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In today’s fast-moving business landscape, companies are increasingly looking beyond borders to build agile, cost-efficient teams. Vietnam has emerged as a top offshore hiring destination in Southeast Asia, offering businesses a unique combination of a large, skilled talent pool and competitive costs — without the need to establish a local legal entity.
If your company is considering expanding or augmenting teams offshore, Vietnam might just offer the perfect balance of quality, scale, and affordability.
Vietnam’s workforce is quickly gaining recognition as one of the most dynamic in Southeast Asia. The country’s robust education system has produced a large number of skilled professionals, particularly in fields like technology, finance, and business services.
At the same time, Vietnam’s rapid economic growth has helped foster a young, ambitious, and digitally-savvy labor force, making it an increasingly attractive destination for companies looking to build remote teams or establish a regional talent hub.
Vietnam has a young workforce, with over 50% of its population under the age of 35. The country produces around 400,000 university graduates each year, many of whom are trained in technical and professional disciplines that are in high demand globally.
For companies seeking software engineers, designers, accountants, and customer support professionals, Vietnam offers a deep talent pool at scale.
Hiring in Vietnam can significantly reduce labor costs compared to mature markets like Singapore, Australia, or Hong Kong. Salary expectations in Vietnam remain competitive, allowing businesses to build larger teams while optimizing budgets.
These cost advantages extend beyond salaries, Vietnam also offers favorable office rental rates and lower employee benefit costs compared to many regional peers.
Vietnam’s workforce is digitally literate, with high internet penetration and widespread adoption of digital tools. This readiness means teams in Vietnam can integrate smoothly into remote-first or hybrid organizations, enabling companies to collaborate effectively across geographies.
While Vietnam is an attractive offshore destination, businesses should be mindful of key challenges:
Vietnam’s labor laws are detailed and often updated, covering everything from employment contracts and termination conditions to working hours, leave entitlements, and statutory benefits. For example, employment contracts must be in Vietnamese (even if an English translation is provided) to be legally valid, and statutory benefits such as social insurance contributions are strictly regulated.
The regulatory landscape can also vary depending on employment types (e.g., definite-term vs. indefinite-term contracts) and is subject to interpretation by local authorities, making it challenging for companies unfamiliar with Vietnamese employment practices to stay compliant. Learn more on our Vietnam Hiring Guide.
English proficiency is steadily improving, especially among Vietnam’s younger, urban professionals. However, some industries and regions may still have limited English capabilities, which can lead to communication gaps if not carefully managed.
Beyond language, cultural differences in workplace norms, such as hierarchical decision-making, expectations around overtime, and communication styles, can affect team dynamics and management effectiveness. Companies building offshore teams should invest time in understanding and bridging these differences to foster a productive and collaborative working relationship.
Vietnam’s payroll processes involve multiple layers of compliance, including income tax calculation, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, and trade union fees, all of which require timely filings and correct documentation in accordance with local laws.
Additionally, Vietnam has a complex system of regional minimum wages, which vary depending on the location of the employee, and employers must adjust salaries accordingly. Mistakes in payroll processing or tax submissions can result in penalties, back payments, or reputational risk. For companies without an in-house HR and legal presence in Vietnam, managing these requirements can quickly become burdensome and error-prone.
Traditionally, hiring in Vietnam would require setting up a subsidiary or representative office — a process that demands time, resources, and local expertise.
But there’s a smarter alternative: partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) or Professional Employer Organization (PEO). An EOR can help you quickly onboard and manage talent in Vietnam without needing to incorporate locally, taking care of employment contracts, payroll processing, tax filings, statutory benefits, and compliance with Vietnamese labor law.
This approach enables your business to focus on finding the right talent while your EOR partner ensures that HR, legal, and payroll matters are handled seamlessly.
Companies often wonder why Vietnam stands out as an offshore hiring destination. In addition to cost efficiency and access to talent, Vietnam’s improving business environment and digital readiness make it especially appealing for firms looking to build distributed teams in Southeast Asia. Businesses also frequently ask whether they need a legal entity to hire employees locally.
The good news is that working with a reliable EOR or PEO allows employers to legally engage talent in Vietnam without establishing their own local entity. However, companies should be prepared to navigate Vietnam’s labor regulations, employment standards, and social security requirements, which can differ significantly from other markets. Understanding these factors early on helps ensure smooth onboarding and operations for remote Vietnamese teams.
Read Related Article : Offshore Hiring in Singapore: A Smarter Way to Scale Your Team
Vietnam’s combination of skilled talent and competitive costs makes it a compelling offshore hiring destination for companies ready to scale their teams efficiently.
At Glints TalentHub, we help businesses tap into Vietnam’s dynamic workforce without the complexities of setting up a local entity. Whether you need to hire remote engineers, scale your support operations, or build an entire offshore team, we provide the expertise, infrastructure, and local knowledge to make it happen.
Ready to explore offshore hiring in Vietnam?
This article is brought to you by Glints TalentHub. Leading companies are actively building their borderless teams in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and beyond. However, the prospect of going borderless can be daunting due to complex regulations and cultural ambiguities. With Glints TalentHub, you’ll have a dedicated team of in-market legal, HR, and talent experts by your side at every step of the way.
Glints TalentHub offers an end-to-end, tech-enabled talent solution that encompasses talent acquisition, EOR, and talent development. We empower businesses to leverage the strengths of regional talent efficiently to build high-performing, cost-efficient teams.
Schedule a no-obligation consultation with our experts to receive a tailored proposal today!
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