Five ways to fill the same role. Here is what actually separates them.
Managed staffing recruits, employs and supports a dedicated person you manage yourself. An employer of record only employs someone you already found. BPO runs a whole process with its own supervised staff. Freelance marketplaces supply contractors for short tasks. Direct hiring gives full control but needs a local entity and a longer, costlier recruitment cycle.
| Dimension | Managed staffing (Sprint Labs) | Employer of record | BPO / outsourcing | Freelance marketplace | Direct in-house hire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal employer | Sprint Labs | The EOR provider | The BPO vendor | Nobody — self-employed | You (local entity required) |
| Who you recruit with | Sprint Labs recruits and shortlists | You recruit; EOR papers the hire | Vendor assigns from a pool | You search the marketplace | Your own hiring team |
| Who directs daily work | You | You | The vendor's team lead | You, loosely | You |
| Cost structure | One monthly fee per person | Salary + per-employee EOR fee | Per seat, per hour or per output | Hourly or per project | Salary + on-costs + overhead |
| Typical time to hire | 2–4 weeks | 4–10 weeks (you source) | 2–6 weeks | Days | 2–4 months |
| Compliance owner | Sprint Labs | The EOR provider | The vendor | You (misclassification risk) | You |
| Continuity | Named long-term employees | Named long-term employees | Rotating resource pool | Low — freelancers churn | High |
| Best fit | Ongoing roles you want to manage yourself | You already found the person | Standardised, high-volume process work | Short, well-scoped tasks | Core roles in a market you operate in |
Send us the role and the hours you need covered. We will tell you plainly if managed staffing is the wrong model for it — and get you a shortlist with all-in monthly costs if it is the right one.