Getting Started with Staff Augmentation
Amr Saafan
Founder | CTO | Software Architect & Consultant | Engineering Manager | Project Manager | Product Owner | +27K Followers | Now Hiring!
In a fast-paced business environment, demand for expert IT services has long outstripped supply. The global talent gap will reach 85.2 million by 2030, making it increasingly difficult to find specialists with the necessary skills, experience, and rates.
As a result, businesses are looking for flexible staffing solutions such as staff augmentation or managed services as alternatives to traditional hiring. If you’ve ever wondered what staff augmentation is and how it differs from managed services, this article is a must-read. We will examine the characteristics of both models and assist you in understanding their differences.
What is a Staff Augmentation?
Remote staff augmentation is a management model used by both startups and large corporations to manage everything from new projects to large-scale maintenance and change. It is a type of contractual outsourcing service designed to supplement the existing in-house team with the outside expertise of an IT staff augmentation provider.
What exactly is staff augmentation? This method allows you to quickly find staff for a specific project that has a staff shortage. As a result, you augment the full-time team by temporarily hiring highly qualified specialists. The model successfully combines the benefits of personnel outsourcing with the convenience of staffing. When a technology company expands, launches larger projects, or is forced to solve multiple important tasks at once, it turns to this service.
The IT staff augmentation model is used for a variety of roles, including R&D, operations, HR, finance, and so on. Even Google, a behemoth in the industry, has launched Kaggle, a freelance network of data scientists. Without a doubt, it is an excellent way to meet the needs of specialists in the shortest amount of time while also reducing costs, which is a welcome bonus in any situation.
Staff Augmentation Benefits
Not surprisingly, resource and staff augmentation has become a significant milestone in the development of technology firms. This business process makes it possible to find even the most sought-after engineering skills, such as cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. The model is extremely common–the global talent industry is expected to reach $542.0 billion in 2024, growing at a 2.01 percent annual rate from 2020 to 2024. Are you blown away? Then let’s go over each benefit in greater detail.
Formalities Minimization
Full transfer of responsibility enables you to reduce HR and employment formalities and focus more on the core business. In practice, the outsourcer’s full-time team is supplemented (or entirely made up of) third-party specialists who work on the customer’s premises for the duration of the project. This model is easily scalable—it is far easier to end a partnership than it is to end an employment contract.
Experience Matters
Recruiting trained professionals at the pinnacle of your career will allow you to confidently assign projects and tasks. Mid- and senior-level professionals with experience do not require extensive training or assistance. Assign projects and responsibilities as needed, and a strengthened employee or team can quickly deliver the results you require.
The skills you need the most
Whether you need help with a specific project or your entire business, focusing on the skills will allow you to find effective employees quickly and affordably. You won’t have to hire someone and then hope they have the right experience for the job; instead, you’ll be able to select the right person with the exact skill set you require.
Objective assessments and perspective
Hiring a temporary employee for your company or project allows you to gain an objective perspective and a new perspective on the processes.
Increased flexibility saves time and money
Hiring a temporary worker for projects that require assistance can save you time and money. Using a staffing service can lower your staffing costs because you only pay for the time you work—and you won’t have to worry about downtime or finding a full-time employee when there’s no work to do.
Reduce costs without sacrificing quality
When you have a larger workforce, you can hire a professional without making long-term and costly commitments. Permanent hiring is probably not cost-effective if you only need an employee for a few weeks or months. Even one full-time job will cost you money when you factor in salaries, benefits, and tax deductions.
Types of Staff Augmentation Best cases?Pros Cons Commodity Non-critical?projects when you need to perform?the task without a specific skill set. (project work, increased production, spikes in customer demand, seasonal?businesses, etc.)Flexibility The talent pool is bigger Quick hiring Low cost Talent quality can be inconsistent. Skill-based Cases where you require certain skills, but the relative skill level is not critical.?(facilities setup, brand & logo design, technology setup, etc.)Flexibility, when you need it most Capacity for longer-term needs?More expensive Talents are?usually?geographically?distributed?(remote).Highly-skilled Projects that should be filled only by known specialists.?The level of?skills is important. Flexibility Experience and expertise at a very high level. Fresh ideas and objectivity. Increased speed to market. High cost It is challenging to find a reliable talent and keep long-term relationships.
Staff Augmentation is right for you if:
Staff Augmentation Challenges
The model has many advantages, but it also has some drawbacks. Adding new employees means adding another resource to management. While being an expert means they will not require extensive management assistance, you will still need to build additional capacity to handle other personnel.
Another disadvantage of the scale-up model is that external developers typically lack knowledge about your organization, other projects or products, or previous business experience or industry knowledge. As a result, they will be less active and motivated than in-house employees.
Even if your hired staff excels in the technical skills required for the project, you must still invest resources in training them in your company’s internal processes and the ability to adhere to your company’s work culture. That means you may not be able to fully overclock the project right away.
What are Managed IT services?
Managed Services is another “outsourcing” model you should be familiar with, especially since the managed services market is expected to grow to $282.0 billion by 2023. These are any tasks completed by a third party, most commonly in business IT services.
