Nearshore staffing and recruitment in Guatemala
Hire in Guatemala: Central time, a large bilingual service workforce, two and a half hours from Miami.
Guatemala City hosts some of the largest contact-center and back-office operations for US companies in Central America, which has built a big pool of bilingual professionals in customer success, sales development and IT support. It is on UTC−6 all year and two and a half hours from Miami by air. nearshore.now employs your Guatemalan hires under local law; you manage the work.
Guatemala at a glance.
- Capital
- Guatemala City
- Talent hubs
- Guatemala City, Antigua, Quetzaltenango
- Time zone
- UTC−6, all year
Guatemala does not observe daylight saving time. Guatemala City matches Chicago in the US winter and Denver in the US summer. - Language
- Spanish. English tested live for every candidate.
- Currency
- Guatemalan quetzal (GTQ). You are invoiced in US dollars.
- Population
- about 18 million
- Flights
- Guatemala City to Miami, about 2 h 30 min; Guatemala City to Houston, about 2 h 45 min; Guatemala City to Los Angeles, about 5 h.
- Overlap with US
- Eastern: 7 h in summer, 8 h in winter; Central: 8 h in summer, 9 h in winter; Mountain: 9 h in summer, 8 h in winter; Pacific: 8 h in summer, 7 h in winter. Working day 9:00–18:00 in both places.
Three reasons US companies hire in Guatemala.
- 01
A service workforce built for the US. Guatemala City’s contact-center industry has trained a large workforce of bilingual agents and team leads on US customers and US metrics.
- 02
Cost. Guatemala is among the most cost-effective nearshore countries for bilingual service roles, without leaving the US Central time zone.
- 03
Proximity. Two and a half hours to Miami, under three to Houston. A site visit fits in a day.
English
English fluency is concentrated in the contact-center and service workforce of Guatemala City, where many professionals learned it working for US brands. We test it live in every interview.
- Guatemala City UTC−06:00 –:––
- New York UTC−04:00 –:––
- Chicago UTC−05:00 –:––
- Denver UTC−06:00 –:––
- Los Angeles UTC−07:00 –:––
The roles Guatemala is strongest for.
Customer success
The largest bilingual support workforce in Central America.
Hire customer success SDRSales development reps
Experienced outbound reps on Central time.
Hire sales development reps ITIT support
Help-desk professionals trained at US-facing operations.
Hire it support EAExecutive assistants
Bilingual administrative talent at accessible cost.
Hire executive assistantsWhat employing someone in Guatemala involves.
You do not need to know any of this to hire. We employ your Guatemalan hire under local law through our entities and partners and send you one invoice in US dollars. It is here so you know what your fee covers.
- Legal workweek: 44 hours for day shifts.
- Aguinaldo and Bono 14: two mandatory extra salaries, paid in December and July.
- Paid vacation: 15 working days per year.
- Mandatory social security (IGSS) contributions.
Questions about hiring in Guatemala.
Other countries
01What time zone is Guatemala in?
UTC−6 all year, with no daylight saving time. Guatemala City matches Chicago in the US winter and Denver in the US summer.
02Which roles work best in Guatemala?
Customer success and support, sales development, IT help desk and administrative roles. For senior engineering or finance, Mexico or Colombia have deeper pools.
03How does nearshore.now employ people in Guatemala?
Through a local partner, under Guatemalan labor law, including the aguinaldo and Bono 14 payments and IGSS contributions. You receive one monthly invoice in US dollars.
04Can I hire in Guatemala without a local entity?
Yes, through nearshore staffing: nearshore.now employs the professional under Guatemala’s labor law and you pay one monthly invoice in US dollars. If you already have an entity or employer of record in Guatemala, use nearshore recruitment instead: we run the same search and vetting, and you hire directly for a one-time fee.
Your first hire in Guatemala could start next month.
Twenty minutes with us. No commitment. We’ll tell you if nearshore is right for the role.
Book a call nearshore.now · Napa, California · 38.30° N, 122.29° W