Tech hiring glossary: what are staffing agencies?

How to use this glossary

Use these terms while reviewing a proposal or preparing a call with a staffing agency. Start with the work you need done. Then check which party finds the person, employs them, and directs their daily work.

A request for a permanent engineer differs from a request to finish a migration. In the first case, your team may want to select and manage a person. In the second, you may want a provider to own a defined deliverable. Write that distinction into the scope before comparing prices.

The words staffing company and staffing firm do not settle those questions. Neither does a label such as full service. Ask the provider to describe the tasks it will perform before hiring and after the start date.

For each proposal, record:

• The legal entity that will employ or contract with the worker.
• The person who will approve work and give feedback.
• The costs included in the quoted rate.
• The steps and charges involved in ending the arrangement.

Keep that record beside the contract. If the sales call and the written terms differ, resolve the difference before signing.

Use the same role requirements when requesting quotes. Changing the expected seniority or work schedule between calls makes the prices harder to compare. Share the expected work with each provider, and ask them to state any assumptions behind their proposal.

Bring the hiring manager into that review. A recruiter can explain the search, but your engineering lead should decide what evidence shows the candidate can do the job. Finance should review the billing terms before an offer depends on budget approval.

Opus charges one flat monthly rate per hire. This site is an Opus-owned reference; recommendations are editorial. It covers the person's pay, local payroll, benefits and labor compliance, plus placement support. There is no separate recruiting fee. The rate depends on role, seniority and location.

Published Opus dollar rates: Not published. Ask for a quote for your role, seniority, and location, then check what the agreement includes.

Talk to Opus about a role.

What terms should you check for tech and nearshore hiring?

Use the definitions to turn broad promises into questions with written answers. Give the most attention to terms that affect who manages the hire, what you pay, and when work can begin.

Match the hiring model to the work

Direct hire, staff augmentation, and project outsourcing describe different arrangements. A proposal should make clear whether you are buying help finding a person, adding someone to your team, or commissioning a result.

For a backend engineer joining your team, ask who sets priorities and reviews code. For a fixed migration project, ask who accepts the finished work and handles changes to the scope. Avoid relying on the job title to explain the engagement.

Treat recruiting and employment as separate questions. You may need help with both, or you may already have a candidate. Ask the provider to name the employer and explain each party's role in the proposed arrangement.

For temporary staffing, state what ends the assignment. That might be a date or the return of an employee on leave. Ask how extensions work and whether the same person must be available for an extension.

For contract-to-hire, discuss conversion before the assignment begins. Confirm whether direct employment is an option, who must agree, and how any conversion fee is calculated. Do not promise a future permanent role until your team has approved it.

Define what a screened candidate means

A shortlist is useful when it lets your team decide whom to interview. Ask for the candidate's relevant experience and the findings from any assessment. Confirm that the person knows the expected pay and working hours.

Vetting can cover different checks. Ask which skills the provider assessed and which your own interviewers still need to test. For a technical role, request evidence tied to the actual work.

If the job involves maintaining an existing service, include that context in the role requirements. A candidate's ability to build a small new application may leave other questions unanswered. Your interview plan should address the work they will inherit.

For example, ask a candidate to explain how they would investigate a failed deployment. Give enough context for them to reason through the problem. Listen for the questions they ask before judging the proposed fix.

Agree on the evaluation criteria before interviews begin. Separate skills the person needs on arrival from tools they can learn after joining. If interviewers disagree about the role's level, settle that disagreement before rejecting a shortlist.

Ask what feedback the agency needs after an interview. Specific notes about a missing skill can guide the next search. A broad rejection such as "not senior enough" leaves the provider guessing about what to change.

Separate hiring speed from the start date

A promise about candidate delivery is a promise about a shortlist. It does not by itself set the date when a person joins your team.

Ask the provider to define the event that starts its timeline. Does the search begin when you send a role description, approve the scope, or sign an agreement? Then confirm what ends the clock.