It’s a way to outsource jobs to an expert in order to save money, improve service quality, or free up internal teams to do work that’s important to your company. The staffing firm that provides these services is known as a “managed service provider” (MSP).
Managed services are also known as business-specific consulting assistance. Managed service providers collaborate with the client but do not assume complete control of the project. They assist in more strategic task management while keeping long-term results in mind. The client compensates them for the use of the employees in their projects or longer-term agreements.
The primary reasons a company chooses an MSP are related to cost-effectiveness. The cost of managed services is well-known and easily budgeable. The company does not incur additional costs that are common in the IT industry, where updates, changes, and maintenance can be costly. Employees can be added or removed as needed, giving businesses cost flexibility and the ability to expand easily.
Typically, managed services include:
Managed Services are right for you if:
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Managed Services Challenges
Select managed services if you are willing to fully delegate responsibility. You are aware of all potential hazards. You understand how to properly draught contracts in order to avoid being duped by expectations and consequences.
However, because of the risks associated with the process, be prepared to pay more when selecting a manageable capacity for staff augmentation. It is standard procedure, but the cost increases by 30%.
Staff Augmentation vs. Managed Services?Models: What Do They Mean?
What is the distinction between staffing and managed services? It is, of course, a responsibility. Are you willing to accept complete responsibility for the outcome, or do you prefer to delegate it? Each model offers the opportunity to grow and reach its full potential.
As part of the staff augmentation model, you retain control over all processes. Managed service providers, on the other hand, assume external control of a customer’s non-core systems, managing all aspects of their operation.
Assume you lack a skilled technical manager and the mere thought of routine management drives you insane. In that case, all you need to do is find a capable, experienced vendor willing to accept responsibility.
Increasing the state allows you to quickly scale certain functions. Managed services, on the other hand, are best suited to long-term infrastructure and security-related processes.
Staff Augmentation vs. Managed services?– how to choose?
We’ve prepared four questions for you to answer to help you decide between managed and staff augmentation services.
Do you need a project or operational scalability?
The two models provide different scaling options to accommodate various needs. On the one hand, the additional staff meets the need for an extra pair of hands and is ideal for scaling specific projects. The managed services model is an excellent choice for scaling operations as your company grows. This solution enables businesses to do more while remaining efficient.
Are you looking for a short-term or long-term partnership?
The staff augmentation model is typically used for temporary assignments. And, in most cases, cooperation ends once the project is completed. Businesses, on the other hand, rely on a managed service provider for much longer due to the lengthy business development process of advising and bringing business ideas to life.
What control do you expect to have?
Another distinction is the company’s level of control when collaborating with the provider. In the event of a growth, the client is critical in managing the recruitment and onboarding processes. Managers have complete control over all aspects of the project and can inspect the work performed. The client company only describes the tasks and details for managed services; however, the partner manages everything.
Are your projects classified and related to critical intellectual property?
In such cases, you should carefully consider your decision to increase your headcount. However, the reasoning behind this decision is frequently based on psychological comfort rather than hard evidence. An agreement signed with a contractor is objectively just as reliable as one signed by a staff member. However, when hiring enhanced personnel for top-secret projects, organizations should proceed slowly and cautiously.
What is Software Project Outsourcing?
IT project outsourcing entails collaborating with a software development firm and delegating the project to its software team. This is a more extensive collaboration than a team extension. It also includes services such as analysis and design, UI/UX, quality assurance, project management, and support and maintenance.
And, because the vendor is more involved, the motivation to achieve the best results is greater than with staff augmentation. All of this, combined with the specific benefits of outsourcing, transforms the company into a long-term partner rather than just a temporary service provider.
The outsourcing model is right for you if:
What is the Difference Between Staff Augmentation and Outsourcing?
IT project outsourcing and managed IT services are terms that are frequently used interchangeably. However, there are some key differences between the models.
The goal of staff augmentation is to add personnel with additional skills that the project requires. With specialist outsourcing, you can have another company complete your entire project. So it’s really about the required skills (hiring a specialist for a set period of time) versus the required tasks (hiring an entire team or company to do it for you).
When a company wants to focus on one core activity without breaking it down into many side processes, the project outsourcing model is ideal. Staff augmentation entails two parallel workflows in which the client works with his team on the key aspects while the outsourcer handles some secondary tasks.
Outsourcing (or a dedicated team) is typically used when a client and a service provider need to collaborate on multiple activities rather than specific projects.
The dedicated team will work independently from your firm and will not be directly involved in any of your other internal development activities or internal programming work. Furthermore, the managed service provider can assume complete control of the project and accountability for its outcomes. As a result, outsourcing can be considered a subset of broadly defined managed IT services.
Why Augment Your Team with Nile Bits
Now that you know which model is best for you, you must find the best staff augmentation or managed services vendor to maximize your benefits. Nile Bits is exactly that. Here are a few reasons why you should choose us over other companies:
Final Thoughts
In a nutshell, the decision between managed IT services and staff augmentation should be based on business needs, scaling options, length of partnership with the BPO company, and desired level of control.
If you can’t decide which model you need, the best all-around solution is to hire a professional service provider with experience in both models — choose Nile Bits.?Contact us, and we will provide your organization with a highly efficient development team.