If you outsource back-office work and pay per head or per hour, your contract was priced for a world where the provider needed people to do the work. That world is changing fast. The largest providers are moving away from per-head pricing, writing down parts of their old businesses and cutting growth forecasts because AI lowers the cost of delivery. Under a per-FTE contract, that saving stays with the provider. Your next renewal is the moment to move it to you.
What the providers are telling their investors
The signals this year came from the providers themselves:
- Genpact said in its August earnings call that revenue not priced per head had passed half its total for the first time. It expected to book more than $1 billion in agentic contract value in 2026, about five times the 2025 level, and is moving away from commoditized contact-center work.
- Concentrix reported third-quarter revenue of $2.45 billion, down 1.2% on a year earlier, and took a $1.05 billion goodwill impairment, which it put down mainly to its share price. Its CEO said the company is "aggressively disrupting our own traditional business."
- Infosys cut its fiscal 2027 revenue growth forecast to 1% to 2%, from 1.5% to 3%, in October. Analysts quoted by Reuters pointed to pricing pressure from competition and from clients demanding AI-driven productivity gains.
Buyers are moving too. In an HFS Research survey of more than 500 executives, outcome-based contracts were expected to grow from 20% to 39% of the mix over three years, while per-FTE contracts fall from 42% to 28%.
Why per-head pricing now works against you
Under a per-FTE contract you pay for capacity, not results. If the provider uses AI to do the same volume with fewer people, three things can happen:
- They keep billing the same headcount, and the margin goes to them.
- They cut the headcount and pass on a discount, but you have no evidence of what changed or how quality is checked.
- They move you to a new pricing model on their terms.
None of these is good for you by default. The fix is to change what you buy: the transaction or the outcome, not the seat.
What to ask at renewal
- Where is AI already in the work? Ask the provider to list, process by process, what is automated, what is AI-assisted and what is manual today. If they cannot say, that tells you something.
- What does one transaction cost? Ask for a unit price per invoice processed, order entered or case completed, and compare it with your current per-head cost divided by volume.
- What counts as done? Write an outcome definition for each unit, with the evidence required. See how to write an outcome definition.
- Can we see the record? For any billed item you should be able to see the inputs, the steps taken, who or what took them and who approved the result.
- Who carries the error? Rework, credit notes and missed deadlines caused by the provider should be on the provider, whether a person or an agent made the mistake.
- How are savings shared? If the provider automates more during the term, the unit price should step down, or you should share the gain.
- Can we leave cleanly? Shorter terms, transition support and ownership of your process documentation and data.
Do not just ask for a discount
A flat percentage off a per-head contract is the easiest thing for a provider to offer and the least useful thing to accept. It leaves you paying for capacity with no evidence of results, and it resets at the next renewal. A unit or outcome price with written definitions and evidence changes the relationship.
Where we fit
Agentic MSP was built to be bought this way. We run back-office processes with AI agents and a trained exception desk, price per verified transaction or on a capped share of verified gains, and record every outcome in the Evidence File. If you are coming up to an outsourcing renewal, a Business Process Workshop gives you a baseline from your own systems to negotiate with, whoever you choose.