The problem of cost optimization has always been one of the most critical components of a successful business for any company. One of the ways to solve this problem is to reduce the number of staff and, accordingly, save money that goes to pay monthly.

Two approaches – what are the similarities and differences?

These two schemes for organizing staff and delegating tasks are based on a common idea: to reduce the number of full-time employees and thus reduce the monthly cost of maintaining employees in those areas where their constant presence is not required. At the same time, the need to perform specific work remains, although it may be irregular, or these works are not core for this company. In this case, the permanent maintenance of employees with regular salary payments increases the company’s monthly expenses and burdens the accounting and personnel departments.

Appeal to the practice of body leasing or outsourcing allows the SEOs and business owners to solve the listed problems. So, there are two options:

• To hire an employee with a specific qualification for a limited period
• To hire another company for the regular performance of work that does not constitute the main direction of your activity.

These two options are not mutually exclusive. Moreover, their skillful combination can give your company an explosive economic effect.

Let’s take a closer look at specific examples and see which of the approaches in which case is the most appropriate.

Outsourcing

In every company, many tasks require more or less regular performance but are outside the main line of business. In particular, if you have an office, it is apparent that it needs regular cleaning and security. As a rule, some people are hired to perform these works, occupying only a small part of the working day. The cleaning lady comes either early in the morning or the evening when the employees go home, and the security guard comes on duty after the office closes.

Suppose these people are legally registered for work in the state. In that case, as a manager, you are responsible for the monthly payment of their salaries and mandatory contributions to pension and other funds. In addition, labor law requires you to provide them with social guarantees – vacations, sick pay, etc. At the same time, for you, it does not matter who strictly performs the listed functions. You just need that this work is done.

In this case, outsourcing these tasks is the most appropriate solution. You sign a contract with a highly specialized – for example, a cleaning or security company or a multi-profile agency, and get the services you need. The same applies, for instance, to accounting or transport services, of course, unless you are a carrier company or do not double-entry bookkeeping. In short, outsourcing ensures that you get the work done regularly, eliminating the need to delve into the mechanism for its implementation.

Body leasing

Compared to outsourcing, this mechanism is usually used to perform tasks that are limited in time.

For example, you are the owner of a restaurant, hotel, or large store. Most likely, your business activity is highly dependent on the season. You need additional employees with specific qualifications during the summer holidays or big sales, such as Christmas or Black Friday ones.

Obviously, on the one hand, it does not make sense for you to keep on staff all year round people who will be fully employed only for a limited time. On the other hand, you need guaranteed qualified employees. That said, you wouldn’t want to overburden your HR department with interviews with each applicant and increase the amount of work for your already busy accounting department.

Contacting a leasing agency, in this case, completely solves your problem. You get the required number of employees that meet your stated requirements, while the agency takes care of the entire routine associated with the selection of candidates and their remuneration. Your task is to correctly prescribe the requirements for temporary employees and pay for the agency’s services.

Let’s consider another typical situation. You need workers to harvest. As a rule, labor migrants and/or students are hired for this work. The level of qualification, in this case, does not matter. However, if you do not intend to break the law, you need to register all these people for work, observing the subtleties of legislation, including immigration.

Contacting a leasing agency will also be the best choice for you. You will receive the necessary number of hands, leaving the paperwork to issue work visas and provide temporary insurance to agency employees.

Another typical case of effective use of body leasing is attracting highly qualified specialists to your existing team.

For example, you are engaged in software development and need an expert in integrating this product into an existing enterprise management system. It is clear that this work requires special knowledge and skills and involves close interaction with the development team.

It is obvious that, on the one hand, the performance of such work requires high qualifications and special knowledge. But on the other hand, its implementation is limited in time. In the future, only one-time specialist consultations may be required to maintain the entire network with the new tool integrated into it in due order. Therefore, the involvement of an expert on a body leasing contract will turn out to be the best management decision.

In addition to getting the services you need, you will be able to assess the overall skill level of such a leased employee. If you see this as a prospect, nothing will stop you from offering him a permanent job in your company.

Summing up

As it is clear from the above examples, outsourcing and body leasing practices can be successfully combined and effectively applied in your company in parallel, providing a synergistic effect.

Do not forget to thoroughly indicate in the contracts the most negligible requirements for the qualifications of the employees provided to you. The same suggestion is reliable regarding the quality and timing of the work to be done. And be sure to calculate and compare all the costs of applying any of the schemes, comparing them with existing expenses. Carefully verified contracts and economically sound solutions will guarantee the success of your business.