Sri Lanka staffing markup math

Oceans vs Sagan $3,250/month changes the math.

Oceans can be a strong staffing option. The question is simpler: do you want to rent Sri Lanka talent through a recurring markup, or hire the person directly and build a real team?

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Oceans quote
$3,250/mo
One-time fee
$1,500
Annual increase
7%
Oceans model
Default scenario uses the Glassdoor pay-gap datapoint: roughly $1,000/month employee pay against $3,000+ client pricing.
Sagan model
Sagan charges a membership plus a one-time finder's fee. You own the employment relationship.
$40.5K
Year-one Oceans cash cost for one Diver, including equipment fee
$90.9K
Estimated three-year non-salary spend at $1,000/month talent pay
$20.1K
Sagan fees over three years using the same salary assumption
$70.8K
Estimated savings over three years for one hire
The receipts

Oceans tells you the service story. The invoice tells you the model.

The point is not that Oceans provides no support. The point is that support is priced as a permanent staffing layer attached to every person you hire.

Glassdoor pay gap

“Pricing starts at $3,000 USD” while employees get “around $1,000 USD.”

Former Colombo employee review, 2.0 stars, Dec 15, 2025. The same review calls out lack of client-pay transparency, night work, and no raises until after one year.

See Glassdoor review
Glassdoor quote

“Shouldn't be allowed to take this much off its employees.”

SEO/Content Specialist, former employee, Colombo. That is the staffing spread problem in one sentence.

See Glassdoor review
Reddit first person

“USD $800/month” salary. Client would pay Oceans “USD $1,800/month.”

u/mildlyangrygrape in r/srilanka. Lower client price than the current quote, same basic markup pattern.

See Reddit thread
Reddit counterpoint

“$800 net income is nothing to scoff at.”

u/Curious_Junket_4598 argues the pay can still be fair by local-company standards. That does not erase the client-side markup question.

See Reddit thread
Reddit worker risk

One commenter describes a two-year bond and USD-denominated exit costs.

u/nutzstastic also warns that contractor status can reduce local employment protections if the company is not registered in Sri Lanka.

See Reddit thread
Reddit client side

A client-side commenter cites a “3 month $12k contract.”

u/akatz50 says their experience with talent quality and contract enforcement was negative.

See Reddit thread
The balanced version is simple: $800-$1,000/month can still be meaningful pay locally. But if clients are paying $3,000-$3,250/month, the recurring gap is the product. Add the $1,500 equipment fee and 7% annual increase, and the spread compounds.
Talent quality

The best people do not want to be hidden behind a markup forever.

Sri Lanka has serious operators. Treat them like operators. Give them a direct relationship, a clear compensation path, and a company they actually belong to.

Through a staffing agency

×The client relationship belongs to the agency.
×Compensation is abstracted behind one monthly service price.
×Raises, title changes, and long-term growth move through a middle layer.
×Every new hire restarts the per-person recurring margin.
×The person can feel like capacity you rent, not a team member you build with.

As a direct hire

✓The person works for you from day one.
✓You set the salary, bonus path, title, and growth plan.
✓Every salary dollar goes to the team member, not to a staffing spread.
✓You can promote, retain, and invest in the person directly.
✓The strongest candidates get a real job, not an assignment.
Business model

Outsourced staffing versus direct hiring.

Oceans is selling managed staffing. Sagan helps you hire directly, then gets out of the way of the employment relationship.

Oceans

Managed staffing

$3,250/mo

Plus $1,500 equipment fee, 7% annual service increase, upfront term invoicing, and payment penalties in the quote terms.

×Your Diver works through Oceans, not as your direct employee.
×The monthly price stays attached to every person for as long as the engagement runs.
×At the Glassdoor $1,000 pay datapoint, the default gap is $2,250/month.
×Costs increase every year by contract, not by the person's promotion path.
Sagan

Direct-hire membership

$499/mo + fee

$499/month membership plus a one-time finder's fee per hire. You pay salary directly and own the relationship.

✓Your hire becomes your team member, not Sagan's rented capacity.
✓No permanent per-person markup once the person is hired.
✓Membership is flat, so the economics improve as your team grows.
✓Cancel the membership and keep your team. They work for you.
Side by side

How the economics actually compare.

Same underlying idea: global talent. Very different ownership structure.

Oceans Sagan
What is it? Managed staffing.You pay Oceans monthly and the Diver works through Oceans. Direct-hire service.Sagan helps you find the person, then you hire and pay them directly.
Client bill $3,250/monthPlus $1,500 equipment fee and 7% annual service increase. $499/month + one-time finder's feeSalary is paid directly to your hire.
Year-one non-salary cost $28,500Using $1,000/month assumed salary: $40,500 total bill minus $12,000 salary. $8,148$5,988 membership plus $2,160 finder's fee at the same salary assumption.
Year two $29,730 non-salary spend$3,477.50/month after 7% increase minus assumed salary. $5,988Just membership if you are not making another hire.
Three-year non-salary cost $90,881Includes $1,500 equipment fee and two years of compounded service increases. $20,124Membership plus one finder's fee. Savings: about $70.8K for one hire.
Who owns the relationship? Oceans mediates it.Your Diver works exclusively for you through Oceans. You do.The hire is your team member and stays with you.
Scale Every additional Diver adds another monthly service bill. Membership stays flat while you add hires through the same hiring system.
Best fit Companies that want a managed staffing vendor. Companies that want to own the team, the salary path, and the relationship.
Cost calculator

Run the markup math yourself.

Adjust the team size, timeframe, and assumed monthly salary. The calculator includes the $1,500 equipment fee per hire and 7% annual Oceans service fee increase.

Oceans non-salary spend
$90,881
$3,250/mo, equipment fee, and annual increases minus salary reaching talent.
Sagan fees
$20,124
$499/mo membership + one-time finder's fee per hire.
Estimated savings
$70,757
The salary assumption is held constant in both models.
Default: one hire over three years. Oceans bills about $126,881 total. If $36,000 reaches talent, about $90,881 is non-salary spend.
Follow the money

Where does the client dollar go?

The entire argument fits inside one bar chart.

Oceans$3,250/month quote
$1,000 salary
$2,250 gap
SaganYou set salary directly
100% of salary goes to your team member
If the salary assumption is too low, change it in the calculator. The page still asks the same question: how much recurring margin are you willing to pay to avoid hiring directly?
After the hire

The cost difference is obvious. The ownership difference is bigger.

With Oceans

×You have a staffed Diver, but the engagement still runs through Oceans.
×Your invoice rises by 7% annually under the quote terms.
×Your payment obligations begin once the contract is signed.
×Credit cards add 2.5%; late payments add $50/day after 14 days overdue.

With Sagan

✓You hire the person directly and build the relationship yourself.
✓You decide when raises happen and who receives the upside.
✓The finder's fee is one-time. The monthly membership is not per hire.
✓Your team stays your team.
Who wins?

Everyone wins except the permanent markup.

You save money. The hire has a direct career path. The only thing you lose is the recurring staffing tax.

01
Winner

You save money

Same talent market, fewer dollars routed through a middle layer every month.

02
Winner

Your hire earns trust

A direct relationship makes career growth concrete, not theoretical.

03
Winner

Your company owns the team

People, process, comp, title, and loyalty live inside your company.

×
Loser

The markup

The recurring spread has nowhere to hide once you run the math.

Next step

Stop renting the team you could own.

Bring the Oceans quote. We will benchmark the role, salary, and market, then show you what it costs to hire the same profile directly.

Book a Free Consultation
No commitment. No pressure. Just the math.