Staff augmentation can help a business of any size and from any industry by providing external teams to achieve its goals. Here, we’ll discuss the best practices, pros, and cons of partnering with a staff augmentation company.
Staff augmentation has changed how organizations manage their projects and hire new employees for various jobs. It is helping businesses reduce recruiting costs while providing better scalability and greater performance. Moreover, staff augmentation reduces the concerns of labor shortages.
Statistics show that IT and Data is the top sector with a 27% labor shortage in the global market. It is followed by Engineering (22%), Marketing and Sales (20%), Operations and Logistics (19%), and Customer Facing and Front Office (17%).
Staff augmentation services provide a reliable solution to bridge the talent gap in the enterprise without the need for full-scale hiring. It is a comprehensive method to gain access to various talents in the industry for as long as you want.
But how can staff augmentation help my company? Why is it so important in today’s world? What are the best practices to follow when partnering with a staff augmentation company?
Let’s find out the answers to these questions and more in this blog.
Staff augmentation is the process of temporarily bringing in external talent to work on your project. The experts will collaborate and work alongside your existing employees and deliver the project as per your requirements. Once done, the experts will no longer be associated with your establishment. There are no restrictions on the type and size of the external team you want to hire.
Nearshore staff augmentation refers to the process of hiring external employees from the same or nearby regions or countries. Such teams are preferred for long-term and complex projects as they allow the employees to work on-premises and remotely. On the other hand, offshore staff augmentation is also popular among IT companies. This allows the external teams to work remotely and collaborate with your employees. It is more flexible and gives you greater control over the project. It is also cost-effective as you can choose staff augmentation firms from another country or region.
Either way, staff augmentation prevents talent shortages in the business while ensuring you don’t have to hire employees permanently.
Implementing the staff augmentation model requires planning and a well-thought-out approach to amplify the benefits and minimize the risks. The following best practices will help you make better decisions.
The first step is to identify talent gaps in your organization. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the existing teams and determine what kind of talent can enhance the overall performance and productivity.
Make a clear list of your business goals and objectives. Align them with the project parameters and targets. This will give a clear picture of what you want and how you can achieve it.
Even the largest project comes with a deadline. Be specific about the schedule and share this information with everyone involved. The staff augmentation companies should know your deadlines so that they can recommend the team size and expertise accordingly.
Create a shortlist of IT staff augmentation companies and contact them personally. Check their project portfolio and read the testimonials provided by previous and existing clients. Directly talk to the representatives to share your requirements and ensure your ideas align.
Every project has different goals and standards. Don’t assume the expert teams automatically know what you want. Be clear about the regulations, standards, and do’s and don’ts for the project. These guidelines will eliminate miscommunication.
Create detailed documentation of the entire process, be it the requirements, technologies, skills, workflows, durations, etc. This will help in knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer when hiring more augmented staff in your business.
Have a person of authority and experience supervising the entire project and acting as a point of contact between you and the augmented teams. This person should have proven leadership skills and the capabilities to handle any situation.
Team collaborations are not possible with using technology. Integrate the required platforms and applications with your business systems to create seamless connectivity between your in-house and external teams.
Don’t rely on assumptions, presumptions, and reading between the lines. Share your requirements as clearly as possible. Similarly, accept their response and feedback without bias. Consider their views and state your decisions in the same manner.
Develop metrics to track the performance of external employees. For example, if you hire an augmented team of Power BI developers, establish metrics to analyze their performance based on it. This will give you a comprehensive picture of whether the augmented teams are helpful or not.
Create spaces for the internal and external employees to connect and work together without friction. Even with staff augmentation, you need to provide a healthy workplace environment for all your employees (temporary and permanent).
Many organizations opt for staff augmentation as it helps retain control over the project. However, you need to be an active participant even when experts are on the job. Ask for updates, get their feedback, and share your opinion.
Signing a staff augmentation contract with a reliable service provider can provide many benefits to your business.
You save money spent on the recruiting process (ads, screening, tests, interviews, selections, etc.) by opting for staff augmentation. Moreover, since you hire experienced teams, you also don’t have to worry about their performance or the quality of the output.
With staff augmentation, you can increase or decrease the team size when necessary. The teams can work on-premises or remotely. It takes very little time to scale the project team and fulfill the immediate staffing concerns.
IT staff augmentation has gained prominence as organizations can choose from a large pool of talented and skilled employees who are ready to get on board and start working with minimum training.
Unlike in outsourcing, staff augmentation gives you more control over the project. You are the decision-maker and can decide who works on the project and for how long. From managing expenses to replacing team members, you decide what to do next.
Staff augmentation companies and teams are more experienced in managing projects. They provide timely updates to keep you in the loop. This results in more visibility, allowing you to track the process and the results.
The primary goal of IT staff augmentation companies is to deliver the promised results. The teams focus on how to work on the project, overcome the challenges, and finish it successfully as per the schedule. You get better results through this approach.
When you bring external candidates to work on a project, you also gain access to their views and opinions. They don’t have the same biases as your employees and can provide a fresh perspective on things.
Existing employees are not always willing to welcome new hires, especially when they have to compete on the same project. However, with staff augmentation, they know that the external teams are temporary and not a threat to their jobs.
Businesses can hire temporary employees on a trial basis to ensure they fit the project needs. If the results are not as expected, the staff augmentation company will replace the team members accordingly.
Staff augmentation, IT or general, is not without a few challenges. Firstly, the external candidates don’t know your business as your employees do. They don’t have the same in-depth knowledge of your organization, which can be a disadvantage in certain projects.
External employees also need to be onboarded and trained to work with your processes. While the process is not extensive, it is still necessary and requires an effort from your side. You should share the relevant details with the teams so that they can handle the project efficiently.
In staff augmentation, you still have to share and allocate the resources with the external teams. It is different from outsourcing where the service provider will use their resources to complete the project.
Considering the labor shortages in different industries and countries, we can say that staff augmentation will continue to be popular among SMBs, MSMEs, and large organizations around the globe. A few future trends in staff augmentation are as follows:
With staff augmentation becoming a go-to choice for many businesses, it is crucial to understand how it works, related security practices and find the best service provider to achieve the desired results.
Hire a reputed data engineering staff augmentation company to digitally transform your business and implement advanced technologies. Gain a competitive edge by streamlining your processes and enhancing customer experience.
Fact checked by –
Akansha Rani ~ Content Creator & Copy Writer
