In the ever-changing landscape of the global marketplace, the need for businesses to be agile and adaptable is greater than ever. However, there’s a danger that placing more work on the shoulders of your employees can lead to burnout and increased stress. One solution can be to find temporary staff or use staff augmentation. One way of doing this is by using Teams as a Service (TaaS), a sort of dedicated team extension.
Often, companies that need to find solutions to increasing workloads make use of outsourcing techniques or look into the gig economy. But this can lead to call centers based in foreign countries, contract issues, and extra staff supervision.
Using Teams as a Service, akin to the team extension model, can take this stress out of the equation. It can also lead to a much greater ROI (return on investment) than traditional outsourcing methods or business process outsourcing (BPO).
What is the Team as a Service Model?
The idea behind this model is similar to that of software as a service or talent-as-a-service. When new teams of workers are needed, they can be “plugged in” and “switched on”, allowing businesses to achieve operational efficiency.
Minimal training would be needed, and the work could just be assigned and done remotely, tapping into the remote work model. When the work is done, the team can then just be “unplugged” or “switched off”.
Sometimes teams can end up working full-time for a particular client, while most work for multiple.
Teams can be chosen based on their preexisting specialties, allowing businesses to pick and choose teams based on what they specialize in. This flexibility of work and scalable workforce allows businesses that work with the teams as a service to effectively work on multiple projects simultaneously, tapping into the flexible staffing trend.
Why Your Company Might Use TaaS (Team as a Service)
Often when choosing methods of outsourcing, companies can lose a certain amount of control over not just who works on the project but over the project as a whole. TaaS can help solve this, offering an improved form of IT outsourcing.
As a model of outsourcing, “Team as a Service” allows companies and businesses to construct teams of people that possess the perfect skills necessary for the project. TaaS also provides for those who will have rapidly changing requirements and may have the necessity to scale work up quickly, much like staff augmentation offers.
In the modern, fast-moving, global business landscape, this kind of flexibility and dynamism must be achieved at speed, with the risk of falling behind the competition now greater than ever before.
Burdening your existing employees with this constantly fluctuating workload can easily lead to burnout and stress. These, in turn, lead to a lapse in quality and productivity.
Understanding the cost of employee turnover can help businesses make more informed decisions when considering options like the Team as a Service model.
With TaaS, you can bring in quality teams of workers whenever necessary to help share the load and get the work done to a high quality.
Until TaaS became an option, there were really only two choices for handling the situation: finding individual contractors or external vendors. TaaS solves this elegantly and provides a more flexible staffing solution.
TaaS Is a New Form of Collaboration
As an essential part of business, communication must be at the heart of everything. TaaS, an embodiment of the remote team and virtual team concepts, is the perfect example of how communication is the key to tackling work in the modern global marketplace.
It allows you to bring together the best talent available, and focus that team on the appropriate work, much like staff augmentation.
An on-site TaaS manager posts the job description, and you aid the team extension and selection process.
Throughout this outsourcing technique, you as the employer never need to interact directly with the hiring process or the gig economy.
Instead, you deal entirely with the TaaS provider, optimizing the hiring of employees and streamlining the process in order for your project to move as quickly and efficiently as possible, achieving operational efficiency.
Other aspects of the usual outsourcing methods that using TaaS can help eliminate are issue tracking, development environment, and adequate servers. This helps free up your main core of employees and teams to focus entirely on your projects, while still maintaining flexibility in hiring and keeping a great deal of control over every aspect of the work.
This can be incredibly useful in situations such as:
- Rapid business growth and scalable workforce needs
- Needing quick results in a flexible staffing model
- If you require quick execution on a fixed budget
- Filling a large number of vacancies quickly through a dedicated team
- If the staffing requirements are uncertain and likely to change as the project progresses
- Unable to hire locally due to skill-specific hiring or specific skills that are required
These are all situations in which using TaaS, a sort of on-demand talent model, is an excellent option.
What Team as a Service Includes, and What Does it Bring Companies?
The main thing that TaaS can bring to your company is high-quality remote teams tapping into the remote work model.
They can consist of experts in a multitude of different preexisting specialties, offering businesses operational efficiency. They can work immediately and quickly on your project, without you having to deal with the usual process of hiring temporary employees or diving into the gig economy.
Some of the services included with TaaS, a form of IT outsourcing, include:
- Hiring and team selection based on your specific requirements
- Admin and operations duties
- Security and high-level protection
- HR support
- Workplace setup and management, ensuring the smooth collaboration of remote teams.
Main Benefits of Using TaaS
The big benefit of using TaaS, a form of remote team collaboration, is the ease with which you can bring on new staff for your projects. It also allows you to maintain flexibility in the hiring process which emphasizes the skills necessary for a particular project, tapping into the dedicated team model. These specialized staff members, much like in staff augmentation, can be hired for only the amount of time that you require them, leading to a highly optimized staffing process within the global marketplace.
