Alternative
The staffing-agency alternative
Hiring in-house is slow and fixed-cost. A staffing agency, BPO, or VA firm rents you people whose ramp and quality you don’t control. For the repetitive, high-volume work, there is a third option: Installed AI — Bardo builds and runs a production agent that does the job 24/7, in 4–8 weeks, with no headcount to manage and no contract to chase.
Three ways to get the work done
Hire, outsource, or install
| Hire in-house | Staffing / BPO / VA | Installed AI (Bardo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost shape | Salary + benefits, fixed | Hourly or per-seat, scales with volume | Scoped engagement, priced to outcome |
| Time to working | Weeks to months to hire and ramp | Days to weeks, plus ramp | 4–8 weeks, then it runs |
| Who controls quality | You, directly | The vendor | You — built around your process |
| Coverage | Business hours, minus PTO | Whatever the contract covers | 24/7, built in |
| Scaling up | Hire more people | Add more seats | The agent absorbs the volume |
| Turnover | You re-hire and re-ramp | Churn you don't see | None — it's a system |
| Who manages it | You manage the people | You manage the vendor | Bardo runs it for you |
| Best for | Judgment and ownership | Surge and overflow | Repetitive, high-volume work, done for you |
Be honest about the fit
When a person is still the right call
Hire in-house
When the work needs judgment, ownership, and relationships, and you want the capability permanently on your team.
Outsource / staffing
For genuine surge and overflow, or short-term capacity you don't want to build or automate.
Install an agent
For the repetitive, high-volume, rules-based work that drains a team — done for you, 24/7, so your people focus on what needs a human.
See it by role