Remote hiring in Mexico is a commercial and financial strategy that many U.S.-based companies are exploring to attract top talent in a cost-efficient manner. Nearshoring from Mexico, specifically, refers to hiring remotely in the closest locations abroad, with the diverse benefits that it represents.
While there are more evident benefits of hiring staff in place, such as the face-to-face interaction, hiring remotely allows access to a broader skill market. At the same time, it can help reduce costs and fill vacancies more quickly. Beyond sponsoring visas, let’s examine the real implications of on-site hiring versus remote hiring.
Benefits of Onsite TN hiring vs. nearshoring
Onsite TN visa hiring can be more suitable for specific types of jobs, such as those related to FAT/SAT, line launches, and startups. Sigma Solutions is an expert recruiter for both types of hiring and can help you compare costs, risks, and time-to-fill your required positions.
On the other hand, remote hiring from Mexico is a form of nearshoring labor that allows access to bilingual talent more easily than on-site hiring. Among the most sought-after positions, such as engineers and technicians, these can be easily filled in a more timely manner. This enables you to start working faster and achieve greater productivity compared to your competitors.
Other benefits include sharing the same time zone and lower hiring costs. It is advisable to rely on the capabilities of foreign hiring companies to streamline the process and focus solely on your business.
Legal and tax considerations for remote employees in Mexico
To conduct remote hiring in Mexico, your company will need to have the correct engagement model in place. This can be, for example, to employ through a local entity or EOR in Mexico. Similarly, you will need to be tax and payroll compliant with the local laws’ requirements (ISR, IMSS/INFONAVIT, and IP/NDAs in Mexico).
At Sigma Solutions, we take care of hiring the best talent for you and coordinate with your chosen counsel or EOR on matters of taxes and legal services. This is important for your Human Resources department to have clear inputs to fulfill its function properly.
Tools and practices for effective remote collaboration
To succeed with remote hiring in Mexico, it is necessary to follow a few key recommendations during both the recruiting phase and after. Among those, but not limited to, we find:
- English proficiency. The majority of high-skilled foreign national candidates are bilingual; however, it is essential to screen for English proficiency actively. The command of the base language of the company will ensure smooth communication and reduce misunderstanding.
- Shift overlap. Time zones and shift hours must align for a team to function effectively. These types of requirements must also be explicit during the recruitment process.
- Secure access online. The use of security protocols when connecting to the internet and to official systems, such as VPN and MFA, helps to ensure the integrity of organizational assets.
- Device standards. While onsite equipment is easily controlled, setting up work facilities abroad with similar standards must rely on clear and explicit requirements for such. Technological assets often play a crucial role in productivity, and all workers need to be on the same starting point.
- Clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Just as with technical equipment, operating procedures need to be standardized and generalized across the entire production team. Having clear guidelines applied equally contributes to even results on both sides of the border.
Other than these, Sigma solutions also takes care of additional elements during the hiring process to make it more efficient and accurate, such as:
- We pre-screen for tool fluency in software such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Jira, Microsoft 365, Google, CAD, and PLC stacks.
- We set clear expectations for response times to have an efficient turnaround.
- We schedule early check-ins to ensure timely delivery of our deliverables.
It is essential to rely on good practices to boost results. Not only must we rely on our skilled workforce, but our managerial role must be to support and facilitate the transition into our company.
When to choose remote vs. onsite talent and how to combine them
Remote hiring from Mexico is a strategy that has pros and cons depending on the specific setting and task at hand. As we have seen previously, particular roles may require proximity, while others may be more easily near-shored. Among those more prone to work remotely are:
- Documentation
- CAD
- Data/quality
- Software
- Preventive maintenance planning
On the other hand, roles that would benefit from the proximity of onsite vs. Remote staffing are:
- Commissioning
- Troubleshooting
- Validations
- Training
It is also possible to create a mix of both types of hiring, and many companies do so. For example, having bilingual nearshore teams to manage second-language tasks while keeping English-speaking teams on-site. Or when it comes to project completion, consider having a nearshore team handle the design and analysis phases, while TN engineers execute on the ground.
Whatever the chosen route, it is essential to weigh the pros and cons for the specific task at hand. The most significant benefits of remote hiring will typically include access to a broader talent pool and lower costs. However, distance can also create gaps in communication and make streamlining difficult for hands-on tasks.
