Flexibility is now a key factor in hiring, especially when it comes to sourcing IT professionals. The underlying cause directly relates to economic supply-and-demand – fluctuating markets along with chronic talent shortages in certain areas.
Even if you’re fully staffed up, your team has work to do. And you may be missing specific skills to address ongoing work or new projects. You could bring in more FTEs, but that may not be practical or even desirable in an unpredictable economy. That’s why employers are taking advantage of project-based talent solutions as well as traditional IT staffing.
Project-based hiring allows you to accomplish your goals in two different ways:
TRADITIONAL CONTINGENT LABOR
To ramp up staffing for ongoing internal projects or create teams to take on new initiatives, IT contractors offer specific expertise needed to do the work. Reporting directly to you – you determine the deliverables and deadlines, provide onboarding, daily supervision and timecard approvals, etc.
OUTSOURCING THE ENTIRE IT PROJECT
A managed services team can take on your entire project end-to-end. This includes strategic guidance as well as project development and execution. You provide the scope of work to be performed by a certain date, with interim progress benchmarks or specific deliverables to be approved. There is a flat fee, and payment may be incremental (aligned with milestones) or due at the end of the project.
At Power-4, we maintain a deep network of highly qualified IT professionals who can step in individually to handle your project work, or who can tackle your work as an independent managed services team. There are pros and cons to both approaches, so how do you know which is right? Consider these factors.
Scope of work
Full outsourcing can be a great choice when you know what you need and you just need to get it done. Or, when you need advice as well as implementation. Projects best-suited for this solution include:
- Stand-alone projects of any size that are planned and ready for execution
- Large projects that will require considerable manpower and time
- Parts of a larger project that require certain specialized IT skills
- Projects that require design/development as well as execution
In-house IT contractors may work alongside existing team members, expanding team size or IT capabilities. Or they may form a new team to take on a new project. They can be temporary, cyclical, or remain long-term to help manage ongoing implementation once the project is complete. IT contractors can also offer a cost-effective solution to replace laid-off FTEs.
AMOUNT OF OVERSIGHT REQUIRED
Full outsourcing is outcome-based – certain results will be achieved within a specified timeframe. How the work gets done, by whom, or when is up to the provider as long as benchmarks are met.
Hiring IT contractors to staff in-house projects gives you complete control over day-to-day work as well as the flexibility to make changes on the fly if needed.
OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
Fully outsourcing a project streamlines the process. The vendor determines what skills and how many team members are needed, assembles the team, manages their work, and handles all payroll and other administrative work. You have a single point of contact for benchmark review and other communications. The ability to hand off an entire project to a ready team may produce faster results because it eliminates the need for sourcing, hiring, and onboarding personnel.
However, you may not want to hand off control, or you may be looking to expand the size or capabilities of existing project teams. Bringing in the specific talent you need, when you need it, gives you the flexibility to scale operations or modify your plans as conditions (or budget) dictate. Contractors work under your control, often alongside your permanent staff. Outsourcing can also enable in-house teams to work on other things or allow your company to work toward more goals simultaneously.
Both outsourcing entire projects and bringing in contractors for in-house projects can free up current personnel to address other work, increasing overall productivity.
OPPORTUNITIES TO BOOST TECHNiCAL CAPACITY
With full outsourcing, you get things done by taking advantage of out-of-house expertise. At project completion, that team will transfer relevant documentation and/or provide training to support ongoing management and maintenance.
IT contractors bring their specialized expertise in house, not only putting that to work on your project but imparting that knowledge to other team members as they work. That internal skill-building benefits the company even after the contractor leaves.
budget
Full outsourcing allows you to hand off an entire project at a set price without incurring the additional costs of onboarding, project management, and payroll administration. The finite total and predictable payment increments can simplify budgeting.
Hiring IT contractors to work in-house allows you to tailor the cost to the timeline required to complete the work, whether that’s a week, a month, or longer. But you will be responsible for associated costs of onboarding, supervision, payroll and so on.
our bench is your bench
One thing is clear no matter how you prefer to approach IT staffing, you need a recruiting partner with long-term relationships and a vast network of talented IT professionals who can step in to help accomplish your goals.
Whether it’s in-house alongside your own staff, or on their own as part of an outsourced team, Power-4 can help you determine the best direction in order to make the most effective hiring choices.