How to Hire Remote Employees in 2026

So, you’re ready to hire remote talent from Latin America. That’s a smart move. But getting it right involves more than just posting a job ad. A successful remote hire is the result of a deliberate, four-part process: defining your strategy, sourcing talent the right way, nailing cross-border compliance, and creating an onboarding experience that sticks.

This guide isn’t about the why—you already know the benefits. This is about the how. It’s a practical blueprint for US companies looking to tap into the incredible talent pools in countries across Latin America.

Building Your Blueprint for a Global Remote Team

Building an international team has shifted from a “nice-to-have” perk to a core business strategy. The move to remote work isn’t a trend; it’s a fundamental change in how we do business. In fact, in 2023, about 28% of all employees around the world worked remotely, a huge leap from 20% back in 2020. You can dig deeper into these numbers with the latest remote work statistics and trends.

This guide gives you a real-world roadmap for this new reality. It’s all about actionable steps, not abstract ideas. This isn’t about casting a wide net and hoping for the best. It’s about being intentional.

To get a clearer picture of how these phases fit together, think of them as the core pillars supporting your entire remote hiring structure.

Core Pillars of Remote Hiring Success

This table breaks down the essential phases of building and integrating a high-performing remote team.

Mastering each of these pillars is what separates companies that struggle with remote hiring from those that thrive. Let’s dig into what each one actually entails.

The Four Pillars Explained

Building a sustainable, high-performing global team rests on getting these key components right. Each one plays a unique role in turning your hiring goals into reality.

• Strategy First: Before you even think about sourcing, you need a clear definition of success. This means creating a detailed “remote success profile” for the role and building a compensation package that’s both competitive and appropriate for the region you’re hiring in.
• Targeted Sourcing: Forget the “post and pray” approach. Your goal is to pinpoint where top professionals in markets like Mexico or Colombia spend their time online, moving way beyond generic platforms like LinkedIn.
• Compliance and Legal: This is where many companies get into trouble. Navigating international labor laws is tricky, and understanding the crucial difference between hiring independent contractors and using an Employer of Record (EOR) is your best defense against risk.
• Integration and Culture: A signed contract is just the beginning. A truly thoughtful and structured onboarding process is what ensures your new hires feel connected, supported, and valued from their very first day.

The big takeaway here is simple: A well-planned remote hiring process leaves very little to chance and sets you up for success. When you focus on strategy, sourcing, compliance, and onboarding, you’re building a resilient framework for global growth.

Of course, the tools we use for recruiting are evolving just as quickly. For a deeper look at how technology is shaping this space, check out this ultimate guide to AI in talent acquisition.

Now, let’s walk through each of these pillars so you can confidently build your international team.

Crafting Your Remote Hiring Strategy

Before you even think about posting a job description, let’s talk strategy. If you jump straight to tactics, you’ll end up just filling a seat—not finding a long-term, high-impact team member. The real goal is to find someone who will genuinely thrive in a remote environment, and that requires a different approach.

We need to move past a simple checklist of qualifications and instead build what I call a “remote success profile.” This is your blueprint. It’s less about what’s on their resume and more about their work habits, mindset, and ability to operate without someone looking over their shoulder.

Let’s be honest: an employee who was a rockstar in a bustling office might struggle with the autonomy—and sometimes isolation—of working from home. Your hiring strategy has to bake this reality in from the very start.

Defining Your Ideal Remote Candidate

So, what does this “remote success profile” actually look like? It goes way beyond technical skills. You have to pinpoint the behavioral traits that are common among high-performers on distributed teams.

