For growing companies, it’s frequent to have a fluctuating workload. Sometimes, they need extra hands and heads to assist and meet the deadline.
However, running short on workspace or resources can keep them from hiring new employees. That’s where staff augmentation turns out to be the right strategy to implement.
Many companies still don’t have a clear understanding of the staff augmentation model.
Today we’re here with this ultimate guide to help them better understand what staff augmentation is and everything related to it.
So, let’s dive deep into staff augmentation, know its value, and why you should go for it.
What is Staff Augmentation? How Does it Work?
Staff augmentation means hiring professionals and experts from service-providing companies to share the workload or perform project-based tasks.
These professionals are pre-vetted and have exclusive talent. One of the staffing model examples is developing exclusive software.
While your company employees might be proficient enough to build top-notch software, the deadlines could be tight – probably due to the business launch shortly.
Staff augmentation is one of the most reliable solutions in that case. You can get in touch with an IT staff augmentation service provider company. Considering your expectations and the number of IT experts requested, the company will provide you with a professional or a team to meet your expectations. This way, you’ll get additional heads and hands to develop software within the deadline.
Types of Staff Augmentation
There are six types of staff augmentation, and each has its own pros and cons.
Traditional Staff Augmentation
As a popular team augmentation type, traditional staff augmentation means contacting a service provider agency and requesting to hire some professional staff to get your tasks done. In this model, you provide your custom requirements to the company.
Whether the IT industry is relevant or not, this model applies to every task inside the company. The newly hired experts support your core team in managing and completing tasks.
Master Vendor Staff
The master vendor staff model is similar to traditional staff augmentation. You contact an agency or service provider with the need to hire expert individuals.
The difference between both is the number of experts. This model includes hiring a large number of employees. Usually, companies go for this model when the deadline is short or if the company lacks skilled experts.
Boutique Agency
Boutique Agency is a model of augmentation staffing in which the organization you are hiring from is small. Not only this, these organization focuses on a narrow skill set.
The importance of this model is that you get a dedicated expert for a dedicated task having years of experience and a proven track record. You can opt for this model to attain top-notch resources and minimize the risk of quality.
Independent Contractors
Independent contractors are individuals who work on any task provided to them. They move in the direction you steer them in, while their end goal isn’t transparent.
You can pursue this staff augmentation model if you need a helping hand with your tasks. So, the individual will help you complete the task while you can switch him/her on another project when needed.
Gig Platforms
Gig platforms are digital platforms where you can access a large talent pool. You will find the specific gig for specific tasks from individuals or agencies there.
Considering the budget and expertise, you can hire experts from these platforms. The model is similar to freelancing, while the project length is short-term.
On-Demand Talent Platforms
On-demand talent platforms have a large talent pool of professionals. Experts on these platforms are more structured than you’d get from a gig platform.
They have passed through different testing stages, which makes them the top talent. That said, risk on quality is also minimized in this model.
6 Exclusive Benefits of Staff Augmentation
Access to a Large Talent Pool
Geographical boundaries keep you from hiring the top talent in the world. That’s where resource and staff augmentation gives you the upper hand.
Thanks to this model, you can hire experts from anywhere worldwide – no matter where you are. It is extremely beneficial if you are an IT company running short on technology development resources.
The top team of developers from overseas can help you develop one without having to own look after their bonuses or invest in their costly resources.
Trained and Skilled Experts
Regardless of the type of expert – entry-level, intermediate, or advanced – you hire, hiring them can be cumbersome, following the entire hiring cycle involving resume collection, screening and interviewing.
Training is also a part of the hiring process sometimes. It goes without saying that it is time and energy-consuming.
No Time Bounding
Having employees in-house takes more than just providing resources. For instance, taking care of the paperwork. You cannot lay off an individual after the completion of a specific project.
Resource augmentation gives you the benefit of doing it. This model allows you to hire an individual for a couple of months or specific tenure – setting up a contract.
This way, you can spare yourself some time and focus on team management and business growth.
Quick Achievement
Staffing augmentation is one of the best options to catalyze your tasks. The experts you hire can work as your extended arm and perform the assigned task, supporting your core team. This way, you get quick achievement in reduced time and effort.
Easy Switching
According to a study conducted by Glassdoor, hiring new employees takes 24 days and is around $4000. This cost differs with the difference of role.
