The 90-Day Framework: A Week-by-Week Plan for Testing LATAM Talent

Running a pilot shouldn’t feel like guesswork. Once you’ve chosen to engage nearshore talent in a structured way, the next step is simple: follow a proven timeline.

Here’s a week-by-week breakdown of what a well-structured 90-day pilot can look like, based on what we’ve seen work.

🟢 Weeks 1–2: Onboard & Align

• Introduce tools, communication channels, and work hours
• Share documentation, codebase access, and any onboarding materials
• Align on key deliverables and communication preferences
• Establish weekly syncs or async status updates

🛠️ Goal: Get the contributor technically and culturally integrated

🔵 Weeks 3–6: Execute & Observe

• Begin delivery of pilot scope
• Track time-to-first-output (a key signal!)
• Review work quality and feedback loops
• Adjust scope if needed based on progress

📈 Goal: Understand delivery rhythm and fit with your team

🟡 Weeks 7–10: Iterate & Deepen Trust

• Start assigning more complex or ambiguous tasks
• Encourage initiative and self-direction
• Identify friction points and improve workflows
• Run mid-pilot retro: What’s working? What’s unclear?

🤝 Goal: Test real collaboration and problem-solving

🟠 Weeks 11–12: Evaluate & Decide

• Review KPIs (time-to-value, code quality, comms responsiveness)
• Solicit feedback from your internal team
• Debrief with the contributor or team
• Decide: scale, pivot, or pause?

🧭 Goal: Make a confident, evidence-based decision

Why This Framework Works

• It balances structure with flexibility
• It prevents front-loading assumptions
• It creates natural checkpoints to course-correct
• It provides enough time to see true patterns

Pilots that are too short often fail to uncover the real signals. Pilots that are too loose turn into vague freelancing arrangements.

This 90-day structure gives you just enough time to test, iterate, and decide, without getting stuck in limbo.

Final Thought

Hiring nearshore isn’t about speed, it’s about strategy. A structured pilot gives you both.

Follow the 90-day plan, and you’ll get the clarity you need to scale confidently.