Building a Nearshore Development Team? Here’s How to Do It in 10 Steps

Hiring top software talent these days has, unfortunately, become expensive, competitive, and exhausting. That’s why more companies are building a nearshore development team instead of limiting themselves to local candidates.

But, is it as simple as it sounds?

Think of it like this: you’re not outsourcing to a distant country. You’re extending your in-house team to a nearby one.

These nearshore developers often sit just a few time zones away, speak your language, and integrate into your daily standups as if they were across town. It’s the perfect middle ground between the agility of remote work and the connection of in-office collaboration.

Here’s the hard truth, though. Building a nearshore team that actually works takes more than picking a country and posting a job ad. In this post, we’ll unpack exactly how to do it. You’ll learn the steps to structure, hire, and manage a nearshore development team that doesn’t just deliver code, but offers value, cohesion, and speed.

Struggling To Find Skilled Developers Locally?

1840 & Company helps you build a nearshore software development team tailored to your goals. Tap into world-class talent in Latin America with full payroll, compliance, and management support. Scale efficiently, code confidently, and launch faster. Talk to our team today to get started.

How to Build Your Nearshore Development Team in 10 Steps

While building a nearshore team may seem daunting, here, we’ll break down 10 steps to developing one you can be proud of.

Step 1: Define Clear Project Goals and Scope

Before you hire your first nearshore developer, pause and ask: What exactly are we building, and why?

That might sound obvious, but many skip this foundational step. They rush into hiring, only to realize halfway through that the project scope isn’t even close to solid. A well-defined scope is non-negotiable.

Start by mapping three things:

• Business Objectives: What outcome defines success?

• Deliverables: What will actually be built or shipped?

• Boundaries: What’s not part of this project?

A great nearshore development team thrives on structure. They need clarity, not micromanagement. When you define your project goals early, you give them the autonomy to make smart technical decisions later.

Step 2: Identify the Roles and Skills You Need

Here’s where planning turns into reality. Once you know what you’re building, the next question is who you need to build it.

Your nearshore development team works best when each role is intentionally defined. You’re not assembling a random squad of coders; you’re creating a distributed extension of your in-house team, aligned in skill, process, and mindset.

Are you short on full-stack engineers fluent in React and Node.js? Do you need DevOps specialists, mobile app developers, or data scientists? Clarify not just job titles but technical skills, seniority, and collaboration expectations.

If you’re working with a nearshore partner like 1840 & Company, this step becomes faster and more accurate. Our global vetting process ensures that every candidate isn’t just qualified on paper but ready to collaborate in real time across teams and time zones.

Step 3: Choose the Right Nearshore Location

Choosing where to build your nearshore development team isn’t just about price; it’s about fit.

Each region has its own personality. Some offer massive talent pools. Others offer unmatched time zone alignment or cultural compatibility. The trick is finding the right blend for your project’s needs, workflow, and collaboration style.

Let’s break it down.

Latin America

For American companies, Latin America is the go-to region for nearshore software development. Why?

• Time zone alignment: Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina work on schedules nearly identical to those of U.S. teams, allowing for real-time collaboration instead of delayed Slack replies.

• Cultural similarities: The work culture is relationship-driven, flexible, and familiar.

• Skilled developers: Thousands of graduates enter tech each year, many fluent in English and modern frameworks.

• Cost efficiency: Developers in Latin America charge between $15 and $70 an hour, offering competitive rates that deliver real value without offshore communication barriers.

If your project relies on constant communication and agile methodologies, Latin America is tough to beat.

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe, on the other hand, brings with it deep technical expertise. Countries like Poland, Ukraine, and Romania have strong engineering education systems and a long history in software development outsourcing.

• Excellent English proficiency.

• Strong culture of innovation and independent problem-solving.

• Slightly higher rates than Latin America, but world-class expertise.

Eastern Europe works particularly well for companies in Western Europe, where the time zone gap is minimal.

The Smart Move?

Partner with a nearshore company that already operates across multiple regions. At 1840 & Company, we help you assess talent availability, salary benchmarks, and compliance nuances before you commit.

Step 4: Vet and Select a Nearshore Development Partner

Choosing your nearshore partner should feel like an extension of your business, aligned in goals, process, and culture. The wrong one? A daily calendar reminder of miscommunication.

Here’s a framework to guide your decision:

Selecting your nearshore partner is like choosing a co-pilot for your company’s next growth stage. Look for one that shares your map, understands your mission, and knows how to land smoothly when the project’s complete.

Step 5: Define Contracts, IP Protection, and Compliance

Too many companies skip past this part, eager to get coding started, only to realize later that they’ve left their intellectual property (and peace of mind) unguarded.

When working with a nearshore development team, you’re not just sharing code; you’re sharing access, architecture, and ideas. Protecting them isn’t optional.

