The IT industry is rapidly expanding, new projects are emerging each and every day. Outsourcing as a phenomenon that became an integral part of the business world in the middle 90s. At first, cost efficiency was the main reason to choose outsourcing. But as time went by, many flaws like poor code quality, lack of involvement and productivity, crashed deadlines, etc., started to show off. That’s when the option of outstaffing entered the game.
Whether you’ve just started your project, or already expanding your team, you may consider hiring outside specialists. And here comes the question: what’s better outsource vs outstaff?
What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing is when a customer orders turn-key services in an agency, transferring all the functions and processes to them. Outsourcing has already become a common practice in IT companies. In other words, you attract the team from an agency and delegate to them certain projects of your company. In the area of information technology, such work may include the creation of a mobile or web application, product design, software development, business analytics, etc. Outsourcing is considered to be focused on business decisions.
For example, if a bakery wants to make a website, its owners definitely won’t hire an in-house team of developers to do that. The best option for them is to hire an outsourcing development agency to conduct the complete development cycle and provide the finished product.
What is outstaff?
Outstaffing is when a customer requires the exact specialist from an agency for performing short-term tasks. Outstaffing is quite similar to hiring a freelancer, but the main benefit is that you can be sure of your project’s high quality and security level. The outstaffing model commonly provides for signing contracts and quality assurance by an outstaffing agency, whilst the freelancer cannot guarantee that the project will be properly performed. Let’s assume there’s a development team, but they’re missing one member of the team. In that case, they go to an outstaffing agency and hire their employee to be a part of their team until the project is done. The outstaffing model requires a clearly defined task and provides for a person who will perform it properly. The customer pays directly to the agency, which furtherly pays money to the employee. Typically, a specialist stays in his previous company but works on another project until it’s completely done. If you need temporary expansion of your workforce, the outstaffing services will come to you in hand.
How it helps businesses during Covid-19?
When the pandemic began, everyone was forced to face a new reality, in which a classic workflow was violated. All business owners had to review the way they manage their projects or employees and faced both financial and organizational challenges. Some companies have already adjusted their workflow to match the new reality, but others still struggle to restructure their processes and meet the new needs of their customers. Outsourcing and outstaffing practices have gained their popularity even before the Covid-19, but afterward, they became a huge trend.
IT Outsourcing and Outstaffing services help to reduce costs
Hiring an outsource/outstaff employee is one of the most prudent decisions for increasing company efficiency costs. Contracting an in-house laborer commonly costs significantly more than an outside vendor. When you’re searching for an inside contractor, you have to spend resources on the hiring process, paying the salary to HR, onboarding, and providing with required programs and equipment, healthcare/insurance, etc. In today’s dynamic world, companies have to be alerted of many risks and economic recessions, to keep the business afloat whenever it happens next. Choosing outsourcers or outstaffers rather than employees can minimize many costs, providing the same volume of work done for less.
Gives you access to the broad talent pool
When you’re looking for an in-house specialist, your choice is always limited due to location and the number of available specialists in your area. Looking for outside employees allows you to broaden your horizon and opens access to vastly skilled professionals. Choosing the eternal search, you can discover cerebral equity in any country and any sphere, ranging from social media managers to specialists in setting up the observatory. Nonetheless, outside team members can bring innovative ideas and new points of view to your projects, broadening the horizons of the company.
Helps to keep up with competitors
Outsourcing and outstaffing help small businesses to keep up with the larger corporations by attracting powerful intellectual capital. Moreover, not taking in the in-house specialists for every project or requirement can be extremely helpful to reduce costs and redirect them to the company’s comprehensive development, rather than paying salary to internal employees. External specialists help small businesses to handle their operations without spending lots of budgets.
Quick and flexible workforce for gap resolution
Outsourcing and outstaffing shall become your rescue in case of an emergency project. Outside specialists are typically instantly ready to dive into work and significantly shorten the search time.
Finding a relevant outside specialist usually doesn’t take long, as opposed to hiring an in-house employee. If you’re in a rush and need a life-saving option, outsourcing/outstaffing will fit you the best!
Pros & Cons of Outsourcing
Pros of outsourcing:
- The turnkey decision. Typically, an outsourcing agency’s work is to translate ideas into reality without bothering the client with irrelevant details or questions.
- Team of professionals. The client won’t have to take part in the hiring process and waste time on interviews to find the relevant specialists. The agency has already done that and vouches for a high level of contractors’ expertise.
