As the demand for IT skills rapidly evolves: professional services keep companies agile

In a labor market under structural pressure, building a resilient workforce is not a luxury but a necessity. “We see organizations increasingly looking for ways to respond swiftly and flexibly,” says Mick Brekoo, Business Unit Lead Professional Services at Inetum. “That is where professional services come into play.” This type of service is not new, but it is more relevant than ever.

The concept is straightforward: companies temporarily bring in one or more external experts to accelerate a project, fill a gap in internal expertise, or relieve their in-house team. Several staffing models are possible, and Inetum tailors these as closely as possible to each company’s specific needs. “We focus on bridging knowledge or capacity gaps, ranging from several months to sometimes even multiple years,” explains Mick Brekoo. “You could compare it to interim work or pure outsourcing, but in the IT world companies view it more as the deliberate deployment of people with specific technological expertise.”

Strategic framework for workforce solutions

Organizations – especially knowledge-driven departments like IT – often (consciously or unconsciously) apply a workforce strategy built around four pillars: buy, borrow, build, and bridge. ‘Buy’ refers to hiring permanent employees, ‘borrow’ to bringing in external staff through consultancy or secondment, ‘build’ to training or reskilling internal staff, and ‘bridge’ to temporarily using external support while internal teams are upskilled or restructured. As is often the case, the optimal solution lies in combining these strategies. “We support companies not only in analyzing and designing their approach, but also in the build and run of their capacity needs,” says Mick Brekoo. “We help them make the right call: what should be developed internally, and where does external support make more sense?”

From single sourcing to managed staffing

Inetum translates this framework into a concrete offering, adapted to the organization’s situation. A company needing one specific expert for a clearly defined task can rely on single sourcing. Those facing broader needs, such as suddenly expanding their IT team or accelerating multiple projects at once, benefit from volume staffing. For organizations aiming to build a complete functional team within their own department, Inetum provides team staffing. And for those wanting to outsource resource management as well – including planning, leave management, and quality monitoring – managed staffing is the solution. “In that case, we also provide back-ups, monthly reporting, and clear agreements based on predefined KPIs,” explains Mick Brekoo. “For companies that want to move quickly without losing control, this is a particularly comfortable solution.”

A matter of time and cost

Although external staffing may initially appear more expensive than direct hiring, practice often shows otherwise. When considering the total cost of employment (including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, absenteeism, and turnover), temporary hiring often proves equally efficient. Moreover, companies gain time – and thus a competitive advantage. Mick Brekoo: “Think of a project that stalls because a vacancy remains unfilled, or internal employees becoming overloaded. Companies rely on our profiles to remove that time pressure while simultaneously bringing in knowledge.”

Inetum provides a rapid solution backed by a global network of 21 Shared Service Centers across 13 countries, both nearshore and offshore. This approach builds on proven methodologies and frameworks, ensuring scalability and quality, while keeping costs under control.

Especially in fast-changing domains such as AI, cybersecurity, or cloud, it is not always wise to develop all expertise in-house. “By the time your people are retrained, the project may already be outdated,” stresses Mick Brekoo. “We bring in experts and ensure the project keeps moving forward.” Staffing, moreover, need not be the end goal. Increasingly, it acts as a steppingstone toward broader transformation. “We see companies that, through temporary reinforcement, evolve toward nearshore operations, a managed services approach, or even full application modernization. In that sense, staffing becomes a lever for change.”

Building a future-proof organization

The practical applications of professional services are diverse. Some companies engage Inetum to temporarily replace employees on parental leave or long-term sick leave. Others use staffing to accelerate urgent projects or fill hard-to-staff expert roles. Still others rely on Inetum to give their internal teams the breathing space for training and development while ensuring day-to-day operations continue.

“In those cases, we reverse the roles,” says Mick Brekoo. “Suppose a company wants to future-proof its team but lacks the time. Then we temporarily step in to handle the ongoing workload while internal staff reorient or reskill.” This can apply at any level and in any domain – from software development to legacy support or digital transformation. Inetum works exclusively with its own employees, selected freelancers, and nearshore teams within the Inetum Group. “We build lasting relationships, both with our own people and with the companies where they are deployed,” concludes Mick Brekoo. “That makes the difference.”

More information?

Curious how to make your organization more agile without compromising on quality or speed? Discover what Inetum’s professional staffing can do for your company and email info.belgium@inetum.com. You can also reach out to your trusted Inetum contact person.