During the recent pandemic, many companies had to change their strategies in order to function efficiently. Outsourcing some jobs has become a popular way of doing just that. However, many companies decided to turn to remote staffing during a time of restrictions.
Both remote staffing and outsourcing can be useful solutions to problems and a way to enhance a company’s development team. Both of these methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. It is important to understand the difference between them, as choosing the method that is right for your particular business is crucial.
This article aims to explain the differences between outsourcing and remote staffing, laying out the pros and cons as well as some similarities.
Remote Staffing
Remote staffing is a way to open your business to the global market. Instead of working with local talent, you can hire people from all around the world. These remote employees are part of your company like all of the other full-time employees. They are in-house workers that happen to work remotely.
You can consult talent agencies such as Gini Talent for staffing services while you’re looking for remote staff members.
Pros
- Remote staffing offers flexibility, as you can hire employees from all around the world with a wide range of talents and working conditions. Many freelancers and agencies will await you if you choose this path. The talent pool you will choose from will be wider.
- This method gives you full control over your projects, as it does not involve third-party staffing. It is more compatible with company culture since it will give you the freedom to choose the best people in the company to do the job.
- You can offer your employees better working conditions with remote work since they will have more control over their space and work environment. They will not have to worry about transportation when going to work, which will be an added benefit that will reflect on their psychology and productivity
Cons
- Since remote workers will be no different from your other workers, it will be your responsibility to manage them. This may prove to be a complicated task, as you will be working with a variety of workers from all around the world.
- Remote staffing may bring extra costs since you will be responsible for covering the wages and other expenses of your remote teams.
- The costs and HR management aspects of remote staffing may create added workload, stress, and hassle. This can have a negative impact on executives, managers, and employees alike.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is not an in-house practice. If the skill sets needed to get a job done do not exist within the company, this company can contact third parties and hire individuals or teams to do the work for them. Many companies outsource finance, legal, digital marketing, etc. departments since these departments require specialization and are quite important to the company as a whole. To sum up, outsourced workers work on particular projects or departments that cannot be handled by the in-house teams.
There are many types of outsourcing. These types include:
- IT outsourcing
- Project outsourcing
- Process outsourcing
- Operational outsourcing
- Professional outsourcing
- Manufacturing outsourcing
Just as with remote staffing, you can work with outsourcing companies and outsourcing agencies like Gini Talent if you are looking for outsourced teams and workers.
Pros
- Outsourcing is a cost-effective solution that can help you work more efficiently and improve the workflow in your company. With field professionals enhancing the quality of the work assigned to them, your outsourced needs can be met in the most satisfactory way.
- By outsourcing certain needs, you will have more time and energy to work on your core business. Without having to train and pressure your in-house staff to do the kind of work they are not equipped to do, you will have more opportunities to do the work that you are truly passionate about.
- Since you are not responsible for outsourced team members, you will deal with lower costs of management and lower costs overall. Their work will be managed by third parties that will report to you.
Cons
- Since a third party will be involved, you will not have complete control in how the outsourced task is completed. This can lead to conflict and unexpected results if effective communication with the third party is not established.
- If overdone, outsourcing can quickly lose its profitability. It can both strain the company’s budget and hinder business growth, as in-house talent is not being developed and utilized.
- Communication with service providers may become toilsome. You will need multiple meetings and follow-ups to make sure the work is getting done, which will translate into time and effort put into these occasions.
The Difference
Now that we have explained what remote staffing and outsourcing are, we can focus on the differences between these two methods. While it is not the only difference, the management over the workers is the most striking difference between these two methods. As mentioned above, remote staff will be connected to and managed by your company while outsourced teams will be connected to third-party companies.
The other differences can be listed as such:
- While remote staffing usually entails hiring people one by one, outsourcing often means working with an entire team.
- Remote staff will work under your command and report to you, while outsourced workers will answer to their own companies or other third parties that will be in communication with you during the working process.
- Remote staffing requires onboarding while outsourcing does not.
- Remote staffing is more long-term than outsourcing. Remote employees are hired as full-time employees are, while outsourced workers are hired for a specific task that is often time-sensitive.
Outstaffing
Outstaffing is a practice that differs from both outsourcing and remote staffing. Outstaffing refers to hiring an employee who continues working in their old office space while you become their new employer. This option can be logistically beneficial, as it allows employees to reap the advantages of a different workspace.
Outstaffed workers can use equipment, space, services, etc. your work environment may not be able to offer. This will give your company a unique edge and become a cost-efficient method of completing certain tasks.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that both outsourcing and remote staffing have their unique advantages and disadvantages. Whether you care more about less complicated project management or cost-efficient work, it is up to you to choose the method which suits your company’s needs.
Whichever option you choose, Gini Talent is here to help you. With our hundreds of employees ready to work in software development, social media, and more fields, we offer staffing services that lift the burden off your shoulders. If you are looking to work with teams that get the job done, look no further.