Some of the other huge benefits of using TaaS, an evolved outsourcing technique, are:
- Low-cost recruitment, reducing operational costs
- Cancel team at any point, or integrate teams together into new projects, showcasing flexible staffing
- Delegation possibilities to control every aspect of the teams and project
- Keep the focus on results, not the distractions of the hiring process or the challenges of the gig economy
- More transparency than other outsourcing methods
One of the great aspects of using TaaS is that most of the administrative costs, typical in the traditional outsourcing model, are not passed on to you, and stay with the service. This allows you to hire the best possible team, a sort of on-demand talent, without the worry of extra admin costs.
FAQs About The Team as a Service Model
What is Team as a Service?
Team as a Service (TaaS) is basically where companies hire remote teams to tackle specific projects or tasks. It’s like plugging in an external hard drive when your computer runs out of space. Super cool, huh?
How’s TaaS Different from Regular Outsourcing?
Good question! While both are forms of outsourcing, TaaS focuses on providing a dedicated team model. Instead of just contracting out a job, you’re getting a full-fledged team with all their expertise and resources. It’s like comparing a burger to a full-course meal. Both fill you up, but one offers a lot more.
Is This Just a Fad or Is It Here to Stay?
From where I stand, TaaS is digging its heels in the global marketplace. It offers a lot of benefits like flexibility, operational efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. It’s adapting to the modern way of working. So, I’d say it’s more than just a passing trend.
Do I Lose Control Over My Projects with TaaS?
Nah, not really. You’d think so, but TaaS actually offers more transparency than traditional outsourcing methods. You’re in the driver’s seat, and the remote team is like your GPS, guiding and working alongside you. Plus, with the remote work model, you can be as involved as you wish.
How’s the ROI with Team as a Service?
Well, if you’re a numbers person, the ROI with TaaS can be pretty sweet! Not only are you saving on operational costs, but also getting top-tier talent and expertise. It’s like buying a high-end product at a discount store. So yeah, the return on investment can be impressive.
Can I Trust the Quality of Work?
Absolutely! The essence of TaaS is in providing on-demand talent. Think of it as having an elite squad at your beck and call. These teams specialize in their fields, and their reputation hinges on delivering quality. So, you’re basically getting the best of the best.
What If I Need to Scale Up or Down?
That’s the beauty of TaaS! It’s super flexible. Need to ramp things up? No problem. Want to dial it down? Can do. TaaS caters to the flexible staffing needs of today’s businesses, allowing you to adapt and evolve on the fly.
Isn’t TaaS Just for Tech Companies?
Not at all! While it might have gained traction in the tech world, TaaS can be a boon for any industry. From marketing to HR, any sector can leverage the outsourcing techniques of TaaS. It’s all about matching the right team to the right task.
How Do I Know Which TaaS Provider to Choose?
Research, my friend! Look at reviews, ask around, maybe even test out a small project first. You want a provider that understands your industry, has a solid track record, and can vibe with your company’s ethos. Dive deep, and you’ll find your match!
Are There Any Downsides to TaaS?
Like everything, TaaS isn’t without its challenges. Communication can sometimes be a hurdle, especially with teams across time zones. But, with the right IT outsourcing provider and tools, it’s a minor bump in an otherwise smooth road. So, keep your eyes open and always be in the loop!
What Kind Of Support And Resources Can I Expect From A TaaS Provider?
TaaS providers can provide a variety of resources and assistance, based on the particular requirements of a business.
This can involve outsourced technical support, project management, quality control, and training and development. Access to specialized tools and resources, like software development environments or customer support platforms, may also be made available by TaaS providers.
For the Best ROI, Use the Team as a Service Approach
So as we have seen, using the TaaS model of outsourcing, a modern take on the outsourcing methods, has some major benefits that put it above and beyond the usual solutions for team hiring within the remote work model.
The sheer numbers of professionals available through TaaS, offering operational efficiency, are unlike any other outsourcing solution.
No matter the project, you are bound to find the right team to handle the work. The fact that the pool from which staff can be selected is so wide means that the limitations of location, a typical barrier in the gig economy, no longer need to be a factor in the hiring process.
There is also a lack of administrative costs to the process, which are usually associated with the hiring of employees, even temporary ones.
This includes costs such as taxes, office resources, benefits, perks, and more. These are all taken care of, or in many cases not even necessary. This is the benefit of having the third party, or IT outsourcing provider, mediating between you and the teams.
The upshot of all these benefits is that the TaaS method of outsourcing leaves you only having to think about and deal with the project itself, and the results that you wish to see. It frees you up as the manager to focus entirely on the work, and trust that your virtual team of experts will achieve the results you need.
If you enjoyed reading this article on the team as a service model, you should check out this one about how to create a process.
We also wrote about a few related subjects like web development team structure, web development team workflow and dedicated development team.
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