How our staff augmentation methodology compares providers

How were the criteria chosen for nearshore and Latin American hiring?

The criteria follow the decisions a hiring manager must make before approving a role. Who finds the person? Who manages their work? What does the bill cover? What happens if the hire leaves?

For this comparison, staff augmentation means adding people who work under your team's day-to-day direction. A useful example is an engineer who joins your existing backlog, attends your planning meetings and reports to your engineering manager.

That scope shapes the comparison. A service that supplies a person for your team needs different checks from a firm responsible for delivering a finished project. Before comparing either proposal, decide who owns delivery and who supervises the work.

The same rule applies when comparing a recruiting agency with an employer of record, or EOR. Ask each provider which tasks it handles. Record candidate search and employment administration separately. A proposal can look cheaper when your team still has to do part of the work.

We use criteria that buyers can test through a proposal, a candidate interview or a contract. Those include the fee structure, assessment process and replacement terms. General claims about talent quality need evidence you can use in a hiring decision.

Your role requirements should set the priorities. A support role may need fixed coverage hours. A senior engineer may need experience with a specific system. Write those requirements before reviewing candidates so that a fast shortlist does not change the job you meant to fill.

What does each scorecard row mean, and what should you check?

Read each row as a separate question. A strong answer on speed does not settle cost, and a replacement promise does not establish technical fit. Avoid treating a table as a universal ranking for every hiring need.

Hiring model and management

This row identifies who recruits, who handles employment and who directs daily work. Ask for the contracting parties and responsibilities in writing.

Then check the arrangement against how your team works. Who approves leave? Who handles a performance concern? Who provides equipment and grants access? Assign those tasks before the first working day.

For an IT staff augmentation service, include code review and security onboarding in that discussion. A candidate's technical assessment does not replace your own access controls or approval process.

Price and total cost

Compare quotes for the same role, seniority, location and working schedule. Keep one-time charges separate from recurring charges. Ask whether the stated total includes the person's pay, benefits and employment administration.

Also check what changes the bill. Relevant questions include currency conversion, overtime, equipment and notice periods. Do not assume a cost is included because a proposal calls its rate flat or all-inclusive.

A salary figure and a service invoice answer different questions. The first describes pay. The second needs a clear list of covered services. Ask for that list before calculating savings.

Where a price field says "Not published," request a written quote. Do not insert an estimated price into the same row as a quoted rate.

Shortlist speed, hiring speed and start date

These are different milestones. A shortlist arrives when candidates are ready for review. A hire may be counted at offer acceptance. The first working day depends on the agreed start date.

For any timing claim, ask when the clock starts and stops. Check whether the figure is a target, an average or a median. Ask which roles and hiring period it covers.

Your own interview calendar belongs in the plan. Agree who reviews candidates and how quickly they can respond. Otherwise, a short search can still lead to a late start.

Candidate assessment

This row should explain what the provider tests and what you can inspect. A count of assessment steps tells you little about the work inside them.

For an engineering role, ask how the assessment relates to the systems the person will maintain. Request a sample of the evaluation format and discuss how reviewers reach a decision.

Check communication through work the role actually requires. That might be explaining a technical tradeoff or writing a handoff note. Keep the exercise proportionate and avoid asking candidates to complete unpaid production work.

Working-hour overlap

Use the candidate's city and agreed working hours. A country name or a promise of US overlap does not tell you whether someone can attend your planning meeting.

Mexico City stays on UTC-6 without seasonal clock changes, while Tijuana follows US daylight saving changes. Bogotá stays on UTC-5. Those differences can change the gap between a candidate and your team during the year. See the North America time-zone rules and South America time-zone rules.

Put required meeting hours in the role specification. Check both seasonal schedules and agree how to handle on-call work separately. Shared office hours do not establish overnight coverage.

Replacement terms and continuity

Read the actual remedy. Ask what triggers a replacement search, whether fees apply and whether the terms have a time limit. Check any conditions your team must meet.

Then plan for the vacancy itself. Confirm who handles the handoff and how you will recover equipment or remove access. A replacement clause should not be treated as a promise of uninterrupted delivery.

Keep replacement terms separate from refunds, service credits and notice obligations. Ask about each one you need rather than assuming a broad guarantee includes it.

Retention and other reported results

Treat a company-reported result as a claim with a defined scope. Ask for the measurement period, the group measured and the calculation.

For retention, check what counts as a departure and whether all placements had enough time to reach the stated milestone. A percentage without those details is a question for diligence, not a forecast for your hire.

The same discipline applies to customer counts and hiring speed. Historical activity can help you form questions. It does not replace references or an assessment of the candidate in front of you.

Evidence and unanswered terms

A published service description, a written quote and a signed agreement have different uses. Use the description to build your shortlist. Use the quote to compare costs. Check the agreement for the obligations you will accept.

Preserve "Not published" where that is the recorded status. It does not mean a service is absent or that a provider deserves a zero. Ask for the term and assess the answer on its merits.

This site is an Opus-owned reference; recommendations are editorial. Talk to Opus about a role with your scope, required hours and assessment criteria ready.

How often do we re-check?

Use the page's review date when deciding whether to rely on a comparison. A dated review is a point-in-time check. It does not guarantee that a price or contract term remains unchanged.

A useful re-check starts with terms that could change your decision: pricing, service scope and replacement conditions. Timing claims also need another look when the hiring period or definition changes.

Before signing, ask the provider to confirm the rows you relied on. Keep the dated quote with the proposed agreement so your team can resolve differences before approval.

Corrections should apply to the specific claim affected. A changed price does not justify rewriting a retention figure. A new guarantee should replace the old terms wherever those terms appear.

Do not interpret a refreshed page date as proof that every provider has changed its service. Compare the actual wording and confirm the terms for your role.

Disclosure

Ownership creates a commercial interest in the recommendations on this site. Read recommendations as editorial judgments and test them against your own requirements.

The criteria should apply consistently. A claim about a preferred option needs the same care as a claim about any other hiring model. Separate published terms from buyer assumptions, and ask for written answers when a decision depends on them.

Your hiring team remains responsible for choosing the finalist and approving the arrangement. Use the comparison to prepare those decisions. Keep candidate assessment and contract review in your own process.

How to report a correction

A useful correction identifies the exact page and row. Include the current wording, the proposed replacement and a dated public link that supports the change.

Explain whether the issue concerns a factual error, a changed term or a difference in scope. For example, a fee for recruitment alone should not replace a figure covering ongoing services.

For a disputed statistic, include the definition and reporting period along with the number. That lets an editor assess whether the new figure measures the same thing.

Leave candidate names, personal contact details and confidential agreements out of a public correction. If a private quote differs from a published statement, ask the provider to clarify which terms apply to your role.

Bring the same level of detail to your hiring conversation: the role, required schedule, monthly budget and questions that remain open.

Talk to Opus about a role.

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