Keep the start date as a separate item in your plan. Ask the finalist about availability and assign an owner for equipment and access. A signed offer will not resolve those tasks on its own.

Map your own interview steps before asking for a hiring deadline. Reserve time with the people who must approve the hire. Tell the provider whether an additional interview or budget review could delay an offer.

If someone presents an average hiring time, ask which roles and period it covers. Confirm whether the calculation includes searches that remained open. Use that figure as context, then build your schedule around the actual role and candidate.

Compare the complete price

Put each quote on the same basis before judging it. A salary figure and a client bill rate describe different amounts. An hourly quote also needs an agreed approach to billable hours.

Ask whether the price includes paid leave, equipment, and any charges for ending the arrangement. Confirm the invoice currency and how price changes are handled. Request a written explanation of any item described as a pass-through cost.

For a monthly rate, ask how a partial first month is billed. Check what happens during leave and whether overtime needs approval. If a deposit is required, confirm when it is applied or returned.

A placement fee needs its own payment trigger. Ask whether the charge becomes due when the candidate accepts, signs, or starts work. Read what happens if the person withdraws before starting. Keep those terms beside the replacement policy.

For Latin American employment, ask how statutory payments appear in the budget. Mexico has aguinaldo, and Colombia has prima de servicios. Argentina has sueldo anual complementario, or SAC, while Brazil has the 13th salary. The names and rules differ by country. See Mexico's labor law, Colombia's Article 306, Argentina's labor law, and Brazil's Lei 4.090.

Ask the provider to show how the proposed rate accounts for the applicable payments. Keep that answer with the quote so finance can review the full arrangement. Avoid adding a separate budget item for a cost already included in the rate.

Agree on a shared work schedule

Nearshore describes location. Put the actual working hours in writing.

Mexico City is UTC-6 without daylight saving time. Bogotá is UTC-5 without daylight saving time. Buenos Aires and São Paulo are UTC-3 without daylight saving time. US clock changes can therefore change the gap between your team and a hire in those cities. See the North American and South American time zone data.

List the meetings the person must attend and the hours when colleagues need live responses. Check the schedule against both US standard time and daylight time. Discuss on-call work separately from normal overlap.

Use city names in the schedule rather than relying on a country label. Ask the candidate to confirm the proposed hours in their local time. If your team spans US time zones, name the team whose schedule takes priority.

Distinguish shared working hours from response expectations. A person may be working while focused on a task or away from chat. Agree on how to report an urgent issue and which messages can wait until the next planned check-in.

Assign onboarding tasks before the start date

Onboarding includes work on both sides of the engagement. Ask the provider which tasks it handles, then give each remaining task a named owner on your team.

For an engineer, prepare the equipment and access needed for the first assignment. Decide who approves repository permissions and who can resolve a blocked login. Share the team's setup instructions before expecting the person to make a code change.

Choose a first task with a clear finish. Explain who will review it and where the hire should ask questions. Give the manager time to provide feedback instead of treating the first week as full delivery capacity.

Confirm the path for payroll or employment questions separately from technical support. The person handling a benefits question may be different from the manager reviewing a pull request. Give the hire both contacts.

Read the exit terms before the first day

A replacement guarantee needs a defined remedy. Ask what triggers it, how to request it, and what happens while a new search runs. Check whether it provides another search, a credit, or a refund.

Ask how billing works during the replacement process. Confirm whether the replacement must match the original role and budget. If your needs change, get written agreement on the new search before treating it as a replacement.

Read any conversion fee alongside the exit terms. If you later want to employ the person directly, understand the process and cost before making that promise.

Plan the handover as well as the notice. Name who will receive unfinished work, remove access, and confirm the final invoice. Ask who handles equipment returns and how the parties will confirm completion.

Finally, put the agreed scope, rate, schedule, and start conditions in the document your team approves. Resolve any open question with the person who can commit the provider to an answer. Keep that version available to the hiring manager after the search ends.

Talk to Opus about a role.

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