Frequently Asked Questions
HOW QUICKLY CAN WE GET STARTED?
Get on call with an account director and let’s discuss your needs. Your NTT developers can be ready to begin onboarding in as little as 4-5 days.
Read about our onboarding process below.
HOW DOES THE ONBOARDING PROCESS WORK?
To get started simply call one of our account directors and they will get you signed up. We will need the type of experience/expertise you will require each dev to have. If you require an extensive amount of experience in a specific programming language we can accommodate. Just call one of our account directors to discuss.
After we have those we will send you:
- The service agreement (which is always pay-as-you-go)
- The NCND (a non-disclose/non-circumvent agreement which protects your proprietary information)
- An invoice for the first two-week payroll.
- A Zelle request link. We primarily use Zelle for payments, but also accept checks, wires, ACH and most other payment types.
Once we have everything back from you, you will be assigned your Client Success Manage (CSM) and they will get to work on matching you up with NTT developer candidate resumes for you to select from. This usually takes 4-5 days depending on how many clients are ahead of you, how many developers you need and what the requirements are.
Once the CSM has matched you with candidates that match your requirements and are available, they will contact you to secure a time you will be available for interviews.
WHAT SCHEDULE CAN THE DEVS WORK?
Nearshore Tech Team developers are nearshore (hence the name) in Latin America. So they live in US time zones and work your hours. You can set up their weekly schedules just as you would your in-house employees. Some clients give their developers “open” schedules, which means they don’t need their work performed at any specific hours. (Part time engagements are only available as “open” schedules)
WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM HOURS PER WEEK?
The minimum to qualify for the discounted full time rate is 44 hours per week. The minimum for part time is 22 hours per week. Your NTT developers can work the exact volume you require. These minimums just determine what rate you qualify for.
DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE CURRENT PAYROLL PERIOD IS FINISHED TO SCALE UP?
Not at all. We will prorate every hour so you never need worry about deploying your NTT developers as you need. Your CSM is always ready to help you scale your team as needed.
ARE THE DEVELOPERS FREELANCERS?
No. NTT cares about offering great employment opportunities to overseas developers. We hire them formally. We pay all of their taxes and even provide benefits and insurance. All included in the lowest rates in the industry.
WILL I HAVE THE SAME DEVELOPERS WORKING FOR ME ALL THE TIME?
Yes. This is key to getting the most out of your engagement. You should never hire a company that will have you working with a rotating crew of developers because you won’t accrue the benefits of the experience that they gain with your projects over time. An experienced developer is MUCH more valuable to your operation. Plus who wants to waste time onboarding new people all the time?
WHAT ABOUT TIME OFF?
You never pay for an hour that is not worked due to a staffer being off. Occasionally it is inevitable for a staffer to take time off. Any missed time is deducted from their payroll.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT HOURS DEVELOPERS ARE WORKING?
You set up the weekly schedule as needed and this is monitored by your CSM. Every client’s needs are different. Some clients integrate their NTT developers into their in-house teams. Others have their developers work independently.
Some have their developers take the last 15 minutes of their shifts each day and send a rundown of their tasks and the time each took via email. All clients are also sent a time sheet every week with a day by day breakdown of the hours worked.
WHY DO YOU SAY THAT YOUR "ROCKSTAR" MANAGERS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR SERVICE?
Many small and medium businesses try and fail to incorporate outsourcing or remote staffing into their organizations. Every Fortune 500 company outsources yet very few small businesses do. And the reason is they don’t have the management resources to make outsourcing a success. So we built our model around our Client Success Managers (CSMs). Every client is assigned a dedicated CSM so you not only have the same staffer but also the same manager available to lend senior developer support when needed. And the ROCKSTAR part has to do with the fact that our core of CSMs has helped countess small businesses establish an excellent outsourced resource and is experienced in many different industries and platforms.
WHAT IF A DEVELOPER TURNS OUT TO NOT BE THE RIGHT FIT, OR IS NOT PERFORMING AS NEEDED?
This is where our Rockstar CSM’s come in. With us it’s never just you and the developers. You have an experienced manager in place to help with any issues that arise. If a developer is not performing at the level you require, or if you just feel they are not the right fit for you, all you need do is contact your CSM and they will help either train up that developer or match you with a replacement. It’s no problem, just because they are not the right fit for you doesn’t mean they won’t be the right fit for a different client. The key is that you lock in with the right developers that are a long-term solution for your needs.
