BACKAcross industries globally, the hiring landscape is tightening. ManpowerGroup reports that 75% of employers worldwide struggle to fill open roles, and Korn Ferry estimates more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled by 2030. In the U.S., stagnant talent pools, rising wage expectations, and lengthy recruitment cycles are putting real pressure on growth plans.
Many leaders who once leaned on traditional outsourcing hubs like India, the Philippines, and Colombia are now rethinking their options. Cost savings alone no longer move the needle, they need reliable access to talent, operational stability, and the ability to scale confidently.
That’s why Vietnam is gaining fresh attention. With a strong talent pool, reliable infrastructure, and the 7th ranking in Kearney’s 2023 Global Services Location Index, it’s becoming a serious contender for U.S. companies ready to move beyond the usual hubs.
Let’s explore how Vietnam is helping U.S. businesses navigate hiring pressures, and why it’s increasingly becoming the next big step.
Table of contents
Rethinking outsourcing: Breaking barriers and finding better fits
1. The hesitation U.S. companies often feel
For many U.S. leaders, offshoring raises familiar concerns: communication gaps, time zone differences, and trust. These aren’t abstract, they’re drawn from real experience.
Early outsourcing efforts in traditional markets often felt disconnected, with teams working in parallel rather than in sync. Alignment issues surfaced quickly: delayed feedback, unclear responsibilities, and communication mismatches.
Many leaders said their hesitation wasn’t whether outsourcing can work, but whether it can work smoothly at scale.
2. Where traditional hubs start to show their limits
India and the Philippines remain strong outsourcing markets, but they’re also highly saturated. Many companies struggle to find and retain top talent, competing with countless others in the same pool.
This saturation amplifies familiar friction points:
- Longer hiring cycles as demand outpaces supply.
- Communication delays across time zones and cultural layers.
- Retaining talent has also become increasingly difficult. In competitive markets like the Philippines’ BPO sector, attrition can reach 30–40%, making it hard for companies to maintain team stability over time.
As U.S. companies shift from transactional outsourcing to integrated teams, “good enough” no longer meets growth needs.
3. Turning barriers into strengths with a Vietnam-based team
Vietnam is emerging as a standout in Southeast Asia, offering a less saturated outsourcing market and a growing talent pool across admin, customer support, finance, digital marketing/design, and IT.
Combined with a young workforce, strong infrastructure, and a collaborative mindset, it gives U.S. companies the foundation to build seamlessly integrated offshore teams.
To put this into perspective, the table below offers a snapshot comparison of Vietnam, India, and the Philippines across key outsourcing factors, highlighting where Vietnam’s emerging strengths align with evolving U.S. business needs.
| Factor | Vietnam | India | Philippines |
| English proficiency | Moderate (Ranked 63rd, EF EPI 2024) – EF Education First | Low (Ranked 69th, EF EPI 2024) – EF Education First | High (Ranked 22nd, EF EPI 2024) – EF Education First |
| Tech expertise | Strong (IT, AI, Software, Web Dev) | Very strong (large developer ecosystem) | Moderate (BPO-focused, emerging in AI) |
| Cultural alignment | High (US-aligned work culture) | Moderate | High (US-centric customer service focus) |
| Attrition rate (percentage of outsourced staff turnover) | 10%-24% (lower than the regional average) | 10%-30% (BPO Sector) | 30%–40% (BPO Sector) |
Vietnam’s edge: Cost, capability, and culture
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Cost advantage: Real financial flexibility
Vietnam offers U.S. companies a powerful cost advantage. Salaries are typically 50–55% competitive than U.S. equivalents, freeing up budgets to be reinvested in innovation, expansion, or strategic priorities.
For example, a back-end web developer in Vietnam averages about $46,495 a year versus $98,938 in the U.S., and front-end average $43,242 vs $95,163, illustrating why budgets stretch further while teams stay strong.
Unlike many mature outsourcing hubs, Vietnam pairs competitive rates with strong technical capability and consistent quality. Its professionals are trained to deliver at a high standard, proving that cost efficiency and quality can go hand in hand.
