Skip to content
About

Founder-Led
Canadian Nearshore Hiring

Decode Talent exists because the founder sat on both sides of recruiting: firms that sent twenty unvetted resumes, and the rare one that did the work and sent two people who both got hired. We built the second kind on purpose, and kept it small so it stays that way.

Our Mission

Nearshore Hiring Done Right:
Canadian Developers, No Time Zone Tax

We started Decode Talent because we kept seeing the same failure pattern: U.S. companies hiring offshore, losing 12+ hours of overlap, and spending months rebuilding after a bad fit. Canadian engineers solve that — same time zones, strong technical education, and a culture that maps naturally to U.S. team norms. We vet every candidate the way we'd hire for our own team.

The Nearshore Advantage

Why U.S. Companies Choose Canadian Developers

95%

Retention Rate

Our deep vetting ensures long-term fit, significantly reducing churn.

100%

North American Time Zones

EST to PST — your team's standup works on both sides of the border.

2–3

Weeks to Placement

From first call to pre-vetted candidate profiles, ready to interview.

Comparison

Beyond Traditional Outsourcing

While traditional models prioritize cost reduction at the expense of quality, Decode optimizes for value. Our hybrid model outperforms standard outsourcing across every critical metric.

  • Technical Depth

    Rigorous vetting ensures top-tier talent density.

  • Cultural Alignment

    Deep screening matches candidates to your team's unique DNA.

  • Seamless Integration

    We stay on Slack with your team for the first 30 days — introductions, context handoffs, and support until the placement is fully ramped.

Technical Depth Decode vs. Traditional
Cultural Fit
Retention
Communication
Decode Talent
Traditional Outsourcing

Based on internal placement data and publicly available offshore turnover studies.

The Bridge

The U.S.-Canada Talent Bridge

Talent knows no borders. We operate as a seamless digital bridge connecting the innovation hubs of Canada and the United States.

  • Cross-border payroll integration
  • Visa and immigration streamlined
  • Remote-first culture matching
  • North American time zone alignment

United States

Pacific · Mountain · Central · Eastern

12h overlap

Canada

BC · Alberta · Ontario · Quebec

How We Work

Four Commitments We'd Rather Be Held To

We move first.

A shortlist in ten days or a straight explanation of what's blocking it.

We send three, not thirty.

Volume is a way to move risk onto you. We take the risk instead.

We show our work.

Written assessments and verbatim reference notes go to both sides.

We stay after day one.

A placement that leaves in eight months is a failure we own, not a closed invoice.

The Team

Meet Decode Talent

Shawn Mayzes founder and CEO of Decode Talent nearshore recruitment — 25+ year engineering leader providing founder-led technical vetting of Canadian software developers for US companies

Shawn

Founder & CEO — runs every technical screen

25+ years as a developer and engineering leader. Shawn does the first-stage screen on every candidate himself, which is the reason we cap the number of open searches.

Sean Mayzes CPHR COO and Head of HR at Decode Talent nearshore recruiting — 10+ year HR leadership expert in cross-border tech talent acquisition, placing Canadian developers with US companies

Sean

COO & Head of HR — owns offers and onboarding

CPHR with 10+ years in strategic HR and recruitment. Sean handles reference structure, compensation negotiation and the EOR mechanics so neither side improvises.

Talk to the Person Who Does the Vetting.

Book a discovery call.

Book a Discovery Call