Your client base is expanding, but not your staffing budget. Each additional project demands the addition of more engineers, analysts, or operators; each additional staff member increases costs through salaries and benefits, and each additional staff member takes months to make. White-labeled teams present another approach. They enable US firms to increase their skilled personnel under their own label, without increasing their headcount. This article outlines what a white-labeled team entails, how it works, how it costs in management hours, and how to determine if one fits your firm.
What is a white-labeled team?
A white-labeled team refers to a professional workforce that works under your company’s brand while being employed and managed by an external partner.
As far as your clients are concerned, this team is no different from your company’s team. In terms of communication, they will communicate using your email domain, Slack channels, procedures, and will be named after your brand for all deliverables. Meanwhile, the external partner will be responsible for hiring, paying salaries, managing the Human Resources department, providing necessary equipment, and managing the team on a daily basis.
This concept is rooted in manufacturing when a product is made by one company and then sold under another brand. The same principles are applied to the workforce now. Today, digital agencies, software companies, consulting firms, and startups utilize white-labeled teams in order to do more work without building all necessary capabilities internally.
A white-labeled team is not a freelance marketplace and is not just a vendor of projects. White-labeled team remains constant in its commitment to your company and learns its clients’ needs and requirements.
How does a white-labeled team work day to day?
The white-labeling partner team functions within your tools and scheduling systems, whereas the partner itself operates the people who make up the team. The process consists of three major steps.
1. Determine the scope of engagement
It means defining the roles, the tools, system access, quality metrics, and criteria of success for you, and the partner recruits and screens the professionals according to those requirements, making sure everyone is aligned with your work.
2. Start working under your brand
After launching the team, the professionals will log into your project management tool, attend your standups, and deliver the results under your brand. Your customers see one and only one company.
3. Manage and report
The partner acts in the background, while the account manager handles the team, tracking its attendance and performance, replacing the team members if any of them leave. Weekly reporting includes progress updates, priorities, risks, and decisions.
The separation of responsibilities is clear. You set the priorities and approve the results, while the partner ensures proper staffing and training of the team members.
How is a white-labeled team different from hiring in-house?
The main difference is who carries the employment burden: with in-house hiring, you do, and with a white-labeled team, your partner does.
Here is how the two compare side by side:
| Factor | In-house hiring | White-labeled team |
| Time to start | Months of recruiting | Shorter, once the scope is agreed |
| Who employs the team | Your company | The partner |
| Costs you carry | Salary, benefits, payroll taxes, equipment, office space | One predictable fee |
| When someone leaves | You restart the search | The partner replaces them |
| Scaling up or down | Slow, with layoff risk | Flexible, based on workload |
| Daily HR management | You | The partner |
| Brand your clients see | Yours | Yours |
The only thing that remains constant is the experience that your clients receive. Your team works for your organization, operates according to your processes, and concentrates exclusively on your accounts.
There is always a true trade-off. You lose some level of control over HR matters, and your success relies on the quality of your partner. Therefore, it makes sense to select a partner with screening, ownership, and reporting processes.
How do white-labeled teams help you grow without increasing headcount?
White-labeled teams give you the extra capacity without adding any personnel to your payroll; therefore, your production increases without a proportional rise in staff numbers.
It is important, as nowadays many American companies have to deal with hiring freezes, board pressures on their payroll, or investors who carefully observe each addition to payroll. At the same time, your clients still require more rapid deliveries and additional services. White-labeled team helps solve this problem in three ways.
- You will be able to take up additional projects. The increase in capacity means that you can accept more complex projects and new clients without having a lengthy process of recruitment.
- You can scale your team without hiring anyone. You can hire extra personnel during a peak period and release them after the project is completed.
- You can experiment with your services. You can try to introduce data or content-related services through a small pod without hiring any personnel.
At the same time, your main staff stop wasting their valuable time on recruitment and administrative tasks.
What roles can a white label development team cover?
A white label development team will have people for all technical roles – from frontend and backend development through QA, DevOps, and product support.
Technical roles
This combination of a development agency and a software house is the most frequent one. A development agency will include pods of developers for website and application development for its clients. A software house will add QA engineers and developers to support its release cycle.
Business functions beyond coding
A white label team is not limited to coding. It is applicable across different business functions, such as:
- Operations: coordination of processes and delivery control
- Finance operations: reconciliations, reporting, and controls
- Data operations: data quality, data enrichment, and governance
- Content operations: content production, content review, and content publishing
- Go-to-market execution: research, campaigns, and sales enablement
The key requirement here is the clarity and measurability of the work that needs to be done. If you can describe the desired outcome in writing, your white-label team can probably deliver it. Strategy and pricing should be decided in-house.
How do you keep a white label offshore team aligned with US hours?
You stay on top of the white label offshore team by scheduling a dedicated daily overlap period and recording each transition.
The difference in time zones is the first challenge faced by most US customers. The Indian Standard Time is ahead of US Eastern time by nine and a half to ten and a half hours, depending on daylight saving time.
Schedule a daily overlap period
A well-managed Bangalore team adjusts its schedule to provide an overlapping period during your morning time. Use the overlapping period for stand-ups, reviews, and decision-making, not tasks that can be performed separately.
Write a coverage plan
Having a written coverage plan ensures all parties are in agreement. A coverage plan includes:
- Overlap hours
- Transitions between team members
- Meeting hours
- Availability backup
Perform asynchronously outside the overlap period
Outside the overlap period, the team works based on hand-off notes, a task board, and a decision log. There is also an added bonus in this arrangement. Work is carried out while your US office is asleep; therefore, you wake up with some tasks completed.
