Whether you’re expanding operations in current markets to build on success, exploring new markets to take your business further, or adding new offerings for current customers, one of the greatest challenges today is sourcing the tech talent you need at scale.

The Great Resignation caused by people worldwide reassessing their work priorities has made it more difficult to access a reliable pipeline of talent to successfully scale and leverage success. According to a recent Computing study sponsored by Tek Experts, a majority of tech companies have found it more difficult to recruit people with needed skills in the past two years and 94% also see their workloads increasing in the next five. 

If you’re finding it increasingly difficult to access the tech talent you need to scale your workforce, know that you have choices. Here are three strategies for scaling most effectively and how to know which might be best for you:

1. Direct Hiring for Greater Control

The most traditional way to bring on talent is to recruit, onboard and manage them yourself. Two variations of this are working with a recruiter up front or going to an outsourcing company who has hired, onboarded, and trained the employees first and then transferring them to you to be the ongoing employer.

The Many Pros of Hiring Directly

Building a proprietary knowledge base. When you’re scaling your workforce, it’s essential to leverage existing knowledge and help it be shared with others on their transformational journey. Full-time employees are better able to translate core business knowledge and experience into future successes for your business and they can better maintain continuity of core initiatives.

Protecting your brand, values, and vision. Hiring direct talent helps you build community in the organization. Contractors don’t become as immersed in your company culture or invested in your organization’s success. Full-time employees tend to be more engaged with exactly what you do and how you do it and therefore better able to represent you to customers.

Creating stronger client relationships. Full-time employees are directly connected to your goals every day and more likely to prioritize your desire for strong client relationships.

Direct Hiring May Be Best for You If:

• You have relatively low turnover
• You have consistent access to a well-skilled pool of talent
• You have a successful employee engagement strategy
• Your business goals and geographic strategies are longer term
• You want staff experience and skills to stay inside your organization

2. Keep your Focus on Business Outcomes with an Employer of Record

The sweet spot between direct hire scenarios and complete outsourcing is the employer-of-record. Here you get to manage your employees’ day-to-day responsibilities and output, but the employer of record takes care of all other employer-related activities including hiring, training, payroll, benefits, etc.

The Pros of Using an Employer of Record for your Tech Talent

Reduce costs. There are a couple ways an employer of record can alleviate the cost of hiring direct. Many operate around the world, giving you access to personnel at different salary levels and different cost of living demands, and who are impacted by tax and economic factors that could benefit your bottom line. Additionally, you can save on  the cost of laptops, equipment, office space, and the resources allocation for HR and other departments to recruit and onboard the new hires.

Accessing a larger, more diverse pool of tech talent. Working with an employer of record in a different country gives you direct access to a deeper pool of talent. Because these companies specialize in building an extensive pipeline and identifying the specific skills needed to successfully match an open position, you can quickly address gaps. Plus, you can indirectly hire talent in that location without establishing your business there.

Maintaining full control of staff. The biggest differentiator between an employer of record and an outsourcing company is the day-to-day management of work. With an employer of record, you maintain full oversight of hours worked, tasks assigned, and processes used. What you don’t have to worry about is recruitment and HR management, or legal, tax and regulatory compliance of operating in that location. 

Adjusting Headcount Easily. As employer-of-record you can more easily scale resources up or down based on your company’s roadmap, priorities, and other variables. This can be particularly beneficial during times of volatility due to economic factors, industry challenges, or even mergers and acquisitions.

Grow Confidently. Employer-of-record partnerships are ideal if you are planning to explore a new market or business opportunity. You can cost-effectively put a team of people in the location you are planning to incorporate, and a more consultative employer of record can provide insights into best practices and tips on the legal, tax, and regulatory steps required. Once you are up and running, you always have the option to hire direct or continue working with the employer of record.

Employer of Record May Be Best for You If:

• You can confidently maintain staff oversight and leadership outside your own offices, region, or country
• You have strong communications throughout your organization
• You can foster a culture of inclusivity that checks biases
• You can manage employees in multiple time zones and would benefit from the passthrough of work for continuous coverage with the sun never setting

3. Outsourced Managed Services

When you scale your business by fully outsourcing tech services to a third party, you will have no management or employment responsibilities but will have mutually agreed upon service level agreement.

The Pros of Outsourcing

Realizing cost efficiencies. Outsourcing tech responsibilities to a third-party managed service provider leaves you with one budget item and eliminates the direct cost of new infrastructure, hardware, software, training staff, and of course salaries.

Assuring 24X7 coverage. While in-house staff have fixed service hours, managed service offerings provide around-the-clock attention to your needs.

Improving compliance and security. Third-party managed service providers stay current on  the latest security solutions and keep them updated in real-time to provide maximum protection against security breaches. They also take care of data compliance with local regulations to avoid the potential for costly penalties.

Outsourcing May be Best for You If:

• You can effectively address on-site technical support responsibilities internally
• Your required level of service is both consistent and well-defined
• You value the peace of mind of an assured level of service
• You want management to keep their focus entirely on your core business

What’s the Difference Between Direct Hire, Employer of Record, and Outsourcing?

The difference between direct hire, employer of record, and outsourcing services lies in the designation of responsibilities.

With direct hire, the business is the legal employer and is responsible for office management, training, standard HR duties, and selecting new hires from already screened applicants. Meanwhile, the talent sourcing agency is responsible for the recruitment process, including screening applicants and initial interviews.

For employers of record, the talent sourcing agency is the legal employer. It is responsible for many back-end processes such as payroll, benefits, and compliance with labor and tax laws. The business is responsible for selecting new hires and day-to-day office and workflow management, differentiating this service from outsourcing.

When it comes to outsourcing, the talent sourcing agency is the legal employer and assumes all HR duties, training, and office management. The talent sourcing agency acts as an extension of the business’s team to be sure technologies, expectations, and outcomes are consistent between both parties to provide great customer experiences.

Scale Your Business the Way That Fits You Best with Tek Experts 

When you need quick reliable access to tech talent to scale your business, capitalize on past success, and satisfy a growing list of more demanding clients, Tek Experts has deep experience and expertise in all the ways to do it. We can guide you to the best solution for your organization and seamlessly transition our relationship if your needs change.

Imagine you need to be up and running in a new market, with no time to find, hire, onboard, and train the tech talent you require. Start with managed services and leave it all to us.  Tek Experts employs more than 6000 people across the world and our remarkable talent is the key to our success.

When you feel the need to have more day-to-day oversight of key employees, you can transition to an employer-of-record arrangement. We invest heavily in onboarding skilling and upskilling talent, so they learn from the best in the tech industry. You can get the resources you need to augment existing staff.

If you then require employees on your own staff, we can provide strategic recruitment or transfer our employes to you so you can hire directly. 

However you engage Tek Experts, we will become an extension of your team and brand, bringing you the best talent to help you deliver on your promise to customers.

Learn more about successful methods to source, skill, grow, and scale your talent in this eBook, How to Survive the Global Tech Talent Crunch.