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You’ve found the perfect candidate. They have a decade of experience in your industry, hands-on expertise with your niche product category, and innovative ideas to bring with them. There’s only one problem.
You can’t afford their asking compensation.
Your hiring budget is tight, and stretching it seems impossible without sacrificing other critical investments. Yet, you can’t afford to compromise on the talent that will drive your company’s growth.
This scenario is a widespread challenge for US businesses. But there is a solution.
Why Having a High-Performing Team Is the Key to Success
As a leader, your main goal is to support and accelerate your company’s growth efforts. This growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum—it thrives on the collective strength of your team.
For rapid, sustainable growth, you have to build a team that understands your vision and can execute it with precision and enthusiasm. Microsoft found that companies that invest in collaboration and teamwork are five times more likely to be high performing.
These teams turn a shared vision into actionable strategies, drive innovation, and ultimately push your company ahead of the competition.
On the flip side, a mediocre team can dramatically thwart your company’s ability to reach its goals. As the legendary football coach Nick Saban said, “Mediocre people don’t like high achievers, and high achievers don’t like mediocre people.”
Underperforming team members can create a toxic work environment, stifling the drive and creativity of top performers. This results in high turnover and an endless cycle of recruiting and onboarding that drains resources and momentum.
Why do some department heads and hiring managers find themselves stuck with mediocre teams?
- High salary expectations: Salary is still the most important factor US candidates consider when deciding whether to take a job. Top-tier talent often asks for compensation that is out of reach or limits what you can spend on the rest of the team.
- Tight budget: With labor costs accounting for as much as 70% of a business’s spending, limited financial resources can make it difficult to compete for the best candidates, leaving you to settle for less.
- Scarcity of talent: In some industries, like finance or professional services, the pool of qualified US candidates is small, making it challenging to find the right fit.
- High competition: When you do find an ideal candidate, winning them from larger, well-funded organizations can feel like an uphill battle. Almost half of candidates remain open to other job offers even after starting in a position.
In contrast, high-performing teams are a growth multiplier. They are adept at problem-solving, embracing challenges, and consistently delivering high-quality results. They drive efficiency, minimize errors, and foster an innovative, agile environment.
You won’t just hit the industry benchmarks—you’ll set them.
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Why Hiring From LatAm Is a Shortcut to Building a High-Performing Team
As we’ve discussed above, building a high-performing team from your local candidates can seem impossible. However, the rise of remote work has removed those geographical barriers.
Hiring from Latin America (LatAm) can be your secret weapon. Here’s how:
Lower salaries
Because of a lower cost of living in many LatAm countries, their A-players have salary expectations that are up to 70% lower than those of US professionals. An accountant, for instance, averages $78,100 in the US and just $42,000 in LatAm.
Below are examples of salary differences between the US and LatAm for some other roles.
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Savings can sometimes be even more pronounced at the top end, meaning you can hire highly skilled professionals without blowing your budget. As a result, you can allocate resources to other essential areas, further fuelling your company’s growth.
Bigger talent pool of skilled candidates
Lower salary expectations are also a result of supply and demand. LatAm is brimming with skilled candidates eager to contribute to international companies. Here’s why its talent pool is so impressive:
Education
Many LatAm countries have robust education systems, producing graduates with strong technical and professional skills. Countries like Mexico and Brazil are known for their excellent engineering and business programs.
Experience
With a growing number of tech hubs and multinational companies establishing a presence in LatAm, local professionals gain valuable experience working with global standards and practices.
English skills
English proficiency is on the rise in many LatAm countries. With the region’s strong emphasis on learning English from a young age and ample opportunities to practice in professional settings, the LatAm talent pool is filled with bilingual workers.
Highly motivated workers
LatAm professionals bring a level of enthusiasm and motivation that can be transformative for your team. Diverse workforces bring different perspectives and innovative solutions, driving productivity and problem-solving.
Notably, 52% of Gen Z and millennial workers are unhappy with their company’s current diversity. By integrating LatAm talent, you’re adding skilled professionals and unique perspectives, leading to higher overall employee satisfaction.
The cultural values in LatAm also emphasize hard work, loyalty, and a strong sense of community. These traits can be invaluable as you build a cohesive, high-performing team.