From my experience, a few non-negotiables stand out:

• Proactive Communication: You’re looking for someone who over-communicates by default. They give updates, flag roadblocks, and share ideas without constant prompting. This is the absolute lifeblood of a healthy remote team.
• Self-Discipline & Time Management: Do they have a proven ability to own their schedule and hit deadlines? You need people who are masters of their own productivity, period.
• Resourceful Problem-Solving: The best remote employees are tinkerers. When they hit a snag, their first instinct is to try and figure it out themselves before immediately escalating the issue. They don’t wait to be told what to do next.
• Tech-Savviness: They need to be comfortable, if not fluent, in the tools you live in every day, whether that’s Slack, Asana, Jira, or your video conferencing platform of choice.

A Quick Tip: Don’t just list these traits. Turn them into practical interview questions. Instead of saying you want a “problem-solver,” ask, “Tell me about a time you ran into a technical issue and your manager wasn’t available. Walk me through how you handled it.” This gives you concrete evidence, not just an abstract claim.

This detailed profile becomes the bedrock for everything that follows—your job descriptions, interview scripts, and how you evaluate candidates.

Building a Competitive Compensation Package

When it comes to hiring in Latin America, simply converting a US salary to the local currency is a recipe for failure. You’ll either lowball great candidates or overpay drastically. A smart compensation plan is a delicate balance of fairness, market reality, and what it takes to attract top-tier talent.

You really have to do your homework here. A few key factors should guide your offers:

• Regional Benchmarks: A senior software engineer in São Paulo, Brazil, won’t command the same salary as one in Medellín, Colombia. Research the local market rates for that specific role in that specific city.
• Cost of Living: While you aren’t matching a San Francisco salary, your offer needs to afford someone a great quality of life in their local context. Don’t be cheap; be competitive.
• Experience and Skills: This is universal. Niche skills and a deep well of experience should always command a premium, regardless of where the person is located.

Getting this right shows candidates you’ve done the work and that you value their expertise in their own market. It’s a sign of respect that goes a long way.

Showcasing Your Employer Value Proposition

Remote work isn’t a niche perk anymore; it’s the standard for many of the world’s best professionals. The competition is officially global. Projections show that by 2025, 36.2 million American workers (22% of the workforce) will be remote—an 87% jump from pre-pandemic figures. You can dig into these hiring statistics and their implications to see just how fierce the market is.

So, why should a top candidate in Brazil or Mexico choose your company over another?

This is where your Employer Value Proposition (EVP) comes in. It’s the unique story of your company culture, benefits, and career opportunities. Don’t just list perks on a page. Tell a compelling story. Do you offer real flexibility, or is it just “flexible” as long as a status indicator stays green? Do you invest in professional development for your international team? Is there a clear path for growth?

Answering these questions honestly helps you build a narrative that will attract the ambitious, self-driven people you actually want on your team.

Sourcing and Attracting Top Latin American Talent

Once your strategy is set, the real hunt begins. Finding and attracting world-class professionals in Latin America isn’t about just posting a job on LinkedIn and hoping for the best. To succeed, you need to be smart, targeted, and culturally aware.

That LinkedIn screenshot above? It shows the battlefield. It’s where everyone else is fighting for talent. Relying on it alone is a surefire way to get lost in the noise and miss out on incredible candidates who simply don’t hang out there.

The truth is, the most sought-after professionals in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia are often active in niche communities and on local job boards that most international recruiters have never even heard of. If you want to connect with them, you have to go where they are.

Go Where the Talent Lives

Put yourself in their shoes. Where would a senior backend developer in Bogotá or a sharp BDR in Mexico City actually look for their next big career move? It’s probably not the same place your US-based team would.

To really broaden your reach, you need to think beyond the usual suspects:

• Niche Tech Communities: For developers and engineers, places like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even specific subreddits or Discord servers are the real hubs. The key is to engage authentically—contribute to discussions and build a presence, don’t just spam job links.
• Local Job Boards: Every country has its go-to platforms. For instance, Getonbrd is a massive player for tech jobs across Latin America. For sourcing talent specifically from Brazil, Revelo is a major hub you can’t ignore.
• Professional Networks: Don’t underestimate the power of local professional groups on platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. These are goldmines for roles in marketing, sales, or design. Building genuine relationships here can pay off for years to come. For a deeper dive into this, our guide on how to hire BDRs in Latin America breaks down specific channels.

