Glossary
Offshore staffing, defined
The language of offshore teams, in plain English, so you can compare options and know exactly what you are buying.
This glossary defines the key terms in offshore staffing, from engagement models like dedicated teams, staff augmentation and Employer of Record to working concepts like time-zone overlap, vetting and IP assignment. Use it to compare your options and understand how managed offshore teams actually work.
Offshore staffing
- Offshore staffing is hiring skilled professionals in a distant, lower-cost country to work as part of your team, usually through a partner that handles recruiting, payroll and management. It gives companies senior talent at a fraction of local salary cost.
Offshore team
- An offshore team is a group of full-time professionals based in another country who work for your company in roles like design, content, marketing or development. With a managed partner they work your hours, in your own timezone.
Dedicated team
- A dedicated team is a group of offshore professionals who work exclusively for one client as a managed unit, run by an account lead. The client briefs outcomes and reviews results rather than managing each person directly.
Staff augmentation
- Staff augmentation is adding individual vetted specialists to your existing team, who you manage directly inside your own tools and process. It is the fastest way to add a specific skill or extra capacity without a full-time local hire.
Managed team
- A managed team is an offshore team whose recruiting, quality, cadence, payroll and retention are handled by a partner. The client manages outcomes through a single account lead instead of coordinating individuals.
Nearshore
- Nearshore is hiring in a nearby country in a similar time zone, for example a US company hiring in Latin America or a UK company hiring in Eastern Europe. It trades some cost saving for closer working hours.
Onshore
- Onshore is hiring in your own country. It carries the highest cost and full time-zone overlap, and is used for roles that must be on-site or in person.
Employer of Record (EOR)
- An Employer of Record is a company that legally employs workers in another country on your behalf, handling payroll, tax and compliance. You direct the work; the EOR is the legal employer.
Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
- Build-Operate-Transfer is a model where a partner builds and runs an offshore team for you, then transfers it to your own entity later. It suits companies that want to eventually own an offshore office.
Time-zone overlap
- Time-zone overlap is the number of working hours two locations share. It matters for live collaboration, though a managed partner can remove the constraint by staffing the team to your full hours, in your own timezone.
Account lead
- An account lead is the single point of contact a managed partner assigns to run a team's cadence, quality and communication. They let the client manage outcomes instead of individuals.
Fully-loaded cost
- Fully-loaded cost is the true total cost of an employee: salary plus taxes, benefits, equipment, software, recruiting and overhead. It is the fair number to compare against an offshore seat, which is all-in.
Vetting
- Vetting is the process of testing a candidate's real skill and communication before hiring, through portfolios, work samples, interviews and paid trials. Good vetting is what makes offshore output reliable.
IP assignment
- IP assignment is a signed agreement that transfers ownership of all work product, designs, code and copy, to the client. With dpoint it is signed before anyone starts, so everything produced is exclusively yours.
Attrition and retention
- Attrition is the rate at which staff leave; retention is the share who stay. High retention matters offshore because a team that stays compounds knowledge of your brand and systems.
Pod
- A pod is a small, cross-functional offshore team, for example a writer, designer and social manager, that works together on one client's goals as a single unit.
FAQ
Common questions
What is the difference between offshore and nearshore?
Offshore means hiring in a distant, lower-cost country such as India, with the deepest talent pool and the largest cost saving. Nearshore means hiring in a nearby country in a similar time zone, which costs more but shares more working hours. With a managed partner, an offshore team is staffed to your hours, so the time-zone gap stops being a downside.
What is the difference between a dedicated team and staff augmentation?
A dedicated team is a managed group of full-time people who own a whole function for you, run by an account lead, so you manage outcomes. Staff augmentation adds individual specialists into your existing team, which you manage directly. Both are full-time; the difference is who does the day-to-day managing.
Is offshore staffing the same as outsourcing?
Not quite. Outsourcing usually hands a whole project or function to an outside vendor who runs it their way. Offshore staffing gives you full-time people who work as part of your team, in your tools and on your hours, so you keep direction and quality control while the partner handles employment.
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