The growth of external hiring of IT teams is an undeniable reality and has been increasing with the passage of time. The truth is that the labour market has very specific needs, leading to a fierce demand and dispute of IT professionals with the right skills and knowledge (and more up to date) to meet the requirements of highly competitive sectors and increasingly supported by disruptive technologies.

Domestic companies must not only be able to cope with competition from international players, but also face the need to create incentives and conditions that allow the hiring and retention of teams in the long term, able to work in mixed environments or in telework for a large part of the time.

The nearshore knocks at the door

And it is in these moments that companies think about the possibility of embracing a nearshore strategy. We are talking here about the process of hiring work related to IT to an external company located in a country that shares borders. This possibility facilitates travel and communication between the two organizations, minimizing, for example, issues such as the time difference between the work teams.

Nearshore is a powerful tool to start the process towards the new IT world and a new business strategy. Organizations that use this model ensure a number of benefits that make this outsourcing modality the best option. In addition to making the company more agile this is also an excellent way to transfer technology. But there are other advantages that deserve to be highlighted as:

• Ability to take advantage of external talents and that might not otherwise be possible to integrate in the work team or in a given project.

• More insights on IT projects stemming from the incorporation of different mindsets this because a professional in Spain, for example, certainly thinks and acts differently than a Portuguese.

• Good cost/benefit ratio, since there are always positive gains from this type of business partnership.

• Productivity gains assured by the team on nearshore being the value measured more by the results than by the comparisons of times and hours / man.

What to evaluate before choosing the partner?

 And before your company moves to a nearshore strategy, you should consider five key points that can help you better define the ideal partner choice. They count as follows:

#1: Experience in Digital Transformation

The experience makes all the difference in the labour market and, also for this reason, it is important to be able to choose one that presents an effective history and know-how in similar projects. It should also be a partner with good knowledge of the sector and all its particularities, thus being able to respond more easily and quickly to the requirements that will arise.

#2: Capacity for Response

Having a specialized team with technical and industry knowledge is more than half a way to ensure a good response capacity. In an increasingly competitive market, the response times of the future partner, particularly at peak times, their availability and agility are concepts to be considered at all times.

#3 What Current Customers Say

Surely your new partner has already worked with other customers; it is important to do this research from the outset, to see the success stories that exist and to understand how the partner treats its customers and what results are achieved in each project. Select some clients, randomly, and talk to them about the work they have already developed with the partner, realize the potential it presents, how it faces unforeseen situations and what balance they make.

#4 Motivation

The partner you are looking for should show passion for what you do and have interests in common with your company, thus facilitating the whole work process. It is important to choose a company that wants to grow together with the customer and that always works in pursuit of common goals. There must always be a positive and mutually supportive stance between the two parties, and everyone must work as a single team.

#5 Delivery beyond technology

We talk about technology, but the truth is that, in a business partnership, the relationship should go beyond that. It is important to have a business partner aligned with the customer’s goals, to understand the care that the supplier has with the team, if it is "Human centred", if it ensures training and benefits for the employees, etc. In fact, having a happy team at work is half the way to the success of any project.

All in all, the most important thing is that there is an effective (and profitable) alignment between partner and client, ensuring a perfect "match" in order to ensure the success of the projects and the business itself.