Differences Between Staff Augmentation And Outsourcing

Characteristic	Staff Augmentation	Outsourcing
Company contracts for	Individual contractor’s work	Predefined service or product
Selection of staff to perform work	Company’s (company staff interviews prospective contractors)	Outsourcer
Day-to-day direction of staff provided by	Company	Outsourcer
Pricing	Time and materials; hourly rate or per diem	Fixed price, typically payable monthly or on completion of specific deliverables
Location of staff	Company site	Either company or outsourcer’s site
Co-employment concerns	Possible, if lengthy assignment	None
Measure of success	Individual tasks	Deliverables
Key to success	Individual contractor	Outsourcer