Plain-language reference

Glossary

Definitions for the terms that come up when scaling an engineering team — Employer of Record, dedicated team, staff augmentation, nearshoring, CEE. Each entry is short, factual, and cross-linked to the rest.

Plain-language reference

Glossary

Employment

Employer of Record (EOR)An Employer of Record (EOR) is a third party that legally employs a worker on a client company's behalf — handling payroll, tax, benefits, and compliance — while the client directs the day-to-day work.

Team models

Dedicated teamA dedicated team is a group of engineers who work exclusively for one client company on a long-term basis, but are sourced, employed, and managed by an external partner.
Staff augmentationStaff augmentation is the practice of hiring external engineers (usually through an agency) to fill specific skill gaps on a temporary or hourly basis, without changing the structure of the in-house team.
NearshoringNearshoring is the practice of hiring or outsourcing work to a country geographically close to the home country, typically with overlapping working hours and cultural similarity.
CEE (Central and Eastern Europe)CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) refers to a group of European countries — typically including Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) — known for strong engineering talent at lower salary bands than Western Europe.