Outsourcing vs Out-Tasking (Business Consulting)

Outsourcing:

• Focuses on the outcomes where day-to-day planning and execution of the related tasks to deliver the stipulated outcomes is left to the provider. Here, the client delegates the responsibility of operational planning and execution to the provider while retaining the accountability for the delivered outcomes including the quality and efficiency.
• Moving the people, process, tools, and management of any service supplier to an external service provider where the provider captures the best practices to deliver a superior service at a lower cost. 
• Organizations can focus on core business competencies without having to manage or build a large internal department.
• Duration: Long term 3 years and above.
• Examples: Day to day, operational routines, non-core activities, etc.

Out-Tasking:

• Focuses on addressing a temporary surge in resourcing demand in terms of numbers or skills by augmenting the team with certain number of resources who are in the payroll of the supplier but performs the duties for the client as if these are the client’s resources.
• The client retains their tools, processes, and management staff where the provider supplies all the resources to perform the tasks and the flexibility of scaling up and down, as needed by the client.
• Companies can add an additional resource or area of expertise while still maintaining management control internally.
• Duration: Short term up to 2 years
• Examples: Temporary spike in manpower, small duration activities, short-term specialized skills, etc.