Why “save up to 60%” is the wrong place to start
Almost every outsourcing provider leads with a savings percentage. We use ranges too — but a headline number is a starting hypothesis, not your answer. Your actual savings depend on the specific role, where you are hiring today, your volumes, and how much oversight the work needs. The only figure that matters is the one you calculate from your own numbers. This guide shows you how to build that business case properly — counting the real costs on both sides so the comparison is fair and defensible when you present it internally.
Step 1 — Work out the fully-loaded in-house cost
The most common mistake is comparing an outsourced price to an in-house salary. That is not the real cost. The fully-loaded cost of an employee typically adds 25–40% or more on top of base pay. To compare fairly, add up everything it actually costs to get the work done in-house:
- Base salary for the role.
- Employer taxes and statutory costs (e.g. employer NI / payroll taxes, pension contributions).
- Benefits — healthcare, leave, bonuses, and other perks.
- Recruitment and turnover — agency fees, hiring time, and the cost of re-hiring when someone leaves.
- Onboarding and training — time to productivity, plus ongoing development.
- Management overhead — the supervisor time spent managing the role.
- Software and equipment — licences, hardware, and tools.
- Workspace — desk, office space, and utilities (where applicable).
Step 2 — Get an all-in outsourced cost
Then compare against a genuinely all-in outsourced quote — one that names what is included (recruitment, training, management, QA, reporting, workspace, and software the provider supplies) and what, if anything, sits outside it. Beware quotes that look cheap because they exclude things you will still have to pay for. Our BPO pricing models guide explains how to read and compare quotes fairly.
Step 3 — Count the costs of change (on the outsourcing side)
A fair business case does not pretend outsourcing is free to set up. Add the realistic one-off and ongoing costs of making the change:
- Transition and onboarding — the time to document processes and train the team (typically weeks, not months).
- Your oversight — the management effort to run the relationship (lower with a provider that reports well and assigns an account manager).
- Integration and tooling — any system access, licences, or integration work.
- Change management — internal communication and adjustment.
A worked comparison framework
Put the two sides next to each other. The illustrative structure below is the shape of the calculation — fill it with your own figures rather than ours:
| Cost element | In-house (fully loaded) | Outsourced (all-in) |
|---|---|---|
| Base pay / service fee | Salary | Provider fee |
| Employer taxes & pension | Add ~15–30% | Included in fee |
| Benefits | Add | Included in fee |
| Recruitment & turnover | Add | Provider absorbs |
| Training & onboarding | Add | Included in fee |
| Management overhead | Add | Reduced (account manager + reporting) |
| Software & workspace | Add | Often provider-supplied |
| Transition (one-off) | — | Add |
| Your oversight | Included above | Add (modest) |
The point of laying it out this way is not to force a conclusion — it is to make sure you are comparing the real total on each side, so whatever number you land on is honest and holds up to scrutiny.
Want us to build this comparison with your actual roles and volumes? Book a call and we'll put real numbers in the template — no obligation.
Get a costed comparisonBeyond cost: the value that does not show up in the salary line
Cost is only half the business case. The other half is value released, which is real even though it is harder to put a single number on:
- Senior time redirected — every hour a director or manager spends on routine work is an hour not spent on strategy, clients, or growth.
- Speed and capacity — clearing backlogs, faster turnaround, and the ability to scale up or down without a hiring cycle.
- Reduced key-person risk — documented processes and team-based delivery instead of dependence on one individual.
- Coverage — extended or overlapping hours that an in-house hire cannot provide alone.
An honest note on savings claims
We will not tell you outsourcing is guaranteed to cut your costs by a fixed amount, because that depends on your numbers and we have not seen them yet. What we will do is build the comparison with you using your real roles and volumes, show our assumptions, and let the figures speak. If the case is not compelling, you should not do it — and we would rather tell you that than win an engagement that does not work for you. That is also why it is worth reading our guides on managing the risks and SLAs before you decide.
Your business-case checklist
- Have you used the fully-loaded in-house cost, not just salary?
- Is the outsourced quote genuinely all-in, with inclusions named?
- Have you added transition and oversight costs to the outsourcing side?
- Have you counted recruitment, turnover, and management on the in-house side?
- Have you valued the senior time and capacity the change releases?
- Have you assessed quality and risk alongside cost, not after it?
- Does your model cover a realistic period (12 months) rather than a single month?