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Capability: Vietnam’s growing, high-quality tech talent base
Vietnam’s rapid tech growth is no coincidence. Each year, the country produces 55,000–60,000 IT and computer science graduates, steadily feeding a talent pipeline that already includes around 560,000 professionals working in IT and related fields.
Vietnamese tech talents are fluent in core stacks like Java, Python, .NET, C++, and PHP, while skills in Cloud, AI, ML, and DevOps are rapidly advancing, driven by cloud computing, generative AI, and modern development trends, making them effective contributors to U.S. teams from day one.
Global players have taken notice. Companies such as Nvidia and Samsung have established operations and R&D centers in Vietnam, signaling strong confidence in its talent and scalability.
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Culture: Alignment, adaptability, and shared values
While cultural differences can pose issues in offshoring, U.S. companies working with Vietnamese teams often highlight strong alignment in work ethic and expectations. English proficiency has steadily improved through education and training initiatives, making day-to-day collaboration more fluid.
Vietnamese professionals bring a blend of discipline and adaptability: quick to learn, responsive to feedback, and comfortable integrating into client workflows. Combined with shared tools, communication norms, and overlapping working hours, this cultural fit reduces barriers and accelerates impact.
A smarter way to scale for U.S. businesses in Vietnam
1. From transactional outsourcing to integration
Achieving scale in Vietnam requires U.S. companies to fundamentally shift their mindset: moving from viewing outsourcing as a temporary fix to establishing a integrated team model.
- Core extension: Offshore professionals are recruited and developed as core extensions of the U.S. workforce, sharing the same commitment and accountability.
- Long-term roadmap: This essential shift positions Vietnam as a stable development base, crucial for sustained innovation and business stability for U.S. brands.
2. Enabling scalable, sustainable teams
With this robust foundation in place, the next step is execution: how teams are built, supported, and maintained over time. A trusted partner like Away Digital Teams (ADT) provides the operational framework that enables U.S. organizations to turn their offshore vision into a stable reality:
- Deep integration from day one: Outsourced professionals are deeply embedded into the client’s systems, tools, and development rhythms, ensuring immediate workflow alignment and a shared operational pace with internal teams.
- Retention-first model: Stability is paramount. This is ensured through competitive compensation, clear career pathways, and strong cultural alignment. At Away Digital Teams, 90% of staff have been with us for more than five years, effectively preserving institutional knowledge and momentum for U.S. operations.
- Structural flexibility: The operational structure is designed to seamlessly scale with evolving business needs, eliminating the need for costly rebuilding or re-training efforts as the business grows.
Over time, this model has earned the trust of more than 200 businesses, many of whom continue to grow their Vietnam teams year after year, reflecting the stability and value that well-structured offshore partnerships can deliver.
3. Turning challenges into opportunities: The Detector Inspector story
Facing rising costs and a tightening local talent market, Detector Inspector, a leading Australian safety and compliance company, needed a way to scale its engineering capability without compromising quality. Rather than relying solely on local recruitment, they turned to Vietnam’s growing talent pool and partnered with Away Digital Teams to build a dedicated offshore team.
What began with a single engineer quickly evolved into a core part of their development function. The Vietnam-based team embedded itself seamlessly into Detector Inspector’s workflows, accelerating product development and strengthening their competitive edge.
By tapping into Vietnam’s skilled talent, they proved that location is no barrier to performance, and offshore teams can become genuine, reliable partners, not just support units.
Conclusion
For many U.S. organizations, traditional hiring strategies and established outsourcing hubs are simply insufficient to support aggressive growth.
Forward-looking companies are now securing their future capacity and competitive position by choosing a new path: Vietnam. It offers a deep, evolving talent market, proven operational reliability, and the unique flexibility to build teams that scale strategically.
To understand why convenience hires are costing U.S. businesses growth and how dedicated offshore teams in Vietnam deliver the consistency and depth required to change that trajectory
