BACKFor growing U.S. companies, the initial step into remote offshore support was simple: a pragmatic move to reach new talent markets, manage costs, and keep work moving around the clock.
But the real story began when many executives turned to outsourcing hubs like India, the Philippines, or nearshore markets such as Colombia. They quickly hit a wall of friction: crowded talent pools, time-zone clashes, and inconsistent results. This signaled that growing teams urgently needed a better, more stable foundation for expansion.
More and more U.S. companies are now making a strategic pivot to Vietnam to build a durable offshore capability. Leaders are reporting fewer surprises and a smoother path to growth, with quality holding steady.
Here’s the insight behind why U.S. companies are pivoting from legacy outsourcing hubs to Vietnam, and what gets significantly better in the shift.
Table of contents
Inside U.S. companies’ experience with traditional markets
Early offshore models in traditional hubs delivered quick wins on cost and rapid capacity. But as teams began to grow, initial savings often came with rising friction, making consistency and expansion difficult to maintain.
1. Saturated hiring and talent churn
Many U.S. clients recall that early hiring in traditional hubs felt effortless, roles filled fast, onboarding was smooth, and teams scaled quickly. But as markets tightened, replacements dragged, senior talent was poached mid-sprint, and knowledge gaps slowed delivery.
In some markets, especially BPO in the Philippines, attrition rates have climbed to 30–40%. The impact is clear: longer backfill cycles, higher wage pressure, and in-house staff spending more effort rebuilding momentum than advancing growth.
2. Calendar friction that complicates roadmaps
Early on, planning felt straightforward until national calendars came into play. Frequent holidays and shifting observances made sprint schedules and release cycles harder to predict.
Colombia alone observes 18 national holidays, many moved to Mondays, while India includes 17 gazetted holidays plus regional “restricted” days. For U.S. teams managing cross-market coordination, that meant extra buffers, more rescheduling, and a slower delivery rhythm.
3. Connectivity and infrastructure hiccups
Bandwidth and reliability proved to be ongoing pain points in some markets. In key moments, like design reviews or live QA, calls dropped, uploads stalled, and collaboration slowed.
The Philippines, for example, continues to advance its network capacity but still ranks 58th globally in fixed broadband (Feb 2025). For outsourced teams, even small interruptions like these can compound into missed milestones and added oversight.
4. Remote-work drift and weaker coaching
Fully remote setups solved short-term flexibility but introduced new cracks in rhythm. Onboarding stretched out, junior talent missed hands-on guidance, and performance coaching lost its edge.
Over time, what U.S. companies have seen as convenience turned into drift, teams stayed busy, but alignment thinned, and quality checks took longer to land.
5. Productivity gaps and oversight creep
As churn, holiday clusters, and connection issues stacked up, the balance tipped. Managers found themselves managing logistics instead of outcomes, chasing updates instead of progress.
In the Philippines, industry groups warn that talent supply is tightening even as the sector expands. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas projects BPO export growth will slow to 5% annually by 2025–2026, citing global reshoring and local skill shortages in AI and analytics.
It’s the same pressure U.S. teams feel on the ground: sustaining speed and quality gets harder as experienced talent grows scarce.
Finding the right fit in Vietnam
-
Deeper, less saturated talent pools
Vietnam’s talent market is hitting a new level of maturity, giving U.S. companies steady access to skilled professionals across IT, digital, and engineering roles. With more than 560,000 IT specialists and roughly 57,000 new tech graduates entering the workforce each year (TopDev), the country offers a sustainable talent pipeline that supports long-term scaling, not just short-term fill-ins.
What many U.S. leaders notice after building in Vietnam is the stability. According to VietnamNet, 47.2% of IT companies report turnover between 1–10%, far lower than rates seen in saturated markets. That consistency allows teams to retain context, strengthen culture, and focus on growth, rather than constant re-hiring and retraining.
