The Co-Sourcing Business Model
Co-sourcing is a relatively new business model that emerged to solve the problems faced through challenges from in-sourced resource and outsourced support.
Challenges with in-sourced resource
With employers NI, tax and benefits, plus salary, full time employees are an expensive investment
You may have a critical skills gap, but it’s a gap that only requires temporary resource and doesn’t warrant an FTE
The more in house staff you have, the more HR support you require to manage day to day issues
You may not have the ability to maintain the training requirements of a highly skilled group of in house staff
Challenges with outsourced resource
Loss of managerial control
Inflexible. Agreed outsourcing model may not be fit for purpose long term, but it’s difficult to make agile changes based on business and market developments
Internal staff may not have the skills required to effectively manage the outsourced contract and day to day decision making
There’s often a culture clash between the organisation and outsource provider
The co-sourcing solution
Co-sourcing is a partnership, not a rigid contract. Your co-sourcing partner will work with you to define the short, medium and long term goals of the business, carefully considering company culture, resource availability and skills gaps, future growth, funding and support prioritisation. They’ll then develop a bespoke but agile plan of business support, allowing for changes based on future business and market developments. At a basic level this support can include technology; the right blend of on and offsite support based on the skills of your current in house team; board level strategic support; policy and contract development based on the needs of your business and supplier review and renegotiation.
The fundamental difference from outsourcing is the co-sourcing model is about long term, collaborative working and high levels of communication, not the temporary or permanent removal of a function (or functions) to a third party.
If you think your business could be in need of a co-sourcing solution, book a no obligation consultation with one of Fact3’s experts here.