Operational Pod Engagement Agreement

When you engage Felcorp's BPO service under a Pod Engagement, your agreement is individually scoped and structured to reflect the complexity and scale of an enterprise-level offshore operation.

This model is designed for firms operating in insurance, accounting and financial planning that require a self-contained operational unit with dedicated leadership, long-term planning capacity and the option to own the entity outright.

Below is a detailed breakdown of how the agreement is structured and what each party is responsible for. For a high-level comparison across all engagement types, refer to the How Our Agreement Works overview.

Engagement Structure

A Pod Engagement gives your business a dedicated team of offshore professionals operating as a self-contained unit from Felcorp's managed office infrastructure.

Unlike a Full Time Staff Engagement where you engage individual staff members on a per-head basis, a pod operates as a standalone BPO operation with its own leadership layer, processes and governance structure. You direct the strategic objectives and operational priorities, while the level of Felcorp involvement in day-to-day management is entirely configurable.

The defining feature of a Pod Engagement is the control spectrum. You choose how much or how little of Felcorp's management infrastructure you want to use. At one end, Felcorp manages recruitment, HR, training, compliance and daily supervision in full.

At the other end, you run the pod as a fully self-directed operation using your own management team and processes, with Felcorp providing only the physical infrastructure and employment framework. Most engagements sit somewhere between these two positions and the exact configuration is agreed at commencement.

• Team Size: Minimum 6 full-time staff members per pod
• Shift Structure: 24/7 customisable shift operations available
• Work Model: On-site at Felcorp-managed office premises
• Staff Exclusivity: 100% dedicated to your operation
• Control Spectrum: Fully Felcorp-managed through to fully self-directed
• Entity Structure: Felcorp-managed or client-owned captive entity
• Set-up Time: 3 to 6 months depending on operational and entity structure

One of the most significant structural decisions in a Pod Engagement is the entity model. You can operate the pod under Felcorp's existing legal structure, where Felcorp employs the staff and manages the entity on your behalf.

Alternatively, you can establish the pod as your own captive entity through a wholly-owned subsidiary (WoS) model, giving you direct legal ownership of the offshore operation. The WoS model introduces additional considerations around transfer pricing, tax structuring and intellectual property that are addressed during the agreement design phase.

For more detail on how Felcorp's India BPO operation is structured, including office facilities and infrastructure, refer to the dedicated operations page.

Commitment and Renewal Terms

The minimum commitment period for a Pod Engagement is twelve months. This reflects the structural complexity of establishing a pod operation, which typically requires three to six months of setup before the team is fully operational.

The twelve-month term ensures both parties have adequate time to complete entity establishment, recruit and train the team, embed operational processes and reach a productive steady state.

Pod Engagements are designed with a three to five year strategic planning horizon. While the contractual commitment is twelve months, the operational and commercial intent is a long-term partnership.

After the initial twelve-month term, renewal and continuation terms are negotiated based on the specific agreement structure. For pods operating under Felcorp's entity, the agreement may roll onto extended terms similar to other engagement types.

For client-owned captive entities, the ongoing relationship is governed by the management services agreement between the parties.

• Minimum Commitment: 12 months
• Strategic Planning Horizon: 3 to 5 years
• Set-up Period: 3 to 6 months before fully operational (within the commitment term)
• Renewal Terms: Negotiated individually based on entity structure and engagement complexity

A dedicated internal pod coordinator must be appointed from the client side for the duration of the engagement. This person serves as the primary operational liaison between your business and the pod team, and is responsible for directing workflow priorities, managing escalations and maintaining alignment between the pod's output and your business objectives.

This requirement exists regardless of whether Felcorp is providing management services, as the pod coordinator role is a client-side function that cannot be delegated.

If you want to evaluate Felcorp's service quality before committing to a full pod engagement, Felcorp offers a structured trial period outlined in the Trial Service Inclusions agreement article.

Termination and Exit

Termination terms for a Pod Engagement are negotiated individually as part of the agreement, reflecting the greater operational complexity involved in winding down a pod compared to an individual staff engagement.

The standard notice period ranges from three to twelve months depending on the number of staff, the entity structure and the complexity of the transition required.

For pods operating under Felcorp's entity, the exit process follows a structured wind-down sequence similar to other engagement types but on a longer timeline. For client-owned captive entities, the termination relates specifically to the management services agreement, as the client retains ownership of the entity and its staff.

In the WoS model, Felcorp's involvement may end while the pod operation itself continues under the client's direct control.

