Pros and Cons of Body Leasing in the Tech Industry

Tech companies consider different options for finding the needed talent to handle the increasing workload. Having a software development project in progress, you need to find the most effective ways to hire new specialists quickly and at a fair price. For many companies, body leasing is a popular option to cover their staffing needs.

In this article, we are going to have a closer look at body leasing in tech and help you find out whether it is suitable for your software development needs. Let’s begin with the definition of body leasing.

What is body leasing?

Body leasing is an outsourcing type that implies hiring tech specialists from an external body leasing company and not directly from the specialists’ company. This is a frequent choice when you need tech specialists for flexible and short-term cooperation and don’t want to spend much time on their hiring and training.

Another popular option is team leasing. Basically, it is the same as body leasing. The only difference is that you do not lease separate specialists, you lease the entire team for your project. You can learn more about it by checking out this article.

Body leasing in tech is excellent when you need to scale your software development team rapidly and within a short time. Although, body leasing also has its challenges such as high cost in the long run and lack of employee dedication. At SECL group, we have been providing body leasing services for many years and we know the ins and outs of this model. Let’s have a look at them together.

How does body leasing work?

First off, you need to decide on the expertise you are looking for and what specialists you need (decide what level of experience and tech skills you are searching for). Next, you study tech markets in different countries and access their labor markets. Then, you will have to choose a service provider that will help you find and hire leased tech specialists.

Body leasing vs outsourcing software development

There are some significant differences between body leasing and traditional outsourcing. They include:

• Body leasing aims at filling the gaps in the internal client’s team while outsourcing implies hiring a team that takes more responsibility for the end project result.
• You can go for body leasing at any development stage for your project while outsourcing takes place at the beginning of the project lifecycle.
• In outsourcing, external developers work as a part of the client’s development team and adjust to their work culture and methodology.

The advantages and disadvantages of body leasing

And now let’s look at the pros and cons of body leasing in the tech industry.

Pros

• The body leasing company takes care of HR and management processes.
• You can scale your project’s team up and down and adjust to evolving project’s scope. After the project is over you can simply fire the tech specialists or buy them out of the body leasing company.
• You don’t need to take care of taxes and social security expenses. Thus, body leasing is far less expensive compared to hiring in-house specialists, especially if you hire in locations with affordable rates.
• You spend less money on all the recruitment-related things, such as running hiring campaigns, and interviewing and sourcing candidates.
• You get to choose from the vast pool of the best candidates if you look for them in multiple locations.
• The specialists’ training and equipment are handled by the body leasing company as well as the legal and administrative aspects.
• You are in full control of the work on the project and even though you hire employees via a body leasing company, they work as a part of your in-house team.
• You get access to a vast tech talent pool so finding employees with skills even in very specific technologies won’t be a problem.

Cons

• Body leasing can cost much more than traditional outsourcing if you hire specialists in your location. It can happen because the salaries are the same, but you also need to pay the margin. That’s why body leasing usually implies hiring specialists in more affordable locations.
• Leased employees are sometimes not as committed to the company as the in-house or offshore specialists. They may lack loyalty and dedication to the company’s and project’s goals.
• You can be not satisfied with the work of an employee and then you will need to replace them very quickly. This also can lead to unpredictable situations and project delays.
• You may face risks related to the code and business data confidentiality.
• The leased employees may face some communication difficulties if they have an overestimated level of English language proficiency.

As you can see, body leasing in the tech industry has both advantages and disadvantages. It is a good way to extend your team and access external tech talent. However, you need to be aware of the pitfalls of this type of outsourcing before you hire employees from a body leasing company.

Final thoughts on body leasing

Now that you know about the advantages and disadvantages of body leasing, you can make a more informed decision on whether this is a suitable option for your project. In most cases, it is a great way to find the lacking specialists for your in-house team, but not more than that, as a rule. If you are looking for more involvement and commitment from external tech specialists, you will need to choose other options, such as traditional project-based outsourcing. Thus, you will receive a project team that is more dedicated to the end result.

The outcomes of your cooperation with external developers often depend on choosing the right outsourcing service provider. If you choose the right outsourcing company, you not only get access to the needed tech specialists but also expertise in your niche and needed technologies. Based on our company’s experience in body leasing, this model is a good choice for your tech needs.