Today, IT service organizations are becoming commonplace. More and more companies and startups resort to the services of third-party specialists who provide a choice of one of the management models – outsourcing or outstaffing. This solution makes it possible to develop a business in an unstable market without the risk and the need to expand the staff. It remains only to understand which of the models suits your business.
What is Outsourcing?
The concept of outsourcing implies the transfer of a certain part of the duties and tasks to a third-party contractor. Thus, the customer company receives those services that it is not able to perform on its own. In turn, the contracting company ensures the high-quality performance of the tasks assigned to it by a team of its specialists. Particularly proven IT staff augmentation company.
With outsourcing, communication between the customer and the contractor occurs according to the model client – project manager – a team of specialists. In this model, the client company discusses all issues with the manager of the contractor company, and the project manager already distributes tasks to his team of specialists and monitors the progress of the work.
It should also be understood that in outsourcing there is some division of concepts into outsourcing of personnel and outsourcing of business processes.
IT outsourcing services have many advantages, but some of the disadvantages of using them should not be ignored.
Disadvantages of the Outsourcing Model
- There is a risk of leakage of information and important data, which can lead to losses and even the collapse of the business. Therefore, it is very important to turn to outsource companies that have established themselves in the market with positive reviews and reputations.
- In conditions of remote cooperation, it is more difficult to establish continuous communication. Especially when there is a time difference between the customer and the contractor. Without proper communication channels and a well-functioning method of cooperation, the effectiveness of work on a project can decrease significantly.
What is Outstaffing?
Outstaffing involves a slightly different model of remote employment. In this case, the customer company hires a team of specialists from a third-party organization to carry out a project or certain services and tasks but assumes the distribution of tasks and control over the work. At the same time, the payment of wages, the provision of the necessary equipment, and the place of work remain in the hands of the outsourcing company.
The advantages and disadvantages of using outstaffing have much in common with outsourcing, but there are some differences. You can find out about specialized software for e-learning at the link: https://wesoftyou.com/services/e-learning/.
Negative Aspects of the Outstaffing Model
- A distinct disadvantage of outstaffing is the condition that the customer understands the field of work for which he hires a team of specialists. Otherwise, the task set may go wrong, which can lead to the failure of the project. Responsibility in this case will lie with the customer company.
- The same disadvantage as in outsourcing is poor communication in the case of remote team management. The solution may be the placement of hired specialists on the territory of the client. Or you can set up communication channels that are convenient for everyone with a clearly defined communication schedule.
Outsourcing and Outstaffing: Main Differences
The main and important difference between outsourcing and outstaffing is the form of managing a team of specialists hired to perform certain work. Outsourcing of IT services assumes that the management of the team and control over the entire scope of work is carried out by the contractor’s project manager, and on the part of the customer, communication occurs only with this project manager and not directly with the team.
But IT outstaffing is just the opposite, it allows you to directly manage the provided team of specialists allocated by the outstaffing company. This greatly improves communication. But for this model, the responsibility for the successful completion of the project lies with the customer company itself, since the assignment of tasks to the hired team of specialists is carried out by the client.
Conclusion
Based on this, it is worth choosing between these models of remote employment. For companies that are not focused on information technology and do not have competent IT specialists on their staff, it is better to choose to outsource IT services, entrusting all the work to a contractor. If the business has IT processes set up and you need a freelance team for a short-term project or a narrowly focused service, then you should choose outstaffing IT specialists.