This multi-channel approach is how you get in front of both active job seekers and passive candidates who aren’t looking but are open to a great opportunity. It dramatically widens your talent pool.

Writing Job Descriptions That Truly Resonate

One of the most common mistakes I see is companies simply translating their US-centric job descriptions. This rarely works. It often misses the cultural nuances and fails to highlight what local candidates actually value. Your job post is your first sales pitch—it has to be compelling.

The competition is fierce. Remote and hybrid roles attract a staggering 60% of all job applications, even though they only make up about 20% of total job postings. The demand is especially high in professional services (24.3%) and technology (18.3%). With that kind of heat, your job description has to do more than just list duties.

Here’s how to make your job posts more effective:

1. Lead with Stability and Growth: Emphasize that you’re a stable, growing US company offering a long-term career path. This is a massive selling point.
2. Be Upfront About Compensation: Clearly state that you offer competitive pay, and—this is critical—mention that you pay in USD. This signals value and transparency right away.
3. Sell Your Culture, Not Just Perks: Talk about what it’s really like to work with you. Mention your commitment to work-life balance, your communication style (e.g., async-first), and the opportunities for professional development.
4. Use Clear, Inclusive Language: Ditch the American corporate jargon and slang that won’t translate well. Keep your language direct, respectful, and focused on the impact the person will have in the role.

A great job description does more than list requirements; it tells a story about why a talented professional should invest their career with you. It sells the opportunity, not just the tasks.

Proactive Sourcing and Building a Pipeline

The very best talent is often passive. They aren’t scrolling through job boards, but they’re open to the right opportunity if it comes knocking. This is where proactive sourcing completely changes the game.

Don’t wait until you have an open position to start looking. Build your talent pipeline now.

Engage with promising professionals in their online communities. Follow the work of designers on Behance or developers on GitHub. When you finally reach out, make it personal. A generic, copied-and-pasted message will be ignored.

Try an outreach approach like this:

• Subject: Impressed by your work on [Project Name]
• Body: Hi [Candidate Name], I came across your profile on [Platform] and was really impressed with your work on the [Specific Project or Contribution]. The way you handled [Specific Detail] is exactly the kind of expertise we value.

  We’re building our remote team at [Your Company] and are always looking for talented [Role, e.g., Senior Python Developers]. While we don’t have an opening right this second, I’d love to connect and keep you in mind for future roles. Would you be open to a brief, informal chat sometime?

This approach is respectful and shows you’ve done your homework. It’s about building a relationship, not just filling a role. This is how you get on the radar of A-players before your competitors even know they exist.

Running an Effective Remote Interview Process

How do you really get to know a candidate when you can’t meet them in person? The traditional handshake and in-office vibe check are off the table. This means your remote interview process has to work harder—it needs to be more intentional, structured, and insightful to actually predict who will succeed on your team.

This isn’t just about stringing together a few video calls. We’re talking about a multi-stage system designed to uncover real skills, gauge cultural alignment, and build genuine rapport across screens. A well-designed process also ensures every applicant has a positive experience (even those who don’t get an offer), which is crucial for protecting your employer brand. It’s all about moving from a broad screen to deep, targeted assessments that give you a complete picture.

Structuring a Multi-Stage Interview Plan

A scattered, ad-hoc approach simply won’t cut it. You need distinct stages, each with a crystal-clear purpose. I’ve found that a flow including an initial screening, a skills-based evaluation, and a final culture-focused conversation is incredibly effective. It prevents you from getting to the final round only to discover a major misalignment.

What does that look like in practice?

