How Tribu Filled a Web Designer Role in 24 Days, Saving $37K Annually

Tribu is more than just a creative agency—it’s a group of strategic minds on a mission to build and manage successful brands.

Their approach is all about blending design and market strategy to stir up real human emotions and create genuine brand loyalty. Over the years, Tribu has clinched over 100 industry awards, making them a force to be reckoned with in the world of advertising and marketing. 

Tribu’s team needed a standout web designer urgently. Before Near, they were only hiring in the US and were struggling to find someone skilled in both design and tech.

This very unique blend of skills seemed impossible to find in the US talent pool. Their sourcing struggles pushed them to try remote hiring for the first time, hoping to find that perfect mix of creative flair and technical expertise in a newer, vaster talent pool.

Summary

• Challenge: Tribu, a San Antonio-based creative agency, needed a web designer with a complex skill set. With an influx of web projects, Tribu wanted to ensure that the web team wasn't burdened, making it imperative to quickly fill the role.
• Problem: They had a tough time finding someone who had a mix of graphic design and web development skills, which wasn’t easy to find in the US. This made them consider expanding their talent pool by hiring remotely for the first time.
• Roles hired for: Web Designer
• Why Tribu chose Near: Near was recommended to Tribu by Michael Girdley. They also liked the talented people they saw since the first batch of candidates they received. Plus, Near’s focus on Latin American (LatAm) talent caught their attention.
• Solution: Near made hiring easier by screening great candidates through video interviews. In just 24 days, Tribu found the perfect web designer with all the skills they needed. The recruiting team also supported Tribu during onboarding, especially since this was their first remote hire.
• Results: The new hire fit in well, boosted the team’s performance, and quickly got used to Tribu’s work style and culture. 
• ROI: Tribu saved $37k in overhead per year and cut their hiring time by 75%.

Challenge

Tribu hit a roadblock in their hiring process: finding a web designer skilled in both graphic design and web development. Despite their exhaustive hiring efforts, they struggled to fill this critical role, which affected their performance and significantly slowed down their progress with projects.

Since all their team members were working in person, they typically hired people close to their main office in Texas. But this time, their usual US-based talent pool didn’t offer the complex skill set they needed for this role.

Problem (Inability to Find a Complex Skill Set in Their Usual Talent Pool)

Tribu checked multiple job boards and tried different in-person recruitment methods, but they weren’t able to find someone who had both graphic design skills and the technical expertise in HTML and CSS to build websites.

Because this combination of skills was hard to come by in the US, Tribu decided to explore remote hiring. 

That’s when they turned to Near, hoping to find their first-ever remote hire to fill this challenging team gap.

Why Tribu Chose Near

Near was referred to Tribu by Michael Girdley. According to Carmen Lopez, Recruiter at Tribu, what caught their eye was Near’s focus on hiring LatAm-based professionals and the amazing talent pool they saw. 

Near’s commitment to understanding our specific hiring criteria and company culture was evident, and it greatly contributed to the quality of candidates presented to us.

Carmen Lopez

Recruiter at Tribu

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Solution

Near made the hiring process simple for Tribu. 

Near’s high-caliber candidates impressed Carmen. Every individual interviewed showcased exceptional skills and experience.

Moreover, Near’s candidate screening process via video interviews significantly lightened Tribu’s workload. By handling all of the preliminary screening, Near allowed Tribu to focus solely on final vetting and interviews. This streamlined the hiring process and ensured Tribu found the right fit more effectively.

In 24 days, Tribu hired the ideal candidate—a web designer who ticked all their boxes. This new addition:

• Is a UX/UI designer and no-code developer with three years of experience crafting user-centric websites and SaaS applications
• Has an Industrial Design degree and specializes in web design and development
• Boasts a versatile skill set, spanning from web development platforms like Webflow and Bubble.io to design tools like Figma and Adobe Suite, coupled with proficiency in HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and WordPress
• Has experience working for North American companies in a remote setting

Since this was their first remote hire, Near provided extensive support for Tribu’s onboarding process.

The recruiting team’s guidance and insights alleviated concerns and laid the groundwork for the seamless integration of the newly hired remote talent into Tribu’s team. This support left Tribu feeling confident and well equipped to expand their remote team in the future.

What truly set Near apart was the level of assistance we received throughout the process. The team was consistently helpful and responsive, ensuring that our queries were addressed promptly.

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Results and ROI

Tribu’s collaboration with Near was a game-changer. The newly hired web designer quickly meshed with the team. The impact was immediate and positive, giving Tribu a significant performance boost.

The company’s hiring experience with Near made a strong case for more remote Near hires in the future.

On top of that, the collaboration between Tribu and Near led to a significant ROI:

• Cost savings: Leveraging Near’s expertise resulted in overhead cost savings amounting to $37k per year.
• Time-to-hire efficiency: Near expedited the hiring process, slashing the typical time-to-hire by 75%.

Takeaways

Tribu’s experience with Near yielded crucial insights and takeaways regarding the impact of remote hiring talent in LatAm:

• Remote hiring is a great solution to specialized needs. 
• Getting additional support and guidance makes a huge difference when making your first remote hire
• Hiring remotely from LatAm yields excellent cost and time savings.

If you’re facing challenges finding specific skill sets in the US, consider hiring remote talent in LatAm. Book a complimentary consultation to discover how Near can help bridge your hiring gaps.

To learn more about Tribu, visit Tribu’s website.

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