- Well-organized team. When you’re hiring an outsourcing agency, you can sleep easy and be sure that there won’t be any miscommunications amongst the team of executors. Commonly, they’ve previous experience in joint work, and you don’t have to put your dream team together from the scratch.
- No need for direct management. All the tasks, schedules, payrolls, and issues will be coordinated by the agency’s project managers or team lead.
- Quality assurance. Vendors are responsible for the quality assurance and checking the code correctness on the control spots
- Lack of onboarding setup. All the required hardware and software is provided by an agency and loads this responsibility off your shoulders.
Cons:
- Higher rates. Compared to outstaffing, outsourcing typically sets higher rates. The reason for this is that customer pays significantly more for the whole team involved in the project, than hiring a single person.
- Lack of control. If you like to keep a check on things, not having any access to direct management might be a drawback for you.
Pros & Cons of Outstaffing
Pros:
- Flexibility. Outstaffing gives you the ability to have flexible control over the number of hired employees in your teams. You can increase or decrease the number of tailored contractors whenever needed, depending on the current projects.
- Great for emergencies. If one of your developers suddenly fades out, or you have an emergency, hiring an outstaffed contractor helps you to keep your project running without substantive harm to the final product.
- Full control. Hiring an outstaffer simply means taking in the temporary employee you can manage on the same level as your regular team members. Outstaffing allows you to have full and direct control over the whole process of completing the task.
- Lower rates. Compared to outsourcing or hiring somebody in-house, outstaffing is significantly cheaper and great for decreasing costs.
- Trusted professional. None of the respectable agencies would employ a low-skilled professional ‘cause they value their reputation. By hiring an outstaffer, you get the assurance of his skills, experience, and professionalism.
- Focus on the core purpose. There’s no need to spread yourself too thin and keep everything in mind. Outstaffing is excellent for concentrating on the main task. All the payroll, paperwork, and bureaucracy issues will be handled by the vendor.
Cons:
- Miscommunication. Your company should provide high-quality communication skills, otherwise, you may experience consequences of miscommunication with the outstaffer. As a client, you have to ensure your outside employees feel connected, understand all the development processes, and keep in touch with the in-house team. You should clearly communicate your expectations and set up tasks in order to avoid problems. Consider using open-source videoconferencing tools for daily meetings and creating strong connections with every team member.
- Full responsibility. The employer will be entirely responsible for the project’s outcome, and that’s why he has to be attentive to details and involved in each taken action.
How to choose the right IT outstaffing company?
Collaborating with an international outstaffing agency can turn out as a great tool for reducing your costs and time. There are several paramount aspects to be taken into account for choosing the relevant agency. Experience. First, you should evaluate their experience in the demanded sphere. Review the agency’s portfolio and services, evaluate the amount and quality of the performed job, and form an opinion about Cost. Typically, European outstaffing agencies are cheaper than those located in the US. Ukraine is considered to be one of the best money-saving directions for hiring external contractors. Reviews. A company with a portfolio of cases should also enlist at least a couple of reviews on its website. It allows establishing more trusted relationships with potential clients. Rewards and recognitions. Top companies always have some sort of trophies to boast. This could be an Upwork, Fiverr, or ProductHunt recognition.
What would be the best for you?
It’s impossible to define a clear leader. It always depends on tasks or queries you need to solve.
If you need to execute the project on a turnkey basis and do not have specialists to solve this problem, it will be much easier to hire an outsourcing agency. The idea of an outsourcing agency is to finish the customers’ project fast and efficiently.
Outsourcing is the best decision for situations when you have an excellent idea, but don’t have any clue how to transform it into reality! In that case, the agency will ask you the right questions and select an individual project development plan, which will be elaborated by highly qualified specialists. Moreover, you won’t have to manage the team, spend time on finding the right people, and get involved in the development processes. You can be sure of quality assurance and delivery before the deadline. Moreover, the signed contract guarantees the security of your data.
Outstaffing is a perfect fit for you if you have a specific task or project for which you need an additional team member or a determined specialist. If you understand the processes and specifics of your project and want to participate in assigning tasks or managing them, you need a ready-made specialist who will immediately catch up with your team. Outstaffing agency is ready to provide you with that!
BramblingTech specialists are ready to provide you with the website development, design, and marketing services for your business. We’ll help you to identify your needs and provide several solutions for you to choose from. BramblingTech delivers both outstaffing and outsourcing services, so you won’t be limited in decision-making options.
Contact us and discover new horizons with the BramblingTech team!
