Remote Staffing vs Outsourcing: The True Differences

In the business world nowadays, you can see that you will find the terms “staffing” and “outsourcing” to be mentioned more often than before. Are they the same thing? They might sound like they are, but there are core differences between both models that you have to know in order to make the right decision, if you are looking to increase the amount of talent in your company. 

How does outsourcing work?

In an outsourcing scenario, a particular project (e.g. digital marketing) is assigned to a service provider, who remains responsible for the execution and delivery of said project. The service provider is responsible for the successful completion of only this particular project, and manages it until the end and can also hire additional talent if required. Apart from that, the client doesn’t need to take any added responsibility to complete it. This allows the client to focus on core business activities and delegate specific project(s) to the chosen service provider(s).

This model has clear advantages for companies that hire them, such as not having to worry about hiring in-house talent to develop the project, not having to manage the actual project and it eliminates overhead costs.

The most common disadvantages associated with outsourcing are the practical loss of control of the project, with the uncertainties related to this; possible communication issues might affect delivery times; costs can rise if additional things come up during the project development.

What makes remote staffing different?

In a remote staffing model, remote workers who are employed by another company are recruited temporarily to perform certain tasks. The external agency takes care of the recruitment efforts and acts as the employer of the remote team and is responsible for their salaries, bonuses, and equipment etc. The client provides and manages the assignment directly. This is a great model to choose when the client company has begun a project and requires specific assistance from professionals with certain skills that are not available in-house. This gives you a great advantage, because you can hire top level talent for a fraction of the cost of the full-time hire.  Additionally, the client company’s managers oversee project management and completion.

This model is perfect for on-going projects that require talent with a very specific skill set for a short period of time.

The disadvantages of remote staffing might be that you as a client will not be able to delegate the project, you will continue to manage it from the top, so you must be able to open a solid communication channel with your remote team to make things work.

In the end, the most important thing here is that you have to evaluate how much you need to control directly your project.

At ScaleSource, we can help you get the remote talent to complete your projects faster and at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house staff. We have the best profiles to match your organization’s culture and needs. Give us a call and we can work on an estimate to match your project’s needs.