IT staff augmentation is the outsourcing of IT specialists to work within a company on a project basis. Team augmentation can be an extremely effective way to meet the specific needs of a business while saving time and money. The recruitment process for permanent employees can be costly and time-consuming, so IT staff augmentation companies provide the perfect solution by supplying businesses with the specialist skills they need when they need them.
Team augmentation is especially popular for IT positions because certain skill sets can be highly valuable for a project but less so once that project has been completed. As a result, team augmentation provides businesses with the flexibility to adapt their team according to their changing needs, ensuring that they always have the right skillset for the job at hand.
What is the difference between Outsourcing and Staff Augmentation?
Team augmentation (staff augmentation) and outsourcing are both strategies that companies use to get access to needed skills or capacity.
Team augmentation is when a company adds staff to its team to work on a specific project or set of projects. The procedure generally requires more detail regarding the projects that the new staff will work on than outsourcing does.
There are several benefits of team augmentation, including being able to get started quickly, having more control over the project, and being able to integrate the new team members into your company culture more easily. There are also some drawbacks to team augmentation, such as it being more expensive than outsourcing and there being potential risks if the team members do not perform well.
Overall, team augmentation can be a great option for companies that need additional skills or capacity for a specific project or period. However, it is important to carefully consider all factors before deciding if team augmentation is right for your company.
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The IT Staff Augmentation Process Flow
The team augmentation process flow generally goes like this:
- The company identifies a business need or opportunity. Management decides that adding staffing capacity will help them capitalize on this opportunity.
- Determining the required skills. Managers identify gaps in the certain knowledge that they need to fill to complete the project.
- Search for a company that deals with team augmentation. This work is usually delegated to other companies that specialize in finding employees.
- They interview and select candidates. The hired company offers a list of candidates, and the customer is required to select the best employees.
- The team members start working on the project.
- Monitoring. The company monitors results and makes adjustments as necessary. Once the project is completed, they reflect on lessons learned and how they can improve the process for next time.
Benefits of team augmentation
Staff augmentation has become a popular solution for businesses worldwide for many reasons:
- Skill gap coverage. One key benefit is that it allows companies to fill skill gaps on a project-by-project basis. This is especially helpful when a project requires rare or specialized skillsets that would be difficult to find internally.
- Saving time. Staff augmentation can save businesses time and money by outsourcing the recruitment process. By working with a staffing agency, businesses can quickly and easily find the talent they need without having to dedicate their resources to the search. And the price of recruiting the staff on this basis is much lower than when hiring a full-time employee.
- Reduce operating costs. This is because businesses only need to pay for the number of employees they require on a project-by-project basis, rather than maintaining a full-time in-house team.
- Flexibility. This flexibility also extends to the recruitment process, making it easier to quickly hire additional staff when needed, without incurring the cost and hassle of traditional recruitment methods.
Disadvantages of team augmentation
Augmenting a company's staff with outside employees may provide some advantages in the short term, but several possible problems could occur.
- Some projects may require a deep understanding of the company's context and operations. If an employee is brought in from the outside, they will likely need significant time to ramp up and get up to speed on how the company works. This can be costly in terms of both time and money.
- There is a greater dependence on third-party organizations for talent, which could pose some risks to sustainability plans.
- If all communication with an employee goes through an out-staffer, this can slow down the completion of tasks. Coordination among employees can be chaotic if people are not properly instructed on how to interact with each other.
Staff Augmentation Challenges
Any business that decides to outsource part of its operations needs to be aware of the potential challenges that come with staff augmentation.
- Language barrier. This can lead to misunderstandings during the development process because of the inconsistent level of English. However, this problem can be avoided by checking the vendor’s English level yourself, consulting with a company representative, or speaking to each staff member.
- Quality control. Poorly trained and inexperienced developers are often the cause of delays, as they are unable to complete their work on time or produce code that meets the company's standards. In addition to causing delays, poor workmanship can also lead to expense overruns and severe security risks for the end-user.
- Time zone. This may also be controlled by establishing a suitable meeting schedule that allows you to set up communication properly.
- Security risks. The staff augmentation business model entails engaging a third party and integrating them into internal operations. This entails risks. Companies must also follow all protocols for obtaining NDAs signed after employing the augmented staff to guarantee total security. In addition, staff augmentation companies should have comprehensive insurance policies that cover any potential risks.
Staff augmentation is an excellent solution to help your business optimize its processes, reduce tax and personnel costs, and solve the problem of attracting qualified specialists. It is especially relevant during a crisis when companies are forced to reduce staff to optimize costs.
By augmenting your staff with skilled professionals, you can improve your company's efficiency while still reducing overall costs. In addition, by working with a staffing agency, you can take advantage of their extensive networks of qualified candidates, ensuring that you find the perfect match for your needs.