WHAT ABOUT THE LEARNING CURVE FOR THE DEVELOPERS TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH MY BUSINESS?
We tell our clients that are unfamiliar with working with remote staffers that there is a learning curve and period of adjustment in the beginning. Both for the developers, who need to learn a whole new set of client needs and projects and for the client who may find the adjustment to working with a remote staffer difficult because they are used to working only with U.S. employees and only face-to-face. It is important that both sides make an extra effort at the beginning and keep their eye on the prize, so to speak. After the onboarding and the first couple of weeks, usually clients will find that, despite the adjustment in the beginning, they end up with a great amount of value for their investment. The savings in time and money, plus the productivity and ability to scale that come from working with a remote staff are such that they afford small businesses and independent professionals the ability to go after many opportunities that they couldn’t pursue without the cost savings that outsourcing provides. Increasing the margin of error on the risk of trying new things can mean a totally new strategic outcome for a small or medium business.
HOW DO I COMMUNICATE WITH MY DEVELOPER AND CSM?
Some clients have their own communication or project collaboration platforms already set up. Your NTT developer can be assimilated into any system you currently use. They are also reachable thru call, text, Skype, Whatsapp or email.
DO THE STAFFERS SPEAK ENGLISH? DO THEY HAVE ACCENTS?
All of our staffers are English-speaking college students and recent college graduates. Some staffers have better spoken English than others of course, but when working with overseas staff accents are unavoidable.
DO YOU HAVE SPECIALIZED STAFFERS?
Yes. NTT developers have experience in a variety of programming languages and specialties. When a client signs up we match them with developers from our pool that are appropriate for the client’s requirements. Occasionally a client requires developers that have a more extensive level of experience, or are seniors. In these cases the client will provide us a list of needed expertise and we will send them candidate resumes from our pool that best match their needs and are available. Sometimes these candidates will have higher salary expectations than what our regular rates are (usually a 10-20% premium) and we will let the client know which candidates require the higher rates.
IS MY COMPANY INFO SECURE?
We work for law firms for which we work on case file platforms. We also perform HIPAA-compliant projects for doctor offices. We work on projects that involve client billing and payroll for different companies, as well as others which involve social security numbers and other sensitive information in mortgage and real estate industries.
So we are well-versed in protecting client information. We are a U.S.-based corporation and we send every new client an NCND agreement which protects their company data.
ARE YOU HIPPA COMPLIANT?
Yes. We work for a variety of medical practices and can provide our HIPAA compliance statement upon request.
HOW DOES PAYROLL WORK?
Payroll is billed at the beginning of every two-week period. Every payroll is the same each period (unless you schedule extra hours, which are billed at the same exact rate) so there are never any surprises. You always know exactly what your total cost is.
You can cancel any time and are only responsible for the current month the staffer is working for you if and when you cancel.
WHAT ABOUT BONUSES, RAISES AND INCENTIVES?
Our clients often wish to incentivize and/or reward their developers and CSM’s for good performance, longevity, etc. like they do their in-house employees. We certainly encourage clients to do so if they wish as it will help keep turnover low and even a little bit can make a big impact . Any bonuses or raises paid by the client are passed on 100% to the developers and/or CSM as the client dictates.
WHAT ABOUT TAXES, EMPLOYMENT REGULATIONS, HR LIABILITIES, ETC
One of the great things about partnering with a staffing service like ours is that you get the benefits of being an employer (complete control of the schedule, ability to assign any tasks required, flexibility to change anything that is needed, in real time) but you don’t have the regulatory or HR expenses and hassles or the legal liabilities that come with hiring directly. You are in control but our company is technically the employer. And your relationship with us is that of vendor/customer. So you can cancel at any time without the legal consequences of laying off direct hires.
HOW DO YOU TAKE PAYMENT?
Zelle is our main payroll payment platform. It is an online payment network set up by the major banks (Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo). It’s safe, instant and free. And you do not need to be a customer of one of these banks to use it. It works with all banks. We also take checks, online bill pay, wires and ACH transfers.
WHERE DO WE SIGN UP?
Just call one of our account directors. They can discuss your needs and sign you up. They then hand you off to one of our CRM’s to get the onboarding process started (more on onboarding above).
Outsourcing works.
That is why virtually every Fortune 500 company outsources.
Call an account director today and let’s discuss.