As a small or mid-sized business owner, getting the most out of your money is much more critical, especially when compared to bigger companies that have substantially more leeway when it comes to budgets. Being well informed is one step towards being able to efficiently make use of your resources. If you’re already looking into something along the lines of hiring offshore staff and have come across seat leasing and remote staffing options, being able to discern which service fulfills your needs the best while having a more cost-effective price point, will make the difference between a successful venture and a waste of both valuable time and money.
Seat Leasing
The core service of seat leasing is centered around renting out furnished workstations, whether it be in the same country or a different one. Companies that have staff hired but lack a location are generally the people that sign up for this business model. Without having to worry about buying, renting, or building an infrastructure from the ground up, the business can begin as soon as the agreement with the seat leasing provider is signed.
Additional Services And Resources
Seat leasing doesn’t just stop at the renting of workstations. Depending on who your seat leasing provider is, they may offer additional services such as HR, IT, and recruitment. Business process outsourcing companies or BPOs are the most common seat leasing providers that offer these services. Availing all of these services essentially gives you a remote staffing style service without actually availing of remote staffing. This style of service brings the benefit of selecting which additional service you need in the event that you only need one or all of them.
Pricing
While getting into specific pricing would yield inaccurate expectations due to the varying prices in different locations and with different service providers, seat leasing is generally financially cheaper than remote staffing. It’s mentioned that it is financially cheaper because, in terms of time saved, seat leasing won’t beat out remote staffing, as that service includes all the tools needed to bypass all of the administrative minutiae associated with hiring staff in another country.
Seat Leasing Compatible Businesses
In all honesty, any business that can be done on a computer is a suitable match for seat leasing. The businesses that will get the most out of it would be businesses that need a temporary location or a business looking to save on infrastructure costs by just renting space while wanting the ability to move location at a moment’s notice. Seasonal accounts who don’t want to buy their own space to only work a couple of months out of the year can avail of this service as some seat leasing companies allow for shorter-term agreements.
Remote Staffing
Imagine being able to hire people from anywhere in the world at a lower price than you could find locally, that’s essentially what the core of remote staffing is. The other noteworthy part of remote staffing is the ability to focus on only productivity, as the service provider will take care of all HR, IT, and recruiting needs for you. The time saved through this type of service is usually taken for granted until people try it themselves and realize how much more time a day they have without having to take care of backend team management tasks.
Inclusions And Benefits Of Hiring Remote Staff
The first and most obvious benefit of hiring remote staff would be the cost savings. Take a graphic designer, for example, the average salary of a mid-level graphic designer in the US is about $4,172 a month whereas their remote staff equivalent in the Philippines would only cost
about $480 a month at the exchange rate of 54 Philippine Pesos to 1 US dollar.
Saving time on administrative tasks is a huge deal. It opens up more opportunities to maximize efficiency or take a breather. While not immediately quantifiable, the hours will start to reveal themselves, specifically once your remote team is up and running. If they become autonomous, you’ll have even more time to complete your own tasks as managing them won’t be too laborious.
Unlike with seat leasing, once you sign up for remote staffing, you get the whole package from recruitment, all the way to HR and IT helping to maintain the workstations that are provided. Do take note that different service providers will have different basic packages, but the most common workstation will include a PC, complete with peripherals such as the screen, keyboard, and monitor. For more specific setups, make sure to inquire with your chosen service provider, most if not all procurement requests will be granted after an agreement is met.
Pricing
Pricing for the entire remote staffing service will depend on which country you choose and the specific provider. Do take note that there is a difference between a full-service BPO and a call center, with the former having customizable solutions that will fit your business and the latter needing you to hit certain requirements before you can avail of their service. While the price of remote staffing is higher than the base price of most seat leasing services, when all the addons are taken into consideration, they are usually comparable in price.
Remote Staff Compatible Businesses
Any growing startup or permanent business of any size can avail of remote staffing services and be successful, given the right steps are taken. Picking a partner that can help you properly manage your staff is one step towards being successful with an offshore remote staffing team. Essentially, if you have any task that can be done on a computer, it can be done by remote staff. Professionals of multiple industries can be hired to work for your company on a remote basis, given that they fit your requirements. For countries that are used to the remote staffing model, finding a niche or job-specific staff isn’t too difficult as they’re more commonplace.
The Wrap Up
Choosing a service that allows you to get the best bang for your buck will allow your company to grow at a much more steady rate without waste. No matter what choice you go with, there are scalable options that will allow you to grow your company without having to spend excessive amounts of money. Make sure you’re asking questions during your meetings with your chosen service providers, as this is your chance to find out which provider is the best for you and your needs.