• Initial Video Screen: Think of this as a 30-minute two-way street. It’s your first chance to get a feel for their communication style and professional presence. More importantly, it’s their chance to ask questions and decide if they’re genuinely excited about the opportunity. The goal here is simple: confirm their core qualifications and see if there’s a spark.
• Hiring Manager Deep Dive: This is where the hiring manager digs into the candidate’s professional history, usually for 45-60 minutes. You want to move beyond the resume and into real-world scenarios. Ask behavioral questions about past projects, tough challenges, and big wins. This is where you connect their specific experience directly to the job’s demands.
• Final Culture Conversation: Often led by a C-level executive or senior leader, this 30-45 minute chat isn’t about technical skills anymore. It’s about alignment. Does this person resonate with your company’s values? Do they light up when talking about your mission? This conversation is the final confirmation that they’re a great long-term addition to the team.

To help you visualize this, here’s a quick breakdown of how these stages fit together.

A Look at Each Remote Interview Stage

A structured interview plan isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s a strategic tool. Each stage serves a unique purpose, building on the last to create a comprehensive candidate profile.

By separating these evaluations, you avoid the common pitfall of being swayed by a candidate’s personality while overlooking critical skill gaps, or vice-versa. This systematic approach leads to far more reliable hiring decisions.

The Power of Skills-Based Assignments

Resumes tell you what a candidate says they can do. A skills-based assignment shows you what they actually do. For remote roles, this is arguably the most predictive part of the entire hiring process. A short, paid take-home task that mimics a problem they’d solve on the job is invaluable.

For a software engineer, this could be a small coding challenge. For a marketer, you might ask them to outline a mini-campaign. For a BDR, it could be drafting a series of outreach emails for a specific persona. The key is to make it relevant and respectful of their time—a task requiring 2-4 hours is a reasonable ask.

Based on experience, a well-designed test gives you incredible insight. When you give qualified candidates 48 hours to complete the task, you’ll find that about two-thirds will successfully demonstrate their skills, giving you a fantastic pool for the final interviews.

A critical note on these assignments: Always, always pay candidates for their time. It shows you value their expertise from the get-go and sets a professional, positive tone for any future relationship.

Probing for Essential Remote Work Traits

Beyond technical chops, you have to screen for the specific traits that make someone a successful remote employee. These are the soft skills that determine whether someone thrives with autonomy or struggles without constant in-person supervision.

Your interview questions need to be laser-focused on uncovering evidence of these qualities. Here are a few of my go-tos:

• Self-Motivation: “Tell me about a long-term project you managed. How did you stay on track without direct oversight?”
• Asynchronous Communication: “Describe a situation where you had to explain a complex issue to your team in writing. What was your process?”
• Proactive Problem-Solving: “Walk me through a time you hit a roadblock and your manager wasn’t available. What did you do to resolve it?”

Listen to how they answer just as much as what they say. Their stories and thought processes provide a window into their work habits, resilience, and ability to contribute meaningfully to a distributed team. Mastering this part of the interview is crucial when you hire remote employees, as it helps prevent incredibly costly hiring mistakes down the line.

Navigating International Legal and Compliance Waters

Hiring internationally swings open the doors to a massive talent pool, but it also means you’re about to step into a complex web of cross-border legal rules. Getting this part wrong isn’t just a minor hiccup; it can lead to serious financial penalties, misclassification nightmares, and major operational headaches. This isn’t about just ticking boxes—it’s about building a solid, sustainable foundation for your global team from day one.

Right out of the gate, you’ll face a critical decision: your hiring model. You essentially have two paths, and each comes with its own set of legal and financial baggage. Understanding the real-world difference between them is the single most important step you can take to protect your company.

Independent Contractors vs. Employees

Many companies initially lean towards hiring international talent as independent contractors. On the surface, it looks like the easy route—simpler, cheaper, and seemingly free from the hassle of payroll taxes, benefits, and rigid labor laws. The problem is, this approach is loaded with the significant risk of employee misclassification.

