with the developer candidates. After the interview with a candidate we discussed the results with MVP in an open manner and took our decisions.
Lessons learned from the first project
Creating a team in another country is not without its difficulties. We took plenty of learnings with us from this first nearshoring project, which will inform the forthcoming Hub offer.
Here are some of the challenges we faced along the way:
It might be a new market for you, but you’re likely not the first one. The German talent market is tough at the moment - and the same is also true in other countries, including Georgia. Another way of putting this? Good talent is always in demand, so you better listen to them, offer good deals, and be quick about it.
Operating with fast turnarounds and developing effective processes is key, both when it comes to the candidates and the client. In fact, it’s such an important point, we’re making it twice.
The process and difficulty of relocating talent vary greatly between countries. While it is a rather arduous process in Germany, that isn’t necessarily the case in the country you’re looking at nearshoring a team in. Do your research and factor this into your planning - relocating might be easier than you first thought.
Don’t abandon your values! The importance of hiring a team that will match your company’s values and culture remains as important as if it were an in-house role. The nearshored team should be an extension of your in-house teams, reflecting your company culture.
Office space is a bonus. If you can offer a nice space for your new team to meet and work, that’s an advantage. Don’t force people to go to the office though - flexibility and freedom to choose where to work are still key.
Other popular places for nearshoring teams include great value-for-money regions with a booming local tech talent scene, such as Portugal and Egypt, and we currently have plans to create Hubs in both of those locations.
Curious about nearshoring? Check out Match's full offer and get in touch now.
