Let’s start small. Augmentation is the process of increasing the size, volume, or scale of something. Then staff augmentation is the growth-oriented strategy that begins with accessing the current staff’s capacity and moves to determining the gaps to be filled with external people resources. In the IT sector, striving for an augmented team is a frequent scenario that allows companies to stay afloat, cope with the workload, and preserve leadership. But many mistakenly believe that IT staff augmentation is the same as ‘consulting’ and ‘ousourcing.’ Let’s draw the borderline between the three together!
What is the difference between staff augmentation and consulting?
Imagine that you’ve got an internal CRM system, and you think about redesigning it to meet the changing industry trends and attract more customers to your service. What will you choose if your in-house specialists have no expertise in putting this plan into practice?
First, you can find an IT consulting company and buy their expert’s time to find the best way for you to handle the task. Second, you can find the augmented staff provider that will bridge you with a suitable engineer with similar projects closed behind the shoulders.
Choosing the second option underlines the meaning of staff augmentation, which is your readiness to invite the expert who will adjust to the company’s inner processes and methodologies and bring his input into the entire project realization.
What is the difference between staff augmentation and outsourcing?
Well, now it’s time to debunk another myth — the staff augmentation model isn’t equal to outsourcing. If you delegate the whole project or its aspects to the other company, completely absolving yourself of responsibility to manage the progress at each stage, then it’s outsourcing. By contrast, staff augmentation means adding lacking remote resources to support and strengthen the in-house team of IT talents, and that’s another new temporary worker(s) under your supervision.
And finally — what does IT staff augmentation mean?
Staff augmentation service is about the hiring of temporary and highly-skilled talent for your in-house team for the sake of project realization. The task of hiring isn’t on you, but it’s the job of the other IT company that is specialized in finding the developers with the relevant knowledge and engineering experience. After the required work is done, you, as a client, have no obligations in front of this hire and can end the partnership.
Types of staff augmentation services
Depending on your business needs, you can select the resource and staff augmentation model that meets your IT project specifics best.
- Commodity. You’ve already got a well-organized workflow, and all you need is more hands to do the manual, repetitive tasks.
- Skill-based. Your in-house team cannot complete the task by all means, and you need to find an expert to fill in the particular skill gap.
- Highly-skilled. It’s close to the previous, but in this case, you need the rarer expertise or the one who will manage the available resources in a more efficient way.
Do you have a clue right now? As you see, the level of involvement, the complexity of the task, and the rarity of the hiring request are the main factors to mind while determining the appropriate IT staff augmentation engagement model.
Why should companies use staff augmentation?
Realizing the major advantages that the augmented team can bring to your project is a crucial step for stirring motivation and moving to action. So, what should inspire you on this way?
Resource saving
The staff augmentation projects often imply saving the time of your inner team’s employees by placing the recruitment process into the IT provider’s hands. And while the search is taking place, the available professionals uninterruptedly perform the key tasks.
Flexibility
When you choose the path of expanding your in-house team with external talents, you’ve got enough freedom to define the scalability of your organization. Start with the objective evaluation of which gaps should be covered and how much workforce you need for that task. The team’s growth should stem from the company’s current demands.
Adaptability to your inner processes
Remember that the newly hired experts will enter your work scene only for a short period, so weigh your priorities carefully before delivering it to the hiring side. When they’re ready to proceed with your project, make sure the work runs in a smooth flow, considering your tech stack, development methodologies, and project requirements. It’s you who call the shots!
Tighter cooperation & control
Many businesses support the idea of staff augmentation because it gives them a sense of control over the processes and direct influence on the project’s ongoing. However, the question that bothers them is how to manage staff augmentation properly. First, be ready to spend more time on the hire’s onboarding and acquaintance with the project. Second, establish efficient communication with him. Third, think about whether you’re competent enough to manage the high-skilled profi. If you can get along with it, go on!
Security
Data privacy is another significant advantage you can get with the augmented team. Keeping all the documentation, artefacts, and sensitive information within the company’s borders, you considerably reduce the probability of its reuse, stealing, or any other malicious attacks.
Cost efficiency
On the one hand, qualitative IT staff augmentation requires money on your side but think about the areas where you save it, on the other hand. You don’t pay internal recruiters to find the relevant specialists. You neither spend money on new employees’ social benefits nor taxes. You also don’t search for new tasks to make the new hires busy after the project completion.
Let Patternica strengthen the team for your IT project!
Now, when you’re familiar with the key benefits of the staff augmentation model, let us offer you our professional help in hiring the best talents per your project’s needs. Focusing on the task with the onlooker’s objectiveness, we can provide you with a cost-effective alternative to traditional recruiting. Contact us to discuss the details and narrow your choice!