If the labor authorities in your new hire’s country decide your “contractor” actually functions like a full-time employee, you’re in for a world of hurt. They’ll look at factors like how integrated the person is in your team, whether they work exclusively for you, and how much you direct their work. A misclassification ruling can trigger severe penalties, including back taxes, hefty fines, and being forced to pay for retroactive benefits. That convenient contractor agreement can quickly morph into a very expensive liability.

The core issue isn’t what the contract says, but what the working relationship actually looks like. If you control their hours, provide their primary equipment, and they are integral to your daily operations, you’re likely treading in employee territory.

Before you go any further, take the time to dig into the legal requirements for hiring remote workers. A little bit of research now can save you from incredibly costly mistakes down the road.

Partnering with an Employer of Record

The alternative—and frankly, the safer route for most companies—is to partner with an Employer of Record (EOR). An EOR is a third-party organization that acts as the legal employer for your international hires on your behalf. They handle all the local compliance grunt work, from payroll and taxes to benefits and making sure you’re following every local labor law to the letter.

Think of an EOR as your instant, on-the-ground HR and legal department in a country where you don’t have an office. They are the legal employer, but the employee works exclusively for you, fully integrated into your team and culture. This model effectively shifts the compliance burden from your shoulders to an expert provider.

The Two Hiring Models Compared

To really see which path makes sense for your business, it helps to put them side-by-side.

Essential Compliance Non-Negotiables

No matter which model you choose, some responsibilities are simply unavoidable. When you start hiring in a new country, you have to get familiar with the local legal landscape.

Even if you use an EOR, you should still be aware of these key compliance areas:

• Locally Compliant Contracts: Employment agreements must be ironclad and respect the mandatory laws of the employee’s country. This covers everything from probation periods and termination rules to statutory leave.
• Multi-Currency Payroll: You absolutely need a reliable way to pay your team accurately and on time in their local currency, all while dealing with fluctuating exchange rates.
• Tax Obligations: Both employer and employee tax contributions must be handled perfectly according to local rules. This is something an EOR manages automatically, but it’s your responsibility to ensure it’s happening.

Ultimately, successfully hiring remote employees means you have to treat legal and compliance not as a hurdle, but as a core strategic function. Getting it right from the start protects your business and, just as importantly, shows your international team members that you’re a serious, trustworthy employer they can build a career with.

Onboarding and Integrating Your New Hire for Success

Getting that signed offer letter back is a great feeling, but the real work has just begun. The difference between a promising candidate and a high-performing, long-term team member often comes down to a thoughtful, structured onboarding process. This is especially true when you’re hiring remotely across countries and time zones. A generic welcome email and a link to a handbook just won’t do the job. Your mission is to make your new colleague feel like a core part of the team right from day one.

That first week is everything. It sets the tone for their entire journey with your company. Forget just the standard paperwork; focus on making them feel genuinely welcome and fully equipped to succeed. This means getting the logistics sorted out well in advance. For a new hire in Latin America, that’s more than just a software license. You need a rock-solid plan for shipping their equipment—like a laptop and monitor—across borders without getting stuck in customs.

It’s a step that companies often underestimate. Make sure all their system access is ready to go before day one. We’re talking email, Slack, project management tools, and any internal software. There’s honestly nothing more alienating than starting a new remote job and being locked out of the very tools you need to get started.

The Power of a 30-60-90 Day Plan

To give your new hire a clear path forward, a well-defined 30-60-90 day plan is your most powerful tool. Think of it as a roadmap that lays out clear expectations and milestones. It cuts through the fog of a new role and empowers them to take ownership much faster.

• First 30 Days: Learning and Observing. The initial goal is pure absorption. They should be focused on understanding company culture, meeting key people, and getting comfortable with your core processes and tools. Give them small, achievable tasks so they can score their first “win” early on.
• Next 30 Days: Contributing and Collaborating. Now, the focus shifts from learning to doing. They should start picking up more significant responsibilities and collaborating on smaller projects. This is when you can begin to measure their initial contributions against the role’s key performance indicators.
• Final 30 Days: Owning and Innovating. By this stage, your new hire should be flying with more autonomy. They should be fully managing their core responsibilities and, ideally, starting to spot opportunities for improvement or innovation within their role.

