We face new challenges every day. And while technology can’t solve every problem, it has some surprising benefits—and not-so-surprising benefits—for industries of all shapes and sizes.
But sometimes, your permanent staff faces technical challenges that they can’t handle internally. Whether you need help with a specific project or want to increase the sheer size of your team, you need to find another solution aside from relying exclusively on your in-house staff. Fortunately, a solution does exist: the staff augmentation model.
This type of project outsourcing involves working with external teams to meet your business goals. An outside organization finds you external talent with the specialized skills and qualifications you need to help you speed up the development process, fill in the gaps, and deliver top solutions for a wide variety of projects and products.
There are many benefits of staff augmentation. Here’s why it is so important in the current business landscape and why you should consider the solution for your organization.
Key Advantages of the IT Staff Augmentation Model
Choosing staff augmentation services means that you are bringing in temporary staff, consisting of top talent to help you complete projects and achieve goals. These professionals join your in-house team to assist you in improving and scaling your business. These are the key advantages of the model.
Access to a Global Talent Pool
Staff augmentation solutions give you access to a global workforce. You can find the right talent with the specific skills you need, no matter where these professionals are located.
This is helpful because you may need skilled professionals with qualifications that aren’t immediately available in your geographic region. You don’t need to depend on the skills within your internal team, either. Staff augmentation firms have access to talent all over the world.
That means you will be capable of hiring professionals who specialize in cybersecurity, cloud computing, types of applications, website design or development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, particular languages, or specific methodologies—whatever qualifications you need for your business to succeed.
In the US alone, computer and IT occupations are projected to grow 15% from 2021–2031, much faster than average for all occupations. When you extend your search beyond the US, you will be able to tap into an enormous, specialized talent pool.
Cost-Effective Solution for Your Particular Project
It is far more cost-effective to work with staff augmentation services than to hire full-time employees. You’re reducing overhead costs substantially—the costs associated with providing the materials needed for staff, such as office space and equipment—and you won’t need to pay full-time salaries or cover benefits. These vendors come fully equipped with the tools to shepherd your project through the entire development process, which means you don’t have to invest in expensive software or hardware, either.
This is the perfect solution for tackling short-term projects in an affordable way—one that allows businesses to achieve longer-term success.
Staff Augmentation Services Offer Flexibility & Scalability
Whether you need help with a specific project or are looking for longer-term assistance, the staff augmentation model offers the flexibility to allow you to meet your goals. You can easily adjust the number of professionals based on your needs at a given time. You can also look for new skill sets on a case-by-case basis. The model is scalable as well.
Faster Time-to-Market With Experienced Professionals
Working with skilled professionals on a staff augmentation team leads to greater operational efficiency. You are tapping into top talent, which boosts your productivity and efficiency, ultimately reducing your time to market. These professionals can handle even the most complex of projects without much training on your part—the outsourcing company vets them beforehand and performs any necessary training. They will also handle the hiring process.
Working alongside your internal employees, these team members will speed up your processes, helping you ramp up production and stay competitive in a fast-moving environment.
Risk Mitigation
Staff augmentation and project outsourcing in general help mitigate the risks associated with hiring full-time employees. For example, you are only committing to temporary staff, which is much less of a commitment than hiring full-time, in-house employees.
Moreover, you are sharing the inherent risks involved in software development when you partner with an outside company. You won’t have to shoulder the burden alone—your partner is working with you on the project.
How to Choose the Right Staff Augmentation Provider
There are many benefits associated with staff augmentation services—provided you choose the right partner. How do you do that? Let’s look at the steps involved.
Assessing Your Business Needs
Before you dive into your project, you need to take stock of your business needs. Working with your internal teams, determine what goals you are trying to achieve as a larger organization, and consider how staff augmentation companies can help you achieve them through your projects. From there, you can go about pinpointing the specific IT skills required for the project, as well as estimate the duration and budget for the initiative.
Determining Requirements
What are the must-haves for the product you want to build? These are the requirements for your project. Determine what your requirements are from the get-go—they are what you will present to staff augmentation companies as one of the starting points for the project and drive it to completion.
