Identifying the best nearshore partner for your company can be difficult with so many potential candidates offering their services. There is a way to quickly narrow the list down with some questions to ask when choosing a nearshore partner.

Below are the first questions you should ask which will help make it clear which IT outsourcing company will work best with you.

How Close to the United States Are They?

The closer your partner is to the United States, the easier it will be to communicate. Obviously, travel to and from each other’s bases will be easier and less expensive, but the closely aligned time-zones will also mean overlapping workdays and video, email and telephone contact can be easily arranged on the fly.

Eliminating communication barriers is one of the major benefits of using a nearshore company to outsource to, so make sure they are based close enough to the U.S. to make this happen.

What Scalability Options Do They Have?

Ideally, your nearshore partner should not be too big, since you want them to care about your relationship as much as you do. However, you will also likely need to scale-up at some point, so ask your potential nearshore partners about their ability to increase workloads and offer more advanced services that you may need in the future.

By partnering with a nearshore company that has the necessary workload scalability when required, you will save yourself the hassle of having to find another outsourcing partner once your business has grown and you need more from them.

How Stable is Their Business?

There is no point in a nearshore partner being close to the United States as well as the ideal size with scalability if there is a risk of them going out of business. Always conduct some due diligence on a potential partner and make sure they are a stable company that will be with you for the duration of the project you need them for.

The best way to go about this is to talk to them personally and get to know them and their business. Check their online presence as well as all their contact emails and numbers. Find out how long they’ve been in business and any awards or recognition they’ve received. Also ask about their largest clients, and how the company has grown over the last few years.

The more of this information you can ascertain via a reputable third-party source, the better.

What Are Their Working Policies and Processes?

Always find out about a nearshore partner’s methodology and how they intend to integrate with your team and operations before you sign a contract with them. You want to be sure that their company policy is in alignment with your own internal processes and expectations.

You will want to know how they document processes and account for their commitments. Ask what assurances they have in place to guarantee their work is accurate and reliable. Do they have any established performance indicators?

Also, get clarity with regards to how they intend to communicate with your team and how they will keep you all informed and up to date with progress at every stage.

If you are looking for a new nearshore partner or would like to find out more about our services, please contact our team on +1 800 9747219 ext. 202 or info@outcoding.com. Alternatively, complete the form on our contact page here and a member of our team will help.