IT Outsourcing Helps Companies Solve Their Recruitment Issues

I have prepared a list of the most important benefits of outsourcing, but also – to balance the arguments – a list of risks and threats that we must consider when deciding on such a service. So before I go on to present the benefits that the knowledge and skills of our specialists provide our customers with, let’s pause for a moment to analyze any potential threats. During the process of preparing your own company to use an IT outsourcing service provider, you should consider the risks that may arise during such cooperation. Below is a list of some of the most commonly encountered threats along with possible ways to mitigate them, on both the provider and customer side.

Possible risks that you may want to consider, whether by yourself or together with your chosen provider, may include failure to accept and support part of line management and staff in the assignment of tasks to an outside worker, as well as communication issues or the possibility of knowledge loss. If we are aware of these threats and openly discuss them with the provider, it can go a long way to minimizing or even eliminating them. It is essential, however, to prepare mutual trust, knowledge and planning, as well as continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of outsourced activities.

Get your company ready for outsourcing

Outsourcing on a certain scale, such as when we involve the entire external development team, can become a strategic process which deeply rebuilds the structure of the company and influences the functioning of its processes. For this reason, the decision to delegate certain tasks to the outsourced team must be preceded by sufficient preparation, which consists of the following steps:

• an analysis of the needs and situations requiring the involvement of an external specialist;
• planning cooperation with the provider, requiring the designation of decision-makers who will be responsible for operational contact with the provider, as well as the preparation of appropriate internal communication which will prevent any conflict or misunderstanding of the role of the external specialist;
• planning the process of selecting the right provider;
• planning the introduction process for an external employee or team;
• monitoring the effectiveness of the service and accomplishing the entrusted tasks.

Benefits of outsourcing

So if the service provider is able to guarantee from their side that the risks are minimized and the potential consequences are mitigated, and the client plans the process of introducing outsourcing services adequately, the enterprise will begin to benefit relatively quickly from the involvement of an external specialist or team. A carefully considered and structured process of partnering with the provider and the subsequent deployment of an outsourcer to our project will free up our internal resources or allow our employees to move to other jobs. In addition, the outsourcing model will allow you to experience the following benefits in the short term:

• no recruitment costs – the outsourcing company bears the cost of acquiring an employee in exchange for a later opportunity to make a consistent profit from outsourcing;
• swift access to the required specialists, due to the outsourcing company’s resources and established candidate database;
• contract flexibility – immediate response to the increasing or decreasing need for employees;
• matching the competences to the needs of the project and the possibility of substantive support in the project from the service provider’s side in case of unforeseen situations;
• outsourcing does not increase the fixed costs of your business;
• the invoice received from the outsourcing company can be counted as a project cost;
• no costs associated with vacation and medical leave;
• the possibility of exchanging an employee whose work is unsatisfactory with a notice period agreed with the provider;
• savings in terms of the cost and time spent on searching for and selecting candidates;
• reduction in the risk of selecting an unsuitable candidate;
• no HR and payroll costs.

To outsource, or not to outsource? That is the question…

At this point, it is worth considering when to use outsourced IT staff. Here is a list of these situations:

• a large number of applications are sent to the company, but the effectiveness of the recruitment process is low;
• candidates withdraw from the interview process at an early stage of recruitment;
• we do not have an appropriately recognizable brand as an employer hiring IT specialists;
• we observe constant staff turnover and people frequently leaving a job during the course of the project;
• we need to complete the project in a timely manner and / or to start work on the project within a short timeframe (e.g. up to a week);
• we do not have a sufficient number of tasks to entrust to IT professionals to ensure effective working hours, or our projects are somewhat seasonal in character;
• we would like to build a new team or department in a relatively short space of time.

The outsourcing company will be better than us in terms of carrying out certain recruitment tasks, due to – among other things – consistent and intensive presence on the candidate market, and the brand recognition of the employer. They also provide timely and flexible access to professional resources whenever it is deemed necessary, and not only when suitable professionals can be provided. IT outsourcing is primarily a choice of operational strategy that enables the company to quickly adapt to the business environment, internal requirements and customer expectations.