I think most will agree - the tech industry in 2025 is very different from the tech industry a few years ago.

Over the past years, we’ve seen AI accelerate and inflation increase. As a result, what used to be a fail-safe career has fallen prey to mass lay-offs. After all, ChatGPT’s code is ‘good enough’, and rising hardware prices mean less developer compensation. Even FAANG can no longer pay top dollar for their top talent.

As a result, Americans are turning to offshoring. And done correctly, it works like a charm. It’s cost-efficient, and you wake up each morning to new features waiting for you.

The problems start when it’s done incorrectly. Then you wind up with spaghetti code and meetings that go nowhere.

So what’s the main variable? Like most other business undertakings, the people. Who you offshore to, and how they work with you.

Navigating time zones smart

In theory, a dev sitting in Pasadena, California, can work efficiently with his junior in Shanghai, China. After all, all progress is recorded in Jira, and Slack messages abolish the need for live meetings. Right?

In practice, 9 am on America’s West Coast is midnight in China. And, in practice, John forgot to ask Li to run those integration tests. They’ll have to wait until Monday.

In my experience, huge time zone gaps are simply better avoided. Collaboration tools ease the pain, but real-time collaboration is often where the most progress is made. You want to bounce ideas off one another, walk through the requirements, brainstorm together.

Ideally, an American’s offshore team should have at least a few overlapping hours. I’d suggest Europe, or Latin America. For example, 4 pm in Greenwich is 11 am on the East Coast and 8 am on the West Coast. Plus, if you have a dedicated team, they’ll stay the extra time to catch the Californian 10 am

That small overlap can make or break productivity. For Americans, a dev in Warsaw is not the same as a dev in Shanghai. You want your offshore team to be an extension of your own team, fully integrated in the workflow. And for that, you need live, honest conversations.

Culture and values that align

I’ve been in companies where no one thought twice about filling out a time-tracking sheet. It was a good indicator of where we were spending the most time, and what needed to be automated.

I’ve also been in companies where time-tracking was seen as micromanagement, and everyone outright refused the practice. No-one wanted someone ‘looking over their shoulder’.

Now imagine what it’s like when different nationalities work together.

Indians, for example, place a huge emphasis on hierarchy. Juniors are there to follow, and rarely will someone voice their ideas, even at the cost of overtime. Americans, on the other hand, are encouraged to brainstorm, challenge their team leads with new approaches - something no Indian would dare.

Your offshore devs need to share your work ethic and ways of working. . If you value round tables, your offshore devs need to speak up. If you refuse to cut corners, your offshore devs can’t implement quick and dirty ‘fixes’. If documentation is king, guess what? Your offshore devs need to write documentation.

At the end of the day, offshare teams should be an extension of your own in-house talent. For that to happen, you both need to have similar values, think in a similar way. Sure, overtime might be great because you meet deadlines, one might argue. But what’s the point of tiring yourself out, and then working at a sub-par level the next day, another pushes back. Whatever stance you take - make sure your offshore devs share it.

A consistent, dedicated team

Imagine you’ve been working with Adam for two months to whip your database architecture into shape. Then the next day, it’s Paige instead of Adam at your daily stand-up. She’s his replacement, and is here to learn the project.

So, now you’re onboarding Paige after onboarding Adam two months ago. Now you need to show her the legacy code it took you two a good two weeks to wrap your head around, explain what you’ve done so far, and give instructions for moving forward. You’re losing time, and I’d personally be losing my patience.

In my experience, this isn’t uncommon. Software agencies often circulate devs faster than sushi on a conveyor belt; sub-par compensation results in sub-par retention.

So, your best bet when recruiting offshore devs is to ask questions. How long have you been with the company? What projects have you worked on? What are you proud of?

You can learn a lot from these answers. You’ll see if they’re passionate about what they’ve done so far, if they enjoy their current work. You want someone dedicated to your project - so make sure they’re dedicated to their agency.

The way forward: A new offshore perspective

For years, offshore development has been seen as a cost-efficient alternative at the expense of quality. And while the perception isn’t unfounded, it doesn’t need to be the only reality. There are other options.

Imagine you find an experienced, dedicated team of offshore developers in Poland, or in Croatia. Their time zone overlaps with the U.S.’s; you can talk with them in the AM. They’re also much closer culturally to Americans than Asian nationalities, and your ways of working align more naturally.

What I’ve just described is Develo. We’re led by founders who have years of experience leading our own business, building MVPs, and developing scalable software. We’re proud to have a team of people we trust, who are committed to supporting your goals in the broader context - not just your requirements. And we’re dedicated to getting it done fast, getting the technical component out of the way, so you can focus on your strategy and execution.

If you’re exploring offshoring options, schedule a chat with us. See how Develo can support you build software better, faster, and leaner.