What should you agree on before a white-labeled team starts?
Prior to any white-labeling arrangement, ensure that there are written agreements on scope, IP ownership, confidentiality, brand guidelines, and team management.
Since your name is on the team members’ work, gaps in the contract may turn into significant issues in the future. Consider these factors first:
- IP ownership. Work product is not assigned to you automatically. You need to make sure that everything is covered by your contract – from code to content and deliverables.
- Confidentiality. It is necessary for each member to sign the NDA as they will get access to your clients’ information.
- Access controls. Establish what tools the person may use, their access permissions, and how they will be taken off the tools once leaving.
- Brand guidelines. Discuss with your vendor how the team will present themselves via email signatures and introductions, as well as how the clients will perceive them.
- Replacement terms. Define how fast the partner will replace a team member and transfer his/her knowledge.
- Reporting and escalation. Determine reporting requirements, frequency, and escalation policy, including whom to contact if there is something wrong.
What mistakes should you avoid with a white-labeled team?
The biggest mistake is thinking that a white-labeled team is a vendor you can forget about after signing a contract.
The team operates with your company’s name; therefore, the quality of their work will reflect on your organization all the time. There are several more frequent mistakes related to working with a white-labeled team:
- Unclear scope of work. In case the roles and quality criteria are not specified, then the team members assume what to do, and the results require rework.
- No internal owner who prioritizes and approves the output.
- Poor onboarding. No proper preparation in the first week results in delays later.
- Judging by the rate only. The lowest quote does not necessarily mean proper screening and no management layer.
- Tracking the wrong metrics. Hours spent tell nothing. Track output quality, turnaround time, and the need for rework instead.
- Neglecting the exit strategy. Without proper documentation, the knowledge goes away together with the team.
All these mistakes are very easy to avoid. Just treat the team as your employees and review the work of the team regularly.
How do you know if a white-labeled team is right for your company?
White-labeled teams are a good choice when your demand is predictable, process-driven, and when you need more output with your branding.
Indicators that it is a good match
- Your agency or services firm is refusing work due to a lack of capacity
- There is a hiring freeze in place, yet your backlog continues to grow
- This is recurring work that can be written down
- There is someone at your organization who can prioritize and assess output
Indicators that it is not a good match
- Work is highly variable each day
- The project has a highly sensitive strategic nature
- There is no owner or sponsor for this work inside your organization
Start small
It’s the most foolproof way to make a decision:
- Begin with one pod and one deliverable
- Make sure it has an end date
- Assess the speed of creation of valuable output
- Count the number of deliverables’ reworks
If the results stand the test, then scale accordingly. Scoping call with Skilligent will help you figure out the right pod size and roles.
Conclusion
Growth traditionally involved hiring more staff. Now, US organizations have an alternative through white-labeled teams – extra capacity offered in-house and on your terms, with no additions to your headcount.
For the best results, certain elements must be put in order. Document the scope of the engagement. Make all necessary arrangements regarding IP, confidentiality, and branding before work starts. Schedule a daily period of overlap within US working hours and get weekly reports to keep track of progress.
If it is done right, a white-label development team or operations squad will become an integral part of your business. You will deliver consistently high-quality products to your customers while freeing up your internal team for strategic thinking.
As a Bangalore talent partner, Skilligent builds every offshore team for US companies around screened talent, US-hours overlap, and weekly reporting. When you are ready to grow without increasing your headcount, Skilligent can help you build the team.
FAQs
1. Do clients know a white-labeled team is involved?
Unless you choose to share that information. The group will operate using your branding, email domain, and processes. While disclosure is up to you, do check your existing client contracts first, since some may require you to name your subcontractors and/or processing location.
2. Who owns the work produced by a white-labeled team?
You should, but only if your contract says so. Ownership is not automatic. Have a clause stating that everything is assigned to your firm. This becomes especially important since it is your brand name that will be associated with this product.
3. Is a white-labeled team cheaper than hiring in-house?
Often, yes, once you count the full cost. In-house hiring requires extra time spent on hiring, benefits, taxes, hardware, and attrition. White-labeled staffing costs one consistent fee. Consider the full price of delivery, not the hourly rate alone.
4. How quickly can a white-labeled team start?
It is dependent upon the nature of the role and the number of people on the team. Time is mostly spent on scoping and screening, not on administration. Having a clear briefing will make this faster. As soon as the team starts, the first week will be about accessing and onboarding.
5. Can a white-labeled team be scaled up or down?
Yes. Flexibility is a major advantage of the adoption of the approach by firms. People can be added if there is an increase in demand and removed after completion of the project. Notice periods to facilitate scaling must be agreed upon in the contract.
6. What is the difference between a white-label team and staff augmentation?
Staff augmentation involves people who get integrated into your team and report to your managers. White-labeling involves a complete team that works under your brand, but it is managed by the partner. Staff augmentation involves hands, while white-labeling involves a managed team.
7. Are white-labeled teams only for software development?
No. The most common application of the model is in development, but the model is applicable in almost any business activity that has been well defined and can be repeatedly performed. Businesses also use white-labeled teams for finance activities, data activities, content creation, operational activities, and go-to-market activities.
8. How do you protect client data with a white label offshore team?
Control access to the data prior to beginning the work. Limit access to only what is necessary for the individual, sign the NDA, and use your own processes instead of the partner’s processes. It should be easy to revoke access if the individual leaves the company.
9. How does Skilligent set up white-labeled teams?
The Skilligent process takes place in four phases: scope, assemble, launch & manage, and report & improve. The teams are selected and pre-screened in Bangalore, set up to coincide with US work hours, and led by an individual account lead. You get a weekly operational report.