Your contract should outline:

• Project scope and deliverables: Be painfully specific. What’s included, what’s excluded, and how change requests are handled.

• Confidentiality clauses: Define how sensitive information and proprietary data must be stored, shared, and destroyed.

• Intellectual property rights: Make sure ownership of source code, designs, and documentation transfers to your company upon payment or delivery.

This is where working with a global service provider like 1840 & Company can save months of legal wrangling. We already operate in 150+ countries with full compliance frameworks and can manage cross-border contracts, payroll, and data protection.

Pro Tip: When it comes to IP, don’t rely on templates. Work with a lawyer experienced in international technology contracts, or partner with a provider that already has that infrastructure built in.

Step 6: Establish Communication and Collaboration Frameworks

Even the most skilled nearshore teams will falter if communication breaks down. Collaboration isn’t something you bolt on after hiring. It’s the foundation you build everything on.

A few practical setups that work:

• Project management software: Choose one home base for tasks, dependencies, and deadlines. Consistency beats fancy features.

• Regular standups: Short, daily check-ins keep projects on track and give everyone a voice.

• Real-time communication: Use overlapping working hours wisely. Even a 2-hour shared window can supercharge progress.

• Documentation as culture: Make decisions visible. Write things down, not just to record them, but to create continuity.

Once you’ve established the right structure, step back. A well-designed framework creates autonomy, not micromanagement. Your nearshore teams can move faster, innovate more freely, and still stay connected to your business objectives.

Step 7: Onboard and Integrate Your Nearshore Team

Hiring is only half the win. The real success begins when they stop feeling like “the nearshore team” and start feeling like your team.

That’s where onboarding comes in. A strong onboarding process should answer three unspoken questions every new team member has:

• What exactly am I building?

• Who do I collaborate with and how?

• What does success look like here?

A shared kickoff meeting between your in-house team and the nearshore developers helps break the ice. Introduce key stakeholders, define team goals, and align on timelines.

Every distributed team goes through an adjustment period. Be patient as they adapt to your communication style and project management rhythms. Offer feedback early and often, and ask for theirs.

Step 8: Manage Performance and Quality Assurance

Every great software development team (nearshore or otherwise) thrives on one thing: accountability with clarity.

Before the first sprint, agree on metrics and milestones. Some will be quantitative (tickets closed, bugs resolved, delivery timelines), while others will be qualitative (code quality, teamwork, communication).

A high-performing development team treats code reviews as conversations, not inspections.

Encourage developers, both local and nearshore, to critique constructively, share insights, and learn from one another.

Step 9: Scale Your Nearshore Team Strategically

Scaling your nearshore team is about multiplying capability without multiplying chaos. Before expanding, analyze performance indicators:

• Are sprints consistently hitting velocity targets?

• Is code review throughput steady?

• Are project managers confident about current capacity?

Scaling is justified when the workload outpaces your current team’s sustainable pace.

Growth doesn’t always mean hiring more developers. Sometimes, what your nearshore team needs is a better balance, like QA testers, DevOps engineers, or an additional project manager to streamline coordination.

As projects mature, introduce roles that stabilize delivery and maintain quality across development teams.

Remember the math: nearshore teams can save between 40–60% compared to onshore hiring while maintaining quality and alignment. But don’t let cost savings blind you. Scaling efficiently means balancing affordability with sustainable performance.

Step 10: Nurture Culture, Collaboration, and Long-Term Success

A nearshore development team is a living extension of your company’s culture and ambition. After the contracts are signed and the code is flowing, the real work begins.

Every strong distributed team has an invisible structure holding it up: shared purpose, trust, and mutual respect. You don’t enforce culture, you cultivate it.

Here’s how:

• Stay personal: Begin meetings with small talk that humanizes remote faces. Celebrate wins, birthdays, and milestones, yes, even virtually.

• Keep communication open: Encourage questions, not just status updates. Teams thrive when curiosity is rewarded.

• Create shared rituals: Weekly demos, recognition shoutouts, or retrospective check-ins remind everyone they’re part of something bigger.

Even when there’s strong cultural compatibility, nuances remain. Instead of flattening those differences, embrace them. They add diversity of thought, which leads to better problem-solving.

Final Thoughts

You now have a ten-step framework to do it right, from defining your goals to nurturing long-term collaboration. But remember, nearshoring isn’t just about cost savings or time zones. It’s about building something lasting: a culture of trust, transparency, and shared innovation.

And with the right partner, it’s easier than ever to make that blueprint real.

Work with 1840 & Company to design, staff, and scale your nearshore development team fast, compliant, and seamlessly integrated with your existing operations. Access vetted software developers across Latin America and beyond, matched through our AI-powered Talent Cloud. Schedule your consultation today!

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