Vida

Last updated: January 2026

What Is Vida Global?

Building teams in Latin America offers compelling advantages—talent quality, timezone overlap, cost efficiency—but the logistics of international hiring stop most US companies. Vida Global eliminates these barriers as a staffing and employer-of-record service that helps US businesses hire Latin American talent without establishing foreign entities or navigating complex employment law.

The company handles everything: sourcing candidates, managing compliance, processing payroll, and providing ongoing HR support. US companies get the benefits of LATAM talent without the overhead of international operations.

For US businesses seeking skilled, timezone-aligned talent at competitive rates, Vida Global provides the infrastructure that makes Latin American hiring practical.

Key Services

Talent Sourcing

Find qualified candidates across Latin America. Vida Global recruits for roles spanning engineering, design, marketing, operations, and customer support. Pre-screened candidates matched to your requirements. Their talent network includes professionals with experience at major tech companies and startups, many fluent in English with US work experience.

Employer of Record (EOR)

Vida Global employs team members legally in their home countries through their established local entities. Handle payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance without establishing foreign entities yourself. Hire internationally through a single vendor relationship, eliminating the need for your company to register as an employer in each country.

The EOR model provides significant advantages for companies entering LATAM markets. Rather than spending months and thousands of dollars setting up subsidiaries, you can hire within weeks while Vida Global assumes the legal employer responsibilities and associated risks.

Payroll and Benefits

Process payroll in local currencies with accurate conversions. Provide competitive benefits packages tailored to each country's market standards. Ensure compliance with local labor laws including mandatory bonuses, social security contributions, and required insurance. Handle tax withholding and reporting across different jurisdictions with varying requirements.

HR Support

Ongoing HR administration including employment contracts drafted to local requirements, time off tracking aligned with local holidays and regulations, performance documentation, and termination processes that comply with each country's labor protections when needed.

Compliance Management

Navigate employment laws across different Latin American countries where regulations vary significantly. Mexico requires profit sharing, Brazil mandates thirteenth-month bonuses, Argentina has specific severance rules—Vida Global handles these complexities so you don't have to become an expert in each jurisdiction's requirements.

LATAM Hiring Features

Regional Expertise

Unlike global EOR platforms that treat Latin America as one of many regions, Vida Global specializes exclusively in LATAM markets. This focus means deeper relationships with local legal and HR experts, better understanding of cultural nuances, and more relevant candidate networks.

Timezone Alignment

Latin American countries share timezone overlap with US business hours—most are within 0-3 hours of US Eastern time. This enables real-time collaboration, same-day communication, and participation in regular team meetings without requiring anyone to work at unusual hours.

English Proficiency

The LATAM tech talent pool includes many professionals with strong English skills, often developed through US education, previous work with American companies, or immersion programs. Vida Global screens for communication skills alongside technical abilities.

Cost Efficiency

LATAM salaries typically range from 30-60% of equivalent US positions depending on role and seniority, while quality often matches or exceeds expectations. Combined with Vida Global's management fees, total costs remain significantly below US hiring while providing formal employment rather than contractor arrangements.

Coverage Areas

Vida Global supports hiring across major Latin American markets:

Mexico: Largest LATAM talent pool with strong tech hubs in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

Colombia: Growing tech ecosystem with competitive rates and strong English programs.

Argentina: Highly educated workforce with European cultural influences and technical depth.

Brazil: Massive market with sophisticated tech industry, though Portuguese adds complexity.

Chile: Stable economy with strong engineering and business talent.

Costa Rica: High English proficiency and established nearshore industry.

Pricing

Pricing typically involves:

Monthly management fee: Per employee for EOR services, varying by country and role complexity.

Recruiting fee: For talent sourcing, often waived or reduced for EOR clients committing to ongoing relationships.

No hidden costs: Benefits, payroll processing, and compliance included in management fees.

Specific pricing depends on role level, country, and service scope. Request quotes for your specific needs—transparent pricing provided after understanding your requirements.

Use Cases

Scaling Engineering Teams

A US SaaS company needed to double their development capacity without doubling costs. Through Vida Global, they hired five senior engineers in Colombia and Mexico, achieving the same output at 50% of US costs while maintaining timezone overlap for daily standups.

Building Customer Support Operations

An e-commerce startup required bilingual customer support covering US and Latin American markets. Vida Global helped them build a team in Costa Rica and Mexico that handles both English and Spanish inquiries during US business hours.

Adding Specialized Roles

A fintech company needed a compliance specialist with Latin American regulatory expertise. Rather than hiring locally in multiple countries, they used Vida Global to employ one expert in Mexico who could advise across their LATAM expansion.

Extending Startup Runway

Early-stage startups use LATAM hiring to stretch seed funding further. A pre-Series A company hired three engineers through Vida Global at combined costs below a single US senior engineer, accelerating product development while preserving capital.

