Why Corpshore

Pricing and engagement models

There is no single right way to buy outsourcing, only the model that fits the shape of your work. This page sets out the five ways to engage us, the commercial mechanics of each and, just as important, what each one does not suit.

Corpshore offers five engagement models: a dedicated team, a managed service against service levels, output-based pricing per unit, staff augmentation under your direction, and a hybrid that blends models and Canadian and global-network delivery under one contract. Each has clear commercial mechanics and clear limits, and we match the model to the work rather than sell one shape to every buyer.

Match the model to the work

The most common pricing mistake is choosing a model for how it sounds rather than for how the work behaves. Stable, ongoing work that benefits from continuity wants a dedicated team. A whole function you want off your plate wants a managed service. Standardisable, measurable, variable-volume work wants output-based pricing. A defined skills gap you will manage yourself wants staff augmentation. And most real engagements, being a mix of these, want a hybrid.

We do not have a preferred model to steer you toward. The commercial mechanics of each are set out plainly below, along with what each does not suit, because a model applied to the wrong work costs both sides money and goodwill. The verified cost picture holds across the models: against building and running the same team in house, clients typically see cost reductions of 40 to 75 percent, and 35 to 55 percent on IT roles, once the full employer burden is counted.

The five engagement models

Dedicated team

A ring-fenced team that works only for you, as an extension of your own.

How it works: You pay for a defined team by role and seniority, typically on a monthly basis, and that team is dedicated to your work rather than shared. You set the priorities and the roadmap, and we provide the people, the management, the workspace, the tooling and the service standards around them.
Suits: Ongoing work with a stable or growing volume, where continuity, product knowledge and a team that learns your business over time are worth more than paying only for units of output.
Does not suit: Short, spiky or unpredictable demand where you would be paying for idle capacity between peaks. For that, output-based or staff augmentation fits better.

Managed service

We own an outcome or a function end to end, against agreed service levels.

How it works: You define the outcome and the service levels, and we take accountability for delivering them: the process, the staffing, the quality assurance and the reporting are ours. Pricing is tied to the scope and the service levels rather than to a headcount you manage.
Suits: A whole function or process you want off your plate, where you care about the result and the service levels rather than directing the day-to-day work yourself.
Does not suit: Work that is still being defined week to week, or where you want direct control of each person's tasks. A managed service needs a stable enough scope to hold a service level against.

Output-based

You pay per unit of completed work rather than for time or headcount.

How it works: Pricing is per unit, such as per ticket, per record, per transaction or per completed item, against a defined quality standard. You pay for what is produced, and the capacity flexes with your volume rather than sitting fixed.
Suits: Standardisable, measurable work with clear units and clear quality criteria, and volume that rises and falls, where paying for output rather than time aligns cost with value.
Does not suit: Judgment-heavy or bespoke work that resists clean unit definition, or work where quality is hard to measure per item. Forcing a unit price onto it creates friction rather than clarity.

Staff augmentation

Named individuals join your team under your direction, for a defined period.

How it works: You bring in specific people, by skill and seniority, to work under your management and inside your processes, usually on a time basis for a defined period. We source, employ and support them; you direct the work.
Suits: A defined skills gap or a time-boxed need where you want to manage the work yourself and simply need capable people quickly, such as adding developers for a release.
Does not suit: Cases where you want us to own the outcome and the quality rather than supply people to manage. If you do not want the management overhead, a managed or output-based model fits better.

Hybrid

A blend of the models and of Canadian and global-network delivery, under one contract.

How it works: Different parts of the work sit under the model and the location that fit them: a dedicated Canadian core for sensitive work, output-based or offshore capacity for high volume work, all under one contract, one account team and one governance framework.
Suits: Most real engagements of any size, where the work is not uniform and different pieces genuinely belong under different models and in different places.
Does not suit: A small, single, uniform need that one clean model covers on its own. A hybrid adds coordination value only when the work is genuinely mixed.

Onboarding and ramp

Whichever model you choose, the ramp is quicker than most buyers expect. Teams of one to ten are typically live within 5 to 15 business days of contract signature, and larger deployments of 20 to 100 within 3 to 6 weeks. The timeline depends on the complexity of the work, the systems access required and the language mix, and we commit to a dated plan during scoping rather than a general promise. The service standards behind the ramp are the same across models: a 6 hour response window on client requests, 99.9 percent operational uptime and a 97 percent client satisfaction rate.

How to choose

If you are unsure, start from the work rather than the model. Is the volume stable or spiky. Do you want to own the outcome or direct the people. Can the work be defined in clean, measurable units. Does data residency or sensitivity pull part of it into Canada. Answer those and the model usually chooses itself, and often the honest answer is a hybrid that puts each piece where it belongs. We will map it with you and tell you where a simpler single model would serve you better than a blend.

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Frequently asked questions

Which engagement model is cheapest?

There is no single cheapest model, only the one that fits the work. Output-based pricing aligns cost with volume for standardisable work, a dedicated team is efficient for stable ongoing demand, and a hybrid captures offshore economics where they apply. Against building in house, clients typically save 40 to 75 percent, and 35 to 55 percent on IT, across the models once the full employer burden is counted.

What is the difference between a dedicated team and staff augmentation?

A dedicated team is ring-fenced for your work with our management, workspace and service standards around it, and we run it. Staff augmentation places named individuals under your direction and inside your processes, and you manage the work. Choose a dedicated team when you want a managed capability, augmentation when you want capable people to direct yourself.

When does output-based pricing not work?

When the work is judgment-heavy or bespoke and resists clean unit definition, or where quality is hard to measure per item. Output-based pricing needs clear units and clear quality criteria to align cost with value. For work that does not decompose into units, a dedicated team or managed service is a better fit.

What does a managed service actually cover?

In a managed service we own an outcome or a function end to end against agreed service levels. The process, staffing, quality assurance and reporting are ours, and pricing is tied to the scope and service levels rather than a headcount you manage. It suits a whole function you want off your plate, provided the scope is stable enough to hold a service level against.

Can we combine models in one contract?

Yes, that is the hybrid model. Different parts of the work sit under the model and the location that fit them: a dedicated Canadian core for sensitive work, output-based or offshore capacity for high volume work, all under one contract, one account team and one governance framework. It adds value when the work is genuinely mixed rather than a single uniform need.

How quickly can we go live once we pick a model?

Teams of one to ten are typically live within 5 to 15 business days of signature, and deployments of 20 to 100 within 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the complexity of the work, the systems access and the language mix. We commit to a dated plan during scoping, backed by a 6 hour response window, 99.9 percent uptime and a 97 percent satisfaction rate.

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