Evaluating the Provider’s Expertise
You must have skilled talent to complete your project successfully. Providers like BairesDev have assessments in place to vet tech professionals, including an AI-powered evaluation and matching system, helping you find the top 1% of talent and the right specialized skills for your projects.
Of course, you can also perform your own assessments of the provider’s expertise. It’s always a good idea to check the provider’s track record by reviewing their portfolio, reading client testimonials, and asking for referrals. In addition to helping you get a sense of the staff augmentation vendor’s expertise, you will also better understand their experience and level of client satisfaction.
Establishing Fit
It is critical to establish fit with your prospective provider prior to entering into any kind of contract with them. This goes for culture, language, and time zone, of course, but it also concerns experience in your particular niche and industry. This is important because software development should never take a one-size-fits-all approach. Your industry has certain standards, and the vendor and its team members must be knowledgeable about them.
The outsourcing partner itself should be knowledgeable about your sector, as should every team member they bring on board to your team. This won’t just mean that they’re aware of the key concerns and issues in your niche, but it will also allow them to mesh well with and fit into your existing team.
Ensuring Clear Communication and Collaboration
How will you ensure that the team members your partner brings in through staff augmentation communicate and collaborate well with your internal team? When you are still assessing the prospective staff augmentation services, inquire about how they communicate with partners on a daily basis as well as in the case of emergencies.
Once you have asked about communication and collaboration channels and styles, lay out a plan for ensuring the success of the partnership. You should have carefully defined methods and modes of managing your project and keeping one another in the loop throughout the project. You should never feel like you’re being left in the dark at any point—that’s why it’s so important to establish these procedures upfront.
Staff Augmentation Advantages: A Clear-Cut Solution
If you want to stay ahead in a competitive technology landscape, staff augmentation is the key to success for your business. This extends beyond the sheer size of your team—it also brings you key skill sets and specializations, ones you wouldn’t have access to without these services.
From bringing flexibility to your project to lowering costs, it’s a win-win situation for everyone. And if you’re looking to attract more business by tapping into the best talent in the IT industry, consider partnering with BairesDev. We will work with you to optimize your workflows and leverage the best technology talent for your business.
FAQ
What is the difference between staff augmentation and outsourcing?
Staff augmentation services are a type of outsourcing. In this model, the service provider vets outside talent, which joins the in-house team to complete projects.
Staff augmentation vs. software outsourcing is not actually the choice—outsourcing is an umbrella for staff augmentation, just as it is for the dedicated teams model. No matter which type of staff outsourcing you choose, you are working with external teams, as opposed to or in addition to your permanent employees.
How does staff augmentation affect my company’s intellectual property?
Typically, when you work with a staff augmentation, you retain control over your intellectual property but the specifics depend on your software development contract.
Can I hire staff augmentation professionals on a long-term basis?
Some organizations hire staff augmentation professionals for a short period of time for specific projects/on a project basis, but others choose to have outsourced professionals join their existing staff on a long-term basis. Because this model is flexible, there are a range of options available.
What are the potential challenges of IT staff augmentation?
While IT staff augmentation offers plenty of benefits, there are some potential challenges as well. For example, external teams and their partners don’t always share the same language, culture, or time zone, which can make it difficult to understand one another’s business styles and resolve problems quickly. Moreover, it can be challenging for in-house and outside team members to collaborate on the same project because of integration issues or management challenges.
To combat these challenges, outsourcing teams should do some research to choose a qualified partner with extensive experience. When it comes to cultural and language barriers, working with a nearshore staff augmentation partner can help. The professionals on these teams typically share cultural similarities with their partners. At BairesDev, all of our team members speak English, too.
How can I ensure a smooth onboarding process for augmented staff?
It can be difficult to onboard augmented staff onto your in-house team, but a qualified, skilled staff augmentation service can help. At BairesDev, for example, we will discuss your business goals and needs and solidify requirements to ensure a smooth transition and onboarding process, giving you the opportunity to offer input. We will also handle training the professionals who join your team.