Who Uses Vida Global?

US Startups

Growing companies extending runway by hiring LATAM talent at competitive rates while maintaining US headquarters.

Mid-Size Companies

Businesses building distributed teams with timezone overlap for real-time collaboration across locations.

Remote-First Organizations

Companies already distributed adding LATAM nodes to global teams, leveraging existing remote work infrastructure.

Companies Expanding to LATAM Markets

Businesses entering Latin American markets who need local team members but aren't ready to establish their own entities.

Pros and Cons

What We Like

Removes complexity of international hiring: No need to understand local employment law, tax requirements, or benefits standards.

Timezone overlap with US: Enables real-time collaboration without awkward meeting times.

Access to strong technical talent: LATAM produces excellent engineers, designers, and other professionals.

Cost efficiency vs US hiring: Significant savings while maintaining quality.

Full compliance handling: Reduces legal risk of misclassification or regulatory violations.

LATAM specialization: Deep regional expertise vs. generalist global platforms.

Faster hiring: Skip months of entity setup and hire within weeks.

What Could Be Better

Less control than direct employment: Vida Global is the legal employer, which limits some management flexibility.

Management fees add to costs: The convenience comes with ongoing service fees.

Cultural and communication considerations: Working across cultures requires adjustment even with timezone alignment.

Limited to Latin American markets: Not suitable if you need to hire globally beyond LATAM.

Dependency on vendor: Your employment relationship goes through Vida Global rather than being direct.

Vida Global vs. Alternatives

vs. Direct hiring: Direct foreign employment requires local entities, legal expertise, and ongoing compliance management. Vida Global handles all of this, making it practical for companies not ready to establish foreign subsidiaries.

vs. Global EORs (Deel, Remote): Global platforms cover more countries but treat LATAM as one region among many. Vida Global's exclusive LATAM focus means deeper regional expertise, more relevant talent networks, and potentially more competitive pricing for the region.

vs. Contractors: Contractor relationships carry misclassification risk, especially when workers function like employees. EOR provides proper employment structure with appropriate protections and compliance.

vs. Staffing agencies: Traditional staffing often provides temporary workers. Vida Global focuses on full-time positions with proper employment, building long-term team relationships.

Tips for Success

Define roles clearly: Clear job requirements and success metrics improve candidate matching and set expectations.

Consider timezone strategically: LATAM works well for US collaboration—structure overlap hours to maximize value.

Plan thorough onboarding: Remote international team members need comprehensive onboarding covering tools, processes, culture, and relationships.

Build culture deliberately: Include remote team members in company culture through regular communication, virtual events, and occasional in-person gatherings.

Invest in communication tools: Video calls, async communication platforms, and documentation practices matter more with distributed teams.

Start with one hire: Test the relationship with a single position before committing to larger teams.

Provide growth opportunities: LATAM professionals value career development—create paths for advancement and skill building.

Understand local holidays: Each country has different holidays and time-off norms—build this into planning.

FAQ

Who legally employs the workers?

Vida Global employs workers through their local entities in each country. Team members work for your company day-to-day but are legally employed by Vida Global, which handles all employer obligations.

What countries are covered?

Major Latin American countries including Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and others. Coverage expands based on demand—ask about specific countries.

How fast can I hire?

Recruiting timelines vary by role complexity and requirements—typically 2-6 weeks to find candidates. EOR onboarding typically takes 1-2 weeks once a candidate is selected and accepts.

What happens if I want to hire the employee directly later?

Many EOR arrangements allow conversion to direct employment after establishing your own local entity. Discuss transition options upfront to understand any fees or timelines.

How are performance issues handled?

You manage performance directly with your team members. Vida Global supports HR processes including documentation and, when necessary, termination in compliance with local labor laws.

What benefits do employees receive?

Benefits packages comply with local requirements and market standards. This typically includes health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off, and mandated bonuses where applicable.

Can I hire for any role?

Vida Global supports most professional roles including engineering, design, marketing, operations, finance, and customer support. Highly specialized or executive roles may require custom arrangements.

How does intellectual property work?

Employment contracts include IP assignment clauses ensuring work product belongs to your company. Vida Global structures agreements to protect client IP interests.

What if local labor laws change?

Vida Global monitors regulatory changes and adjusts compliance accordingly, shielding clients from having to track evolving requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

Final Verdict

Vida Global makes Latin American hiring accessible to US companies without requiring international HR infrastructure or local legal expertise. The regional specialization provides focused expertise that global platforms may lack for LATAM-specific needs, while the EOR model removes the barriers that prevent most companies from accessing this talent market.

For companies committed to LATAM specifically—whether for timezone alignment, cost efficiency, or market expansion—Vida Global offers a practical path to building distributed teams with proper employment structure and full compliance handling.

Rating: 4.2/5