Could co-sourcing be the right solution for your organisation?

Various terms are being used in today’s business world, centred around the word “sourcing”, one of them being “co-sourcing” – but what does it really mean? The most commonly used definition is the following: "Co-sourcing combines the advantages of outsourcing and insourcing as it provides access to external expertise without having to completely give up internal control over processes.”

In simple terms, co-sourcing involves the outsourcing of certain roles that an organisation does not want to completely allocate to an external provider. This normally covers a period of between six months to a year and ensures that the organisation retains control over the work performed.

In reality, an external provider would provide an organisation or client with a resource with specific expertise, which would perform certain tasks under the day-to-day guidance of the organisation.

From Alter Domus’ perspective, co-sourcing services provides clients with a range of in-house, flexible and competent individuals and teams according to the client’s needs. Those individuals would be normally based at the client offices and work for the client during this stipulated period whilst still retaining ties to Alter Domus.

A couple of questions may come to mind, including:

• Why an organisation would not want to recruit and train their own resource, instead of “co-sourcing” from an external provider?
• Why an organisation would not want to fully outsource the service, to save time on day-to-day guidance of the individual?

First things first.

• By opting for co-sourcing instead of recruiting an in-house resource, organisations benefit from cost and time savings, related to both recruiting and training. These are important considerations, bearing in mind that projects tend to be short term and the resource is often required at short notice too. Recruitment for technical positions is particularly challenging, hence resource from an external provider, working under the guidance of the organisation is often the right answer.
• Organisations may prefer co-sourcing over full outsourcing in order to retain control over the work being carried out. When opting for co-sourcing, tasks can be adjusted as the work is being performed depending on progress and other factors, as long as they are within the capabilities of the individual. Full outsourcing involves specific scope and thus takes longer to agree on. Also, it normally lasts over a longer period of time. 


To summarise, the choice depends on specific circumstances that the organisation is facing in a particular period of time. Co-sourcing is especially useful in situations where organisations are facing pressures around having adequate resources, which can include

1. Peak periods of work within an organisation’s yearly cycle
2. Specific projects
3. Employees on maternity leave
4. Long-term sickness
5. Cases of departure during business growth 


The above list is not exhaustive and with such challenges often unforeseen, organisations may be left with an immediate and critical resource issue. Co-sourcing guarantees business continuity, an essential prerequisite in today’s fast-paced and competitive world, where falling behind on certain action plans due to under resourced teams can have a huge impact on business revenues, even in the long-term. 


Alter Domus’ co-sourcing services offer professional, well trained and flexible staff who have experience in administration, accounting, company secretarial work and other services that Alter Domus provides. Clients also benefit from the fact that the co-sourced staff will have access to the Alter Domus’ wealth of knowledge and support. 


Alter Domus’ co-sourcing services includes employees from a junior level up to a senior manager and a typical co-sourcing agreement would last anywhere between one to twelve months. The arrangements vary from staff being available to clients daily to a couple of days a week depending on client needs.

Interested parties should please contact Przemyslaw Koger, Director at Alter Domus Malta on +356 22051093.

Sponsored by Przemyslaw Koger, Alter Domus

Przemyslaw is a Director based in Malta, where he is the head of Relationship Management. He joined Alter Domus in November 2013 after a solid career at PwC. Before moving to Malta, Przemyslaw, was Head of Depositary and Corporate Services at the Alter Domus London Office. He has over 12 years’ experience in financial services and is an FCA authorised person. He also sits on the boards of asset holding and other companies for a range of Private Equity and Real Estate clients. Prior to joining Alter Domus, Przemyslaw was part of the asset management assurance practice of PwC where he managed audits of an extensive portfolio of private equity and real estate clients as well as traditional asset managers. He has significant and diverse experience in the financial services sector and during his career was involved in controls assurance work, new fund launches, valuations and review of incentive schemes. Przemyslaw also has strong technical knowledge of IFRS, UK GAAP, UK Listing Rules, FCA requirements and regulatory framework in the UK. Przemyslaw qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC and has a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics. Przemyslaw speaks English and Polish

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