Glossary
Staffing and recruiting glossary
The words you hear when you hire remote and nearshore talent, explained in plain English.
A
All-in cost
The full monthly or yearly amount you pay for a team member, with everything included. With us, you pay one all-in monthly price per professional. See how we charge.
B
Background check
A review of a candidate's history, such as past employment, before an offer goes out. It is one of the seven steps in our hiring process.
Burden rate
The costs of an employee on top of their salary, such as payroll taxes, benefits, insurance and equipment, usually shown as a percentage of salary. It is the gap between salary and fully loaded cost.
C
Candidate experience
How applicants feel about the way a company recruits them, from the first job post to the offer or a polite no. Clear steps and quick replies make a good candidate experience.
Contingency recruiting
Recruiting where the agency is paid only when a candidate it presented is hired. Our U.S. recruiting works this way.
Cultural fit
How well a person's working style, values and communication match a team's way of working. We screen for it alongside skills and English.
D
Direct hire
A placement where the candidate becomes an employee of the hiring company from day one, rather than working through an agency or contractor arrangement.
Distributed team
A team whose members work from different cities or countries and collaborate online. Shared working hours make a distributed team much easier to run.
E
Employer of record (EOR)
A company that legally employs a worker on behalf of another business, handling payroll, taxes and local employment rules, while the business directs the day-to-day work. This is a general definition, not legal advice.
English proficiency (CEFR)
How well someone speaks, understands and writes English. The CEFR scale is a common way to describe it: B2 is upper intermediate, C1 is advanced and C2 is near-native fluency. Our application asks candidates for their level.
F
Full-time equivalent (FTE)
A way to count staff by hours worked. One FTE is one person working full time; two people working half time also add up to one FTE.
Fully loaded cost
The total cost of an employee: salary plus the burden rate, such as taxes, benefits, office space, equipment and recruiting. Our savings figures (up to 70%) compare against the fully loaded cost of a comparable U.S. hire.
H
Hiring pipeline
The stages candidates move through for a role, from sourcing and screening to interviews, offer and onboarding. See our hiring process.
I
Independent contractor
A self-employed person who provides services to a business under a contract, rather than as an employee. Whether someone is a contractor or an employee depends on the law where they work. This is a general definition, not legal advice.
J
Job requirements
What a role needs: responsibilities, skills, experience, English level, schedule and budget. You can submit your job requirements to start a search.
L
LATAM
Short for Latin America: Mexico, Central America, South America and parts of the Caribbean. See the countries we recruit in.
N
Nearshore staffing
Hiring professionals in nearby countries who work your business hours. For U.S. companies, that means Mexico and Latin America. Read What is nearshore staffing?
O
Offshore staffing
Hiring in a distant country, usually in Asia for U.S. companies, where the workday is opposite to yours. Covering your hours often means working at night.
Onboarding
Everything that gets a new hire ready to work, from the offer letter and accounts to introductions and first-week training. Onboarding support is the last step of our hiring process.
Onshore staffing
Hiring people in your own country, for example a U.S. company hiring in the United States.
Outsourcing
Handing a function or a set of tasks to an outside company, which delivers the work with its own people. With staff augmentation, by contrast, the people join your team.
R
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)
When an outside firm acts as your recruiting department: advertising openings, screening applicants and scheduling interviews. See our solutions.
Reference check
Talking with a candidate's former managers or colleagues to confirm their experience and how they work. We check references before an offer goes out.
Remote team
A team, or part of one, that works from home or another location outside the company's office. Nearshore professionals usually work remotely.
Replacement guarantee
A commitment to find a new candidate if a placement isn't the right fit. Replacement is included in our staffing solutions, with the goal of maximum impact for your organization and minimal downtime, and every U.S. recruiting placement comes with a replacement guarantee.
Retained search
Recruiting where the company pays the recruiter part of the fee upfront to run a dedicated search, often for senior roles. It differs from contingency recruiting, where payment comes only on a hire.
S
Screening
Checking candidates against a role's requirements before anyone is interviewed. We screen for skills, communication, cultural fit and time-zone compatibility.
Shortlist
A small, curated group of qualified candidates presented to the hiring company. Ours come with a short video introduction, a resume and availability.
Sourcing
Finding and reaching out to people who could fit a role, including people who are not actively applying. It comes before screening.
Staff augmentation
Adding outside professionals to your existing team to fill skill gaps or add capacity. They work on your projects, with your team, during your hours.
T
Talent network
A group of candidates who have registered with a recruiter so they can be contacted when a matching role opens. Candidates can join ours from their country.
Talent pool
All the people with the skills a company could hire from, in a region, an industry or a recruiter's network.
Time to hire
How long it takes to fill a role, usually counted from the start of the search to an accepted offer. Our placements often take 2 to 3 weeks.
Time-zone aligned
Working in a time zone that shares your working day, even when the clocks differ by an hour or two. It is the core idea of nearshore staffing.
Time-zone overlap
The hours of the working day that two locations share. The more overlap, the easier live meetings and same-day answers are.
U
U.S. hours
The normal business hours of a U.S. company, in its own time zone. Nearshore professionals work U.S. hours during their normal daytime.
V
Video introduction
A short video in which a candidate answers a few questions about themselves. It lets employers see how someone communicates before an interview. See the FAQ for candidates.
These definitions are general information to help you follow the conversation. They are not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Ready to put the terms to work?
Tell us about the role, or read the answers companies ask us most.