Hybrid Outsourcing – Niche Resource Augmentation for Customer Services and Business Processes Delivery

Resource augmentation refers to the process of increasing the number of resources available to an organisation or a system. Here are some common reasons for resource augmentation: 

• Increased demand: When the demand for a product or service increases, resource augmentation may be necessary to ensure that the organisation can meet that demand. For example, a company that experiences a sudden increase in customer orders may need to increase its production capacity. 
• Growth and expansion: As an organisation grows, it may require more resources to support its operations. This can include everything from additional employees to more office space or equipment. 
• Improved efficiency: Resource augmentation can also be used to improve the efficiency of an organisation’s operations. For example, investing in new technology or equipment can help streamline processes and reduce waste.
• Competitive advantage: By investing in additional resources, organisations can gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. This could be in the form of improved product quality, faster delivery times, or better customer service. 
• Risk mitigation: In some cases, resource augmentation may be necessary to mitigate risk. For example, a company may need to invest in additional cybersecurity measures to protect against the risk of data breaches. 

Examples of traditional target operating models for resource augmentation 

• Staff augmentation: This model involves hiring external staff on a temporary or project basis to supplement an organisation’s existing workforce. Staff augmentation can be useful when an organisation needs to quickly scale up its workforce or when it requires specialised expertise for a specific project or initiative. 
• Managed services: In this model, an external service provider takes on the responsibility for managing a specific business process or function on behalf of an organisation. This can include areas such as IT support, finance and accounting, or human resources. Managed services can be useful for organisations that need to free up internal resources or expertise to focus on core competencies or strategic initiatives. 
• Outsourcing: Outsourcing involves transferring the responsibility for managing a specific business process or function to an external service provider on a long-term basis. This can include areas such as manufacturing, logistics, or customer service. Outsourcing can be useful for organisations that want to reduce costs or improve efficiency in non-core areas of their business.
• Co-sourcing: This model involves working with an external service provider to jointly manage a specific business process or function. Co-sourcing can be useful for organisations that want to benefit from external expertise while retaining control over certain aspects of the process or function. 

Overall, the choice of target operating model for resource augmentation will depend on an organisation’s specific needs and goals. Factors such as cost, expertise, and control will all need to be considered when making a decision about which model to pursue.

However, we also believe there is a trend towards Hybrid Outsourcing – Niche Resource Augmentation. What does this mean? 

Essentially, it means taking a laser focussed and dispassionate view of the challenges of your local recruitment and accepting that outsourcing is not a panacea for all needs. These local recruitment issues can include: 

– Capacity/churn & retention – general or peak demand 

– Diversity 

– Education 

– Technological / Digital capability – general or specific 

– Language 

– Relatable “lived experience” / empathy with the customer 

However, your business probably has people who grew with it and are part of the DNA / soul/fabric of what generated the demand. Therefore, it may be wise to consider and frame a savvy scope of outsourcing or resource augmentation. Whilst this may make it more difficult to find the right service provider, and they may rightly challenge you on unnecessary limitations of mutual economic benefits, the right partner will respect and work with you on your business journey. 

Examples of hybrid outsourcing in action 

To make this real and relatable, here are a couple of examples: 

– Retailer with a UK team needed to find a solution to low-cost delivery status and complex multi-lingual queries. The final hybrid target operating model included the UK, run by the client, and the Philippines (tier 1) plus Eastern Europe (multi-lingual) provided by an outsourcer. 

– Medical Recruiter wanted to increase the speed of finding candidates but retain the UK personal touch; therefore, an extended working hours team was put in South Africa to provide candidate research, and the UK team was upskilled in client account management and closing placements. 

Our challenge to you is to think of what you would like to achieve for business growth and forget your perceived constraints for a moment. Collaborate with Burford Solutions to imagine the target operating model you want – the best of all worlds – and we will use our practitioner savvy and art of the possible to make it happen with you. 

Burford Solutions can help you with an Operational Health-check as a starting point: https://burfordsolutions.com/services/