Staff Augmentation – Best Practices, Pros and Cons

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.?

Why is Staff Augmentation Important?

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.?

12 Best Practices of Staff Augmentation

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.

Identify Talent Gaps

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.

Define Goals and Objectives?

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.?

Set Project Deadlines

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.?

Review Staff Augmentation Companies?

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.?

Establish Clear Standards?

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.?

Document the Process

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.?

Assign a Project Manager?

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.?

Invest in Technology

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.?

Transparent Communication

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.?

Track External Employee Performance?

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.?

Develop Team Building Modules

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). ?

Be an Active Participant?

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.

What Are the Pros of Staff Augmentation?

Signing a?staff augmentation contract?with a reliable service provider can?provide many benefits to?your business.?

Save Costs Without Affecting Quality?

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.?

Better Scalability and Flexibility?

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.?

Access to a Larger Pool of Talent?

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.

More Control Over Operations

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.?

Greater Project Visibility

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.?

Result-Centric Approach?

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.?

More Perspectives and Lesser Bias?

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.?

Easier Employee Acceptance?

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.?

Trial Based Staffing?

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.?

What Are the Cons of Staff Augmentation?

Lack of Institutional Knowledge?

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.?

Onboarding and Training?

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.?

Resource Allocation?

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.?

What is the Future of Staff Augmentation?

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:?

• Demand for offshore augmented teams
• Multi-sourcing services?
• AI and automation-based staff augmentation?
• Lesser focus on cost-saving and more focus on technology adoption
• Niche staff augmentation?

Conclusion?

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.?

Originally Published on DataToBiz