• Standard Termination: 3 to 12 months written notice (negotiated per agreement)
• Early Termination (within initial term): Remainder of the 12-month minimum commitment may be payable, plus any entity wind-down costs
• Felcorp-Managed Entity Exit: Full operational wind-down managed by Felcorp including staff transition and data handover
• Client-Owned Entity Exit: Termination of Felcorp management services only; pod operation may continue under client control

The exit process for a Felcorp-managed pod follows these steps:

1. Written termination notice is submitted by the terminating party in accordance with the agreed notice period.
2. Felcorp acknowledges receipt and confirms the effective termination date and transition timeline.
3. A detailed wind-down plan is agreed covering staff transition, outstanding deliverables, knowledge transfer and entity obligations.
4. Operational handover is executed progressively during the notice period, with reporting maintained throughout.
5. Data handover, access revocation and compliance close-out are managed by Felcorp's compliance team.
6. Final billing is reconciled, any entity-related obligations are settled and the engagement formally closes.

For a full explanation of the off-boarding process and what each party is responsible for during the exit period, refer to the Termination and Off-boarding agreement article.

Billing and Payment

Pod Engagements operate on a fundamentally different billing structure to per-head engagement types. The cost model consists of three components: a one-off set-up cost in the first year, an optional ongoing Felcorp management fee and the direct operational costs of running the pod.

Unlike a Full Time Staff Engagement where a single per-head rate covers everything, the pod model separates Felcorp's service fees from the underlying operational expenses, giving you full transparency over where your investment goes.

Set-up costs cover entity establishment, legal structure configuration, agreements, policies, interim directorship appointments (where applicable), office and premises setup, supplier sourcing, IT infrastructure, recruitment support and initial staff training.

The Felcorp management fee is an optional ongoing charge that covers access to HR, recruitment, payroll, training, process development, compliance audits and business administration.

Felcorp strongly recommends retaining management services for at least six months after setup to ensure operational continuity during the transition to steady state.

• Pricing Model: Management fee plus direct operational costs (not per-head)
• Set-up Costs: One-off first-year cost covering entity establishment, legal structure, premises and systems
• Management Fee: Optional monthly fee for ongoing Felcorp operational management
• Operational Costs: Salaries, office rent, equipment and software paid directly by the client
• Payment Method: As agreed in the engagement terms

All operational costs in a pod engagement are paid directly by the client. These include staff salaries, office premises, equipment, software licensing and any other running costs associated with the operation.

Felcorp provides full support in establishing the financial infrastructure including bank accounts and payment providers to facilitate international transfers.

For a detailed breakdown of how Felcorp's pricing methodology works across all engagement types, see the How We Price agreement article, and for payment processing details, refer to Billing and Payments.

What Felcorp Manages Under the Agreement

The scope of Felcorp's responsibilities under a Pod Engagement is fully configurable. At maximum involvement, Felcorp manages the complete operational stack.

At minimum involvement, Felcorp provides only the physical infrastructure and employment compliance framework while you run the operation independently. The exact division of responsibilities is documented in the engagement agreement and can be adjusted over time as your operation matures.

For the complete Pod Engagement overview including how the service model works in practice, refer to the service overview page.

• Entity Establishment: Full legal setup of the pod entity including company registration, directorship appointments, agreements and regulatory compliance (where Felcorp manages the entity)
• Recruitment: End-to-end recruitment including sourcing, screening, AML checks, background verification and identity checks (configurable)
• HR and Payroll: Payroll processing, leave entitlements, HR policy management and employment administration (configurable)
• Training: Process, technical and compliance training delivered by Felcorp's management team (configurable, or client-managed)
• Quality Assurance: Structured QA review, reporting and time-efficiency assessments (configurable)
• Facilities: Office space, equipment, computers and physical infrastructure at Felcorp-managed premises
• Compliance: GRC framework, data security, audit policies and confidentiality enforcement aligned to client requirements
• Reporting: Timesheet reporting, job completion reports and productivity analysis at agreed cadence

A key differentiator of the pod model is that compliance and security policies can be configured to match your own internal standards rather than defaulting to Felcorp's standard framework. This is particularly relevant for firms with specific regulatory obligations or data handling requirements that go beyond Felcorp's baseline.

Felcorp also manages service-level commitments under the engagement where applicable. If your pod requires specific SLA parameters around turnaround times, error rates or escalation procedures, these are formalised as part of the agreement.

For detail on the available options, see Felcorp SLA Options.