Turning to outsourcing is seen as a wise move to delegate various business requirements. Many business overheads are also efficiently managed by outsourcing. It enables an invaluable bond in business relations which proves beneficial to both the parties involved when looking for future investments. Considering different needs of an organization, a company can resort to the following
outsourcing models:
Staff Augmentation:
When a company has a short-term goal to meet a business requirement, it decides to follow staff augmentation model by hiring outsourced resources temporarily. Usually an organization which has a dedicated in-house project team requiring some
task completion outside the scope of its skillset resort to this model. Staff augmentation proves profitable in cost cutting since the contract lasts only till the time the goal is accomplished. Since an outsourced provider will carry a repertoire of
selective services that it can cater to, hoping on innovation could prove to be a limiting factor. Setting a vision with proper foresight can counter this pitfall.
Project-based Outsourcing:
Functioning of a complete project is handed over to an outsourcing vendor. Projects which cannot have any unexpected development during the processing of its deliverables are mostly outsourced. Projects in this category have set targets and
are of less complex nature. Organizations which wish to outsource jobs covering supplementary work so it can focus on its mainstream innovative projects opt for this model. Still, working hours variation due to time-zone changes and communication
hurdles can crop up. Scheduling meetings when work timings overlap and assigning a competent mediator to carry out commination is an effective solution.
Offshoring:
Offshoring involves a parent firm spreading its branches over in other countries. Different market conditions in other nations yield talented offshore resources and infrastructure at economical costs resulting in effective cost-cutting for steady brand
building at new locations globally. Further benefits include better command over process streamlining and service distribution.
Hybrid Model: Offshoring
Hybrid model facilitates the best of both worlds involving onsite and offshore centres. Client maintains communication with native customer base and is responsible for managing and updating the business framework. On-site personnel co-ordinate with offshore team for managing the outsourced tasks as per defined undertakings. Tasks are allocated considering proficiency of the offshore team under the governance of the client. Round-the-clock support can be availed to tackle any project requirement considering the combination of different time-zones of the onsite and offshore business hours.
BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer):
Build-Operate-Transfer model is an enhancement to offshoring after it reaches a certain plateau of stability. The client attempts to improve its chances of growth by investing financially in setting up manpower and infrastructure for building on its
offshore potential. Many organizations take a step further by replicating their own local work ambience and practises. Initial financial backlash for establishing infrastructure and communication gap may occur but undertaking calculated risk endeavours could reap benefits in the long run.
Managed Services:
Value based services requiring multiple facet dependency concerning performance, research and planning in the long term is handled by third party for a client. These manged services providers act as consultants to drive the business growth of the
company within a specific domain.
Out-Tasking:
A company desiring to outsource specific tasks which can be separated from its core processes can turn to out-tasking. The client has a better control over these tasks by defining result-oriented deliverables and time-based payments. Tasks which do not meet the current skills of a company’s workforce or proves to be expensive is out- tasked.
Joint Venture:
Offshore service provider and client together set up a joint venture collaboration which meets the business scope of the client. The offshore provider scouts local talent and resources to setup the business while the parent firm facilitates knowledge of its business processes and maintains top hierarchy control. Agreements concerning profit/loss and asset sharing are established between the involved parties to complete projects.