Glossary · Hiring and outsourcing models

Offshoring

Offshoring is moving work to people in another country, usually one with lower labor costs, a large skilled workforce, or useful time-zone coverage. The workers can be your own employees, contractors, or staff placed by a partner. For U.S. companies, the Philippines is a leading destination for offshore professional and support roles.

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What it means in practice

Offshoring is a location decision, not a contract type. You can offshore through an employer of record, a BPO, a freelance marketplace, or a placement partner, and each one changes who recruits, who employs, and who manages the work.

The Philippines stands out for English proficiency, a large college-educated workforce, and a long track record of working U.S. hours. Compare it with other markets on our offshore hiring costs by country page, which uses sourced local pay benchmarks.

Rekruuto hires in the Philippines only. We place full-time professionals who work your hours, and every hire starts with a 1-week trial with a replacement or refund.

Questions to answer before you offshore a role

  • Which recurring work would you hand over first, and is it documented well enough to train someone?
  • How many hours a day must the person overlap with you or your customers?
  • Do you want an employee of your own, a contractor, or a hire placed and supported by a partner?
  • Which systems and data will they need, and how will you control access?
  • Who will manage the person day to day, and how will you review their work each week?
  • Nearshoring

    Nearshoring is moving work to a nearby country with a similar time zone, rather than a distant one.

  • Outsourcing

    Outsourcing is paying an outside company or person to do work your own employees would otherwise do.

  • Labor arbitrage

    Labor arbitrage is the cost advantage a company gains by having work done where wages and living costs are lower, while selling in a higher-cost market.

  • Time-zone overlap

    Time-zone overlap is the number of working hours two people or teams share live on the same day.

Read next

Hire a full-time professional from the Philippines

Every Rekruuto hire is a full-time professional based in the Philippines who works your hours. Most roles are $1,800 a month, software developers start at $2,500 a month, and an AI Implementation Specialist is $2,500 a month. Candidates pass top 2% vetting, hiring takes 14 days, and every hire starts with a 1-week trial with a replacement or refund.

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