5 Reasons to Outsource Staff with an Agency Instead of a Corporate
Staff outsourcing has become the norm for companies looking to gain an edge in today’s competitive landscape, which can deliver significant benefits when done right. For SME’s and larger companies looking to outsource staff, it might make sense initially to go for the “corporate” option. One would assume that a traditional corporate can provide outsourcing services to fit your companies’ needs, but this is often not the case.
There are many different ways to staff an organisation, however, not all staff outsourcing is created equal. Choosing the wrong outsourcing partner for your staffing needs can be costly, ineffective, and time-consuming, and it is wise to know what level of service you will receive beforehand.
This article explores the difference between agencies and corporates and highlights 5 reasons to outsource staff with an agency instead of a corporate.
Agency vs Corporate
The easiest way to differentiate between an agency and a corporate is through structure and strategy. These are two uniquely run entities with different structures and strategies when working with clients for staff outsourcing.
Structure
An agency usually has a firm-like structure: mostly lean, centralised, with more flexibility and equal participation in its working process. On the other hand, a corporate company is often more rigid, bureaucratic, and hierarchical in nature. These characteristics affect the speed of decision-making and execution, the equality of voice, and overall communication among levels.
Top outsourcing agencies have dedicated teams for projects to provide a more personal and streamlined level of service for clients. As a client, you can enjoy a direct line of communication with the team and leverage a more collaborative or hands-off approach depending on your needs.
Corporate entities are often closed off and contractual-based. Because of their largely hierarchal nature, corporates can also be slower to respond and complete tasks as there are multiple levels of communication in the outsourcing process. They are also less likely to dedicate staff time for special projects.
Strategy
Whether your organisation requires staff to fill a temporary position or a broader selection of permanent employees, a more comprehensive strategy is involved in the staffing process. From sourcing, vetting, hiring, training, and managing staff – agencies and corporates use different methods to ensure that your company gets the employees you need, when and how it needs them.
The staffing process requires collaboration and communication because recruitment is only the first step to a successful staff outsourcing agreement. While corporates tend to focus on contracting, agencies usually develop relationships with their clients through service excellence.
Agency staff is often more committed than corporate staff. This is because agency staff aren’t just company employees; they’re the agency’s staff. Because agencies usually have a more lean structure, your account manager will be more accessible and available to quickly answer questions or address concerns.
The Five Reasons
When considering your options between partnering with an outsourcing agency or a corporate entity, it is essential to examine your company’s needs and which forms of value will deliver the most value. Here are five reasons to partner with an outsourcing agency instead of a corporate one.
1) Flexibility
Unlike most corporate staffing companies, outsourcing agencies are great for providing both short and long-term staffing solutions, with highly specialised skillsets in niche areas of expertise.
This flexibility of agencies means they can fill positions requiring a temporary or permanent arrangement, and your company can leverage on-demand staff on an as and when needed basis. For example, suppose your company needs workers during staff shortages and busy periods. In that case, top outsourcing agencies can provide that staff with a specialised skill set based on the job at hand.
Top outsourcing agencies are also great for contingent staffing, especially when there is staff turnover or projects require additional skills and expertise. Contingent staffing is also a powerful solution for companies that need staff for specific projects or timeframes.
2) Personalised service
A vital benefit of working with an outsourcing agency is how personalised their services can be. Most of the time, you can recognise when your company needs highly specialised staff, but there is still a lot of guesswork on your part of figuring out who would be the right fit.
Unlike traditional corporate companies, outsourcing agencies can tap deeper into your company’s needs to source and introduce staff based on specific skill sets and industries. Not only does this mean providing staff who are more relevant to your business or project requirements, but it also means savings on the amount of time wasted by staff who are not well-suited to your business.
Agencies can also provide your company with access to qualified candidates that will fit into your business culture. Culture fit is a vital factor in staff retention, which outsourcing agencies nail by working closely with clients and candidates to ensure that new staff members are the right fit for both you and their future careers.
Not only is this a more efficient way to source new staff, but the risk involved with staff redundancies or staff leaving your company for other opportunities is also minimised.
3) Cost savings
Top staffing agencies have been developed with the specific goal of making staff outsourcing as cost-effective and streamlined as possible, so it is well worth considering one over a corporate if your company is serious about growing its business in the long term.
When outsourcing staff to certain agencies, you should keep in mind that the staff’s administrative and payroll needs will be handled entirely by them instead of a corporate who would often take care of those tasks as part of their service offering. With your administrative tasks dealt with, your company can save valuable time and resources, which you can use on more high-level, revenue-boosting activities.
When staff is hired on-demand, companies can also save significant amounts of money by only hiring staff when they’re needed. Essentially, the staff is not tied down to a full-time position if it’s no longer required or desired, which ultimately reduces your company’s overheads.
4) Efficient recruitment
Agencies can take the hassle out of finding staff, so your company doesn’t have to dedicate time and resources to recruitment efforts when staff is needed. The leading outsourcing agencies use expert vetting and hiring processes to ensure staff is the best fit for your company.
They can quickly identify staff, introduce them to you and hire with less time spent on recruitment efforts by your company. This also enables staff who are already working in jobs they love to be matched up with the right job opportunity without going through lengthy application processes or interviews which they’d have to do if they applied for a staff position directly.
Technology is also a crucial part of the recruitment process for modern outsourcing agencies, which use advanced software to speed up staff matching and hiring. You can expect staff to be introduced faster, which is ideal for companies requiring staff during busy periods or short-term projects where staff is needed immediately.
5) Workload Reduction
Having a reduced workload is by far one of the most beneficial reasons to partner with an outsourcing agency instead of a corporate. Although a corporate could get a lot of work done for you, top agencies are built for maximum efficiency and will find every possible way to reduce your workload beyond the contractual agreement.
Companies working with outsourcing agencies often find themselves with less work to do as the agency takes responsibility for administrative needs. This will come as a relief to internal staff members who would have otherwise dealt with administrative tasks on top of the work they were already doing. It also means that your staff can focus more of their time and energy on higher-level work.
Outsourcing administrative, payroll, and even HR and IR tasks are also why blue-chip companies outsource with agile, efficient agencies specialising in staff outsourcing.
Because you do not officially employ staff members, their financial and administrative needs will be handled entirely by the agency instead of having to deal with these tasks on top of managing staff within your business. This means staff redundancies and staff leaving your company are also minimised, which is one of the most important reasons to outsource staff instead of hiring corporate staff.
The verdict is in
These are five key reasons why companies should choose outsourcing agencies over corporations for staff outsourcing needs. Focus on how each benefit can save you time, increase revenue and reduce costs and workload at your company by choosing an agency over a corporate staffing solution.
If you are looking for staff for your business, contact MASA today. MASA is a leading outsourcing agency with consultants who offer permanent and temporary employment or staffing services to make staffing employment an easy process for companies in a vast range of industries.
