Outsourcing is the hiring of a specialist by a company to do a specific job for the duration of a contract. When a business does not have the in-house staff to provide a certain service, it often goes outside the company and contracts a specialist. Other times, a company will hire a specialty firm to handle individual actions like payroll. These positions range from remedial labour to highly skilled specialties.
While most of the work that is outsourced involves a single service such as custodial work, data entry, freelance writing or web design, there are instances where an entire project will be contracted out.
Outsourcing is often used for call enters, data entry, accounting and janitorial services. These contractual positions have fewer benefits than normal jobs and usually pay by the hour. Pay rates depend entirely on the service being provided but tend to follow standard industry rates for similar work.