Aligned time zones
Communication is the backbone of performance at all levels. However, it can become extremely difficult if your team is distributed across significantly different time zones. LatAm countries share many of the same business hours as the US, minimizing the delays often associated with global teams.
Just look at how different the traditional workday is for some of these major cities around the world.
Aligned time zones mean fewer late-night or early-morning meetings, daily real-time collaboration, and reduced communication challenges.
How To Get Started Hiring From LatAm
Deciding to tap into the LatAm talent pool is a strategic move that can yield significant benefits. But how do you get started?
There are two primary paths you can take:
- Hiring on your own
- Partnering with a recruiting agency
Let’s examine the pros and cons of each approach so that you can pick the best option for your company.
Hiring on your own
Deciding to undertake the hiring process independently does come with some potential benefits:
- Custom process design: You have the freedom to design a recruitment strategy that perfectly aligns with your specific needs and culture.
- No agency fees: If you make a successful hire, you only incur the direct costs related to sourcing and onboarding.
However, it can also come with some significant challenges.
- Time-intensive: Without experience in international recruitment, the sourcing, screening, and interviewing process can be extraordinarily time-consuming. The average time to hire is around 44 days when recruiting on your own, whereas recruitment companies like Near can make placements within 21 days.
- Compliance risks: Hiring from a different region involves various legal and compliance issues, such as employment laws, tax regulations, and work visas.
- Costly mistakes: Misjudging a candidate’s fit or overlooking important cultural nuances can result in a poor hire, leading to decreased productivity, lower team morale, and potentially the need to restart the hiring process. This can quickly become expensive, given that the average cost of recruiting is $4,700 per hire.
While controlling the process and avoiding fees are attractive incentives, the drawbacks—especially for companies with no experience—often far outweigh them.
Partnering with a recruiting agency
Choosing to partner with a recruiting agency is usually the more efficient and effective route, especially if your goal is to build a high-performing team.
The primary drawback is the associated fee. But with arrangements like Near’s zero-risk hiring model, you only pay if you successfully hire. This eliminates the financial risk and ensures you receive value for your investment.
Take Percent, for instance. The private credit leader slashed recruiting time by 75% and is saving nearly $150,000 every year after working with Near. The cost-benefit analysis is clear.
We were pleasantly surprised with all the candidates we interviewed, especially about how well-rounded they were and how much experience they had. We were blown away by the talent that existed that we just kind of weren't aware of.
Partnering also comes with a number of other advantages:
Streamlined process
Working with experts means you benefit from their experience and industry knowledge, leading to more accurate and timely hires.
Delve, a digital consulting firm, partnered with Near to hire three roles with LatAm professionals. But the process was so easy and effective that they decided to fill seven more positions.
We felt confident in the competence of Near’s team. Many times with professional services, when you’re talking to senior management and founders everything seems perfect. But then, when you get redirected to middle management or junior people at the organization, the quality is very different. I didn’t see that with Near.
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Faster results
The need to minimize the cost of vacancy makes it critical to quickly fill roles with the right talent.
With a pre-existing pipeline of qualified candidates, recruiting agencies can significantly accelerate the hiring timeline. Your company reaps the benefits of a high-performing team right away.
At Near, we are able to cut our clients’ sourcing and screening time by 50–70%. When we worked with R\nd, a digital marketing and web development company, it took just two weeks to hire each role, including specialized positions like UX Strategist and Website Project Manager.
It seemed like you guys had a proven process. That took a burden off of my shoulders
Guarantees
Typically, recruitment firms will replace hires who quit or fall below expectations. Near offers a guaranteed-replacement policy, working to understand the problem and replace the hire as quickly as possible.
Compliance risk mitigation
Remote recruitment agencies are well versed in international hiring regulations, tax laws, and employment compliance. Partnering with one helps ensure that every box is ticked and all legal requirements are met.
Final Thoughts
By tapping into LatAm’s rich talent pool, you can overcome budget constraints and build a team that drives your company’s success. The most efficient way to do this is by partnering with the right recruiting agency, which offers efficiency, speed, and reduced risk when assembling your dream team.
Ready to take the first step? Book a free, no-commitment call with a LatAm recruiting expert today. Discover how you can build a high-performing team—even on a tight budget.
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