Certainly, this is a big amount followed by days of effort. Considering the amount incurred, you’d never want to fire an employee (even if their performance doesn’t meet your expectations) and are left with the option to train the existing employee.
In contrast, staff augmentation allows you to switch the expert or the firm depending on your satisfaction level – without worrying about the wastage of many bucks.
Administration Backing
While providing project details to the augmented team is your responsibility, monitoring and managing aren’t. You are set free from administrative roles, including billings and maintaining payrolls.
Staff augmentation companies deal with the hassle of payment and management, allowing you to center your attention on the primary and crucial tasks for the company’s growth.
Why Should IT Businesses Choose Staff Augmentation?
Short Projects
IT businesses develop software and technologies. Their need for employees increases with the increase of technology demand or in-house projects. Usually, companies need experts for 3 to 6 months.
You cannot hire employees for this tenure or fire them once the project is completed.
In comparison, staff augmentation firms allow you to do this.
Simply get in touch with a reliable and renowned firm, sign the contract, and get your expert in no time for a set timeframe.
Low Budget
Not only does the staff augmentation model keeps you from administrative duties, but it also allows you to save cost. The company provides resources and workspace to the hired employees themselves.
It’s apparent that alone PCs for developing technologies cost a big chunk. This is one of the biggest reasons IT businesses prefer staff augmentation.
With the money saved, they look forward to the organization’s overall growth.
Highly Skilled Experts
To stay long in the market, staff augmentation companies are highly concerned about their reputation. They always want to be streamlined to attract more customers and get more cash flowing.
IT businesses are well aware of this fact. They know that the experts from staff augmentation companies are Silicon Valley talent.
Additionally, the candidate is set up for an interview with the hiring company. IT businesses check their technical expertise in meeting and hiring only if they are satisfied.
Quick Team Expansion
As mentioned above, hiring is a time-consuming and expensive process. IT businesses – especially the growing ones – spend their time and bucks carefully.
When the time comes, and businesses need an IT team, staff augmentation helps them expand their team quickly.
Companies already have multiple candidates in the pipeline. All you have to do is interview the candidate, hire, and expand your team, cutting the hiring time.
Tight Deadline
The hustle of IT businesses is huge. From software development to coding, there’s quite a lot going on in-house. In fact, different projects are in the pipeline with close deadlines.
In most cases, they run out of time and have tight deadlines to meet. Staff augmentation projects help them get helping hands to share the workload in developing technologies.
How to Choose IT Staff Augmentation Service?
Analyze Your Goals
Often; companies aren’t satisfied with IT staff augmentation services. One reason is that the internal discussion and their needs for experts aren’t clear.
They are unaware of the years of experience and expertise required from the talent. In fact, sometimes they aren’t certain if the need is for a software developer or software engineer.
By answering the following question, you can get a clear picture of the company’s need for an expert:
- What is the end goal of my project?
- What project do I need an IT expert for?
- Do I need an expert for a dedicated project or a helping hand?
You can also add more questions to this list according to your requirement. Discuss these requirements with your team (if you have any) and let them add their insights as well for better execution.
Certainty of Project Length
Every IT project consists of variable lengths and specifications. A few development projects wind up within a few months, while some take longer than 6 months.
Choose a staff augmentation consulting company once you are sorted on the project length. This will also help you pick from the two companies with different price points.
Budget for the Project
As discussed above, your budget should be closely monitored. Besides hiring an expert, you have multiple areas of companies to bet the bucks on. This includes spending on marketing business to taxes.
Skim through staff augmentation companies falling in your budget. One thing you can do is negotiate with them and find a median for both parties.
Market Reputation and Perks
Some staff augmentation organization companies promise more than they are willing to deliver. A few claims to provide expert within a few hours. Others boast about the exclusive talent they have.
While you can keep them all in the options, picking one with a strong market reputation would be wise. Read reviews and consider what their customers have to say. Finally, set up an interview and hire talent from the one that satisfies you the most.
IT Staff Augmentation with VinnCorp
Businesses are taking advantage of IT staff augmentation to save their cost, have highly skilled IT experts on their teams, and bridge the gaps in their expertise and in-house employee performance. VinnCorp offers a team of experts to scale these businesses.
We are a staff augmentation company with Silicon Valley standard resources, backed with a proven track record. We promise to provide you with an expert as quickly as 24 hours and world-class delivery.
Get in touch with our team now and accelerate your journey of innovation.
