Why Talent-as-a-Service Wins Against Outsourcing – TechArena 2025 Recap

From Feb 18–21, 2025, Krystian Kotynia and Kacper Klich (Account Delivery Manager and Relationship Manager at Relout) joined TechArena in Stockholm – one of the top tech events in the Nordics. We went to represent Relout, meet new people, exchange ideas, and talk about how we approach Talent Acquisition & Management.

What is Talent-as-a-service (TaaS)?

Relout’s Talent as a Service (TaaS) helps you build a strong, reliable team that fits your exact needs. We do this by focusing on our unique talent management approach and by working closely with you.

TaaS is a complete process:

1. Finding the Right People (Talent Acquisition)
   
   When recruiting, we have one goal: to pinpoint the perfect fit. Our process involves a deep-dive analysis with your engineers, VPs, and C-levels to better understand who your company is looking for. Then, our HR and tech people work together to assess how well the candidate’s soft skills and values align with your team’s culture. Additionally, you can get video introductions from candidates to get a real feel for them upfront. We tap into our exclusive talent pool in Poland – a hub for top IT specialists – and excel at recruiting even for the toughest roles, including senior leaders.
   
   
2. Nurturing Your Team (Talent Management)
   
   We help you build and keep effective teams – we maximize everyone’s potential:
   • Performance Monitoring: Real-time eye on performance, so we can quickly address any issues.
   • Continuous Learning: Each team member gets a yearly training budget. We also foster internal communities (like our DevOps Community) and forums.
   • Growth Programs: Training for leaders and self-development programs for engineers.
   • Regular Reviews: NPS/CSAT-driven performance reviews.
     
     
3. Seamless Partnership (Account Management)
   
   We make sure collaboration is smooth you’re satisfied through constant communication (Teams/Slack), regular onsite visits to your EU headquarters, and consistent client feedback collection.

Krystian and Kacper at TechArena 2025

Our goals for TechArena 2025

At TechArena, we aimed to:

• Build new business relationships and connect with companies looking for smart talent outsourcing,
• Spot the latest IT trends, especially employment models and client expectations,
• Showcase our Talent-as-a-Service (TaaS) model – it’s much more than just typical body leasing,
• Catch up with everyone, from current clients to future partners, because relationships are at the heart of everything we do.

Key Takeaways and What We Learned

Here are four observations we made at the conference:

I. Market Full of Candidates – But Not Experts

Companies today don’t struggle with the number of applicants – they struggle to find qualified specialists. During conversations, it soon turned out that for many businesses quality in recruitment now matters more than speed. That’s why our recruitment model stands out:

• We technically verify every candidate before presenting them to a client.
• We go beyond CVs – we match candidates based on organizational culture, company values, and long-term fit.
• We create a detailed Talent Briefing – we define the ideal candidate profile together with the client, and don’t just rely on keyword searches in résumés.

II. Outsourcing Isn’t Enough – Clients Want Real Value

Basic body leasing no longer meets client expectations. They now demand ongoing support after hiring and more control over performance. Our Talent-as-a-Service (TaaS) offering is designed to meet those needs:

• We don’t disappear after delivering talent – we maintain constant communication and seek feedback.
• We offer performance reviews to monitor specialist effectiveness and quality.
• Our model isn’t just staffing. Here, the key is continuous advisory and optimization of cooperation.

III. Recruitment Is About the Right Fit – Technically, but Especially Culturally

For many companies, cultural fit is as important as technical skills. That’s why:

• We don’t recruit just to fill a role quickly – our process is designed for long-term value.
• We work with companies of all sizes – from startups to large organizations – and tailor our approach to their needs.
• A well-matched specialist means greater client success, lower attrition, and a more stable team.

IV. Trust Is the Key in This Industry

Choosing to work with an external IT provider is a strategic decision for any company. In-person meetings in Stockholm showed how important trust is in the decision-making process.

• Relationships are built face-to-face – conversations at TechArena were often (we hope) the first step toward long-term partnerships.
• Outsourcing, especially in the TaaS model, requires full transparency and true partnership – and that’s what our contacts appreciated most.
• We’re not just another staffing firm – we’re a consultative partner focused on our clients’ long-term success.

Summary and What’s Next

TechArena 2025 confirmed what we already knew: the IT market is constantly changing, and companies need to adjust their recruitment strategies to stay competitive. Our time at the event once again confirmed that Talent-as-a-Service is a model that just makes sense – and that Relout offers a unique approach that genuinely helps companies build strong teams.

We’re already continuing those important conversations, putting the lessons learned into practice, and getting ready for new initiatives. All of this will help us support our clients even better with their toughest recruitment challenges.

Check another conference report from us: SRECon 2024: What We Took Away from Dublin