-
Predictable operating rhythms
Vietnam’s work cadence feels steady and dependable, a rhythm that helps U.S. teams keep projects on track. With 13 national holidays each year, schedules stay consistent and sprints face fewer interruptions.
For teams spread across time zones, that stability removes one more variable from planning, roadmaps stay intact, QA cycles stay on pace, and collaboration flows more smoothly year-round.
-
Reliable infrastructure and bandwidth
Vietnam’s digital infrastructure has advanced quickly, now ranking among the top 15 globally for fixed Internet speed and holding a strong position in mobile connectivity. Years of investment in fiber networks and data centers have created one of Asia’s most stable digital environments.
For U.S. teams, that reliability translates into smoother communication, faster coordination, and uninterrupted access to shared systems.
It’s the same strength attracting innovation leaders like Nvidia and Qualcomm, both of which have established R&D centers in Vietnam, proof that the country’s infrastructure and technical depth can support complex, high-value work at scale.
-
Office-anchored collaboration: When hybrid is done right
Vietnam’s hybrid working model blends flexibility with structure. Many offshore professionals operate from modern, tech-enabled office hubs for onboarding, mentoring, and collaboration, then shift to remote work for focused work. This rhythm preserves alignment, builds culture, and strengthens performance over time.
At Away Digital Teams (ADT), that model is core to how we support clients to build a team, creating dedicated, office-anchored teams that integrate directly into U.S. systems and culture, while maintaining the flexibility global operations demand.
-
Compounding productivity
When strong talent, predictable operations, and reliable infrastructure converge, performance compounds. Outsourced specialists in Vietnam report clear communication, steady output, and reduced friction across U.S. and offshore workflows.
With ADT as a trusted partner in Vietnam, that consistency turns into a long-term advantage, helping organizations scale confidently and sustain quality at every stage.
Scaling digital capability through partnership: Accent Group’s scaling story
Accent Group – one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest retail groups with 800+ stores and 34 brands, was growing fast. Its digital platforms were central to that growth, yet Australia’s tech hiring market couldn’t keep up. Local shortages, high turnover, and rising costs slowed delivery just as digital demand peaked.
By building a Vietnam-based offshore team with Away Digital Teams, Accent Group created a scalable, cost-efficient model that strengthened capability across Digital, Finance, IT, and Admin.
-
The results were clear:
– Up to 50% cost savings compared to local hiring.
– A 40+ person offshore team working in sync with internal teams.
– Faster rollout of new digital features and integrations.
– Greater focus for in-house leaders on strategy and innovation.
– Consistent quality through shared tools, values, and reporting cadence.
Accent Group’s leaders describe their Vietnam team with ADT as a genuine extension of the business: trusted, capable, and fully in sync with how they work.
-
What U.S. businesses can learn
– Scalability without trade-offs: Offshore integration can expand capacity while maintaining quality and culture.
– Operational efficiency: Structured visibility and reporting keep offshore work transparent and aligned with executive goals.
– Strategic reinvestment: Savings fuel reinvestment into product, customer experience, and innovation.
– Cultural alignment matters: Embedding teams into existing workflows creates cohesion, not distance.
For U.S. brands facing tight talent markets, Vietnam shows that scaling doesn’t mean slowing down. Its deep talent base and mature infrastructure make global growth feel like a natural extension of your team, not a risk to manage.
Conclusion
Outgrowing traditional hubs doesn’t signal failure, it signals progress. As U.S. businesses mature, their needs evolve beyond short-term fixes toward reliable, scalable capability.
Many global organizations that’ve built in Vietnam say the difference is clear: deep talent access, stable operations, modern infrastructure, and a working rhythm that supports long-term growth.
For many U.S. companies, Vietnam has become the logical next step – a base for sustained performance and smarter scale. Discover how Away Digital Teams helps organizations access top talent without the high cost, building dedicated offshore teams that accelerate innovation and strengthen long-term growth.