This structured plan isn’t just for the employee. It gives you, as a manager, a clear framework for providing targeted feedback and support exactly when it’s needed most.

Creating Connection with a Buddy System

Technical setup and clear goals are critical, but they don’t build human connection. A “buddy system” is a surprisingly simple but incredibly effective way to fight the isolation that can creep into remote work. Just pair your new hire with a peer—someone who isn’t their manager—to be their go-to person for all the “unwritten rules” of the company.

Your new hire’s buddy is their guide for everything from navigating team communication styles to understanding who to ask for what. This informal support system fosters a sense of belonging and psychological safety from the start.

This buddy can help them decipher company acronyms, make warm introductions to people outside their immediate team, and just be a friendly face in a sea of new digital avatars. It’s a small investment of time that pays off massively in making someone feel like they truly belong.

Once your new remote hires are settled in, keeping that momentum going is key. Maintaining high productivity and satisfaction often comes down to their sense of connection and involvement. It’s smart to have strategies for how to improve employee engagement to ensure your team stays connected and motivated for the long haul.

Common Questions We Hear About Remote Hiring

As you start down the path of hiring remotely, you’re bound to have questions. It’s only natural. Here are some of the most common ones we encounter from US companies looking to tap into Latin America’s talent pool, along with some straight-to-the-point answers based on our experience.

What’s the Biggest Mistake Companies Make?

Honestly, the most frequent pitfall is trying to apply a US-centric model to a Latin American context. We see it all the time: a company simply translates its US job descriptions and employment contracts and expects them to work. This approach almost always backfires, failing to attract the right people and, worse, creating major legal headaches down the road.

Another huge misstep is putting all your sourcing eggs in one basket, usually LinkedIn. While it’s a useful tool, the absolute best professionals in Latin America are often found on regional job boards like Getonbrd or deep within local tech communities. You have to go where the talent is, which requires a broader, more localized sourcing strategy.

How Do I Handle Payroll and Taxes?

International payroll is a minefield of different tax laws, labor codes, and currency fluctuations. For most companies, the smartest and safest route is to work with an Employer of Record (EOR).

Think of an EOR as your in-country HR and legal partner. They become the legal employer on paper in that specific country, which means they take on all the messy compliance work:

• Running accurate, on-time payroll in the correct local currency.
• Handling all the complex tax withholdings for both the employee and your company.
• Managing mandatory benefits, like health insurance, pensions, and paid time off, according to local laws.

This setup lets you bring on talent legally and efficiently without the immense cost and time required to set up your own local business entity. It’s a game-changer for reducing administrative drag and compliance risk.

The bottom line: An EOR takes the guesswork out of international payroll and legal compliance. It’s a strategic move that lets you focus on what really matters—welcoming your new team member and growing your business.

Are There Security Risks to Consider?

Absolutely. Security should be top of mind. We’re seeing increasingly sophisticated schemes where bad actors use stolen identities, and even AI-generated photos, to pose as qualified remote IT professionals. Your vetting process needs to be ironclad, including robust identity verification and making sure a candidate’s physical location is what they claim it to be.

There was a recent, well-publicized case where a North Korean operative used a stolen US identity to land a remote job. The whole operation was only uncovered because the company’s security software flagged malicious activity on the laptop they sent him. The lesson is clear: verify everything, monitor activity closely, and keep strict access controls, especially in the first few months.

Ready to build your world-class remote team without the legal headaches? Nearshore Business Solutions specializes in helping US companies compliantly hire and manage top-tier talent across Latin America. We handle the complexities so you can focus on growth. Learn how we can help you hire your next great employee.