Outsourcing vs BOT (Own backoffice)

The key distinction between outsourcing services and a back office service is the degree of control and long-term strategy a company maintains over its operations and personnel. While outsourcing offers a hands-off, temporary solution, a back office service provides a company with the ability to replicate its own processes and culture offshore for a more permanent and integrated team.

Outsourcing vs. Back Office Service: A Comparative Analysis

Control and Culture

Outsourcing means ceding control of a particular business function to an external provider. The outsourcer manages the process, and you have little to no say in the company culture. Your team is a part of the outsourcer's culture, not yours. Conversely, a back office service allows you to replicate your company's existing culture, no matter where your offshore team is located. This ensures your remote employees are a true extension of your core team, fostering greater alignment and a stronger sense of shared identity.

Process and Personnel

With outsourcing, you are entirely reliant on the outsourcer's processes and their hiring choices. This can be restrictive, as you must adapt to their way of working. A back office service, however, allows you to replicate your own established processes. This approach gives you the autonomy to create a strategic plan for building and managing your own dedicated team, ensuring the work is done exactly as you want it.

Cost

Outsourcing is often perceived as a cheap option, but it can be less cost-effective in the long run. Outsourcing companies may charge a fixed or hourly rate that often doesn't differentiate between skill levels, meaning you might pay a premium for low-skilled tasks. A back office solution can be even more affordable in the long term because you are only paying for the specific skill set and experience you need, leading to a much lower average cost per employee.

Dependency and Control

Using an outsourcing service can create a significant dependency on the service provider. You lose direct control over the day-to-day work, resources, and management. A back office model eliminates this dependency. By building your own offshore team, you maintain full control over your operations, resources, and management, giving you the flexibility to adapt and scale as needed.

Administrative Overhead

Outsourcing saves a great deal of administrative time related to hiring, training, and onboarding. The outsourcer handles all of this for you. While a back office solution does require an initial time investment to partner with a specialized firm for recruitment, onboarding, and training, this upfront effort is a strategic investment. The long-term benefits of having a dedicated, highly integrated team far outweigh the initial time spent on building it.

Strategic Objective

Outsourcing is an excellent choice for companies needing a temporary solution or quick support without the time or resources to invest in building a long-term team. It's a short-term fix. A back office solution, on the other hand, is for companies with a long-term vision. It requires an initial commitment of time and resources to establish the team, infrastructure, and processes, but it results in a permanent, scalable, and highly integrated extension of your company. 📈