Tech hiring: what are staffing agencies? 24 questions answered

What is the short answer for a busy buyer?

Choose a staffing agency by the work you need it to handle. You may need help finding an engineer, support employing someone you have already chosen, or extra people under your engineering manager. Those needs call for different agreements.

Start with the role itself. Describe what the person must own, the systems they will work on, and who will review their work. Separate skills needed on arrival from skills they can learn on the job. Give the recruiter a budget your team has approved.

Then define the handoff. Decide who screens candidates, who interviews them, and who can approve an offer. For ongoing support, name the party responsible for payroll questions and employment administration.

A useful proposal should answer two questions without another sales call: what work will the provider do, and what work stays with your team?

For example, suppose you need a backend engineer to take ownership of an existing service. Describe the service, its main failure risks, and the decisions the hire will make. Tell the recruiter whether the person will join an on-call rotation. A list of programming languages leaves those parts of the job open to interpretation.

Check your own readiness before starting the search. Assign an interview owner and reserve time for candidate reviews. If the team has not agreed on seniority or budget, settle those points first. Otherwise, the recruiter may search against requirements that change after each interview.

You can also keep recruiting in-house. Compare the search work your team can handle with the work you want to pay someone else to do. Buying help with sourcing does not remove the need for a manager who can assess fit and support the hire.

What does the data say about pay and hiring time?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $135,980 for US software developers in May 2025. That is an occupation-wide wage benchmark, not a quote for a specific engineer or an all-in staffing budget. Use it as context when reviewing your role and location. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Avoid turning that median into a promised savings figure. A comparison needs the same seniority and job scope on both sides. It also needs consistent treatment of benefits and fees. Compare your actual US hiring budget with a written proposal for the role you plan to fill.

Build the comparison around the amount your company will pay. Ask whether the proposal includes equipment, paid leave, and any setup charges. Record the billing currency and ask what can change the rate. Keep optional services separate so finance can compare the base scope without guessing.

SHRM describes median time to fill in 2025 as roughly a month and a half for executive and nonexecutive roles. Its measure runs from job requisition to offer acceptance. This is a broad recruiting benchmark, not a forecast for your engineering vacancy. SHRM recruiting benchmarks

When a provider quotes a faster timeline, ask which event ends the clock. Receiving resumes does not mean you have an accepted offer. An accepted offer does not establish the first working day.

Ask for a schedule that separates the provider's work from yours. It should show when you can expect candidates and when your team needs to respond. Confirm whether a candidate must complete any steps before starting work.

Track your own search using those same milestones. If candidates wait for interview feedback, changing agencies may leave that delay untouched. If interviews repeatedly expose the same skill gap, review the screening criteria with the recruiter. Use the point where the process stalls to decide what needs to change.

How do the hiring models differ for nearshore and Latin American roles?

Compare candidate search, employment support, and delivery ownership separately. A provider's label is less useful than its written scope.

If you already have a candidate, focus the discussion on the employment arrangement. If you have an approved role but no candidates, establish who will run the search. If you need a project delivered, define the output and who will manage delivery.

Consider the difference between hiring someone to maintain your application and buying a finished migration. For the hire, your manager assigns work and reviews progress. For the migration, ask for a delivery scope with acceptance criteria and a process for changes. Decide which purchase you need before comparing prices.

Temporary staffing also needs a clear endpoint. Ask what happens if the assignment lasts longer than planned or you want to hire the person directly. Put any conversion terms in the agreement before the person starts.

Nearshore describes geography. It does not settle those responsibilities or guarantee a particular work schedule.

Mexico City is UTC-6 and does not observe daylight saving time. Tijuana follows US daylight-saving dates. A Mexico-based hire therefore needs a city-specific schedule. IANA North America time zone data

Bogotá is UTC-5 year-round. Buenos Aires and São Paulo are UTC-3 year-round. Check shared hours against your team's schedule across US seasonal clock changes. IANA South America time zone data

Put agreed hours in the role description and confirm them with each candidate. Name the meetings they need to attend. Separate routine availability from on-call work, and discuss holiday cover before an offer goes out.

For LatAm hiring, assess communication through the work itself. Ask the candidate to explain a design choice or write a handoff for another engineer. Use the same expectations you apply to the rest of the team. A country label does not tell you how someone will document a change or raise a concern.

What should you ask a provider before signing?

Ask for a proposal you can review alongside the contract. Keep the questions tied to the role rather than a general sales presentation.

• What evidence will accompany each candidate? Request screening notes that show how the person meets your requirements.
• Who performs the technical assessment? Ask how that person's experience relates to the role you are filling.
• What does the quote cover? Check pay, benefits, payroll, and placement support, then ask about exclusions.
• What can change the bill? Request the conditions for rate reviews and any separate charges.
• Which entity signs the employment agreement? Have your reviewers confirm the arrangement for the hire's location.
• What happens if the hire leaves or the fit fails? Read the replacement terms and confirm how to make a request.
• Who owns onboarding and offboarding? Name the people responsible for equipment, system access, and employment paperwork.

For a senior engineer, ask the provider to explain how it tests scope of ownership. Knowing a language or framework is only part of the role. Your interview should explore decisions the candidate made, alternatives they considered, and how they handled failures.

Keep the assessment close to the actual work. A code review discussion can reveal how someone reasons about maintainability. A system-design discussion can show how they balance constraints. Use a consistent rubric so interviewers compare evidence rather than impressions.

Agree on how feedback will reach the recruiter. If a candidate falls short, name the requirement and the evidence behind your decision. "Too junior" gives less direction than explaining that the person has not owned production incidents or reviewed other engineers' designs.

Before signing, walk through a departure scenario. Ask who contacts the hire, who starts another search, and what your team must do. Confirm how ongoing charges work during any gap. Read cancellation terms separately from replacement terms.

Plan access before the first working day. Identify who approves repository permissions and who removes them when the engagement ends. Ask how equipment will be returned and how work will be handed over. Keep these tasks assigned even when the provider handles employment paperwork.

Prepare a first assignment with an owner and clear acceptance criteria. Share the team's code review process and the route for asking questions. Confirm who will resolve a payroll issue so the engineering manager does not become the default contact for every problem.

For an upcoming engineering search, talk to Opus about a role. This site is an Opus-owned reference; recommendations are editorial.

Where does Opus fit?

Opus states: "Opus charges one flat monthly rate per hire. 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 dollar rates: Not published. Ask for a written quote for your role, seniority, and location.

Consider that structure when you want candidate placement and ongoing employment support within the same engagement. Compare the full monthly scope with your alternatives. A recruiting-only fee covers a different purchase, so place ongoing employment costs alongside it before comparing totals.

Opus states: "The client chooses the finalist and manages day-to-day work." Plan for an internal manager who can set priorities, review work, and give feedback. Decide who will make the hiring decision before interviews begin.

If your team needs someone else to own project delivery, ask how that need would be handled before proceeding. The stated client responsibility for daily work should shape your staffing plan. Set aside management time as well as money for the hire.

Opus also states: "Every placement carries a lifetime replacement guarantee with no cap and no time limit." Read the contract terms and ask how a replacement request affects the search and ongoing billing. Confirm the steps your team must take if the fit fails.

For scheduling, Opus states: "Every Opus placement works with US timezone overlap." Agree on the hours your team needs for reviews and meetings. Discuss incident response separately if the role includes on-call work.

Bring a concrete role to the first conversation. Include the systems the hire will work on, the level of ownership expected, and the budget you can approve. Ask for the proposed scope and quote in writing so your engineering and finance reviewers assess the same arrangement.

Talk to Opus about a role.

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