What Is IT Staff Augmentation?
Staff augmentation is a type of an outsourcing IT cooperation model where a company expands its in-house staff to augment their engineering capabilities for succeeding with tech tasks by temporarily hiring one or several outsourcing IT specialists. These engaged professionals integrate seamlessly with your internal team, working alongside your full-time employees to fulfill specific project needs, typically on a short-term basis.
The vendor cares about your team augmentation, meaning selecting competent engineers who previously worked on similar projects and sending their CVs to you. You (or your company's C-level executives) can interview the chosen experts and sign a contract if hiring them.
As you seek flexible staffing solutions to keep up with your evolving project demands, you’ve likely noticed the rising popularity of IT staff augmentation. This approach is not just a trend; it’s a strategic move that’s driving the rapid growth of the global software market.
Benefits of IT Staff Augmentation
While both staff augmentation and project outsourcing can be beneficial in certain circumstances, the former is often most beneficial for project-based businesses who are in a state of constant flux. With IT staff augmentation, organizations can use outsourced talent on an as-needed basis, while still being able to manage workers directly.
Filling Gaps in the Workforce
There are countless benefits of IT staff augmentation, starting with the ability to hire based on needs. If you have gaps in your IT workforce that need to be filled, it can be a highly useful model for expanding your team. With staff augmentation, you can hire tech talent globally and add skilled technical resources to your in-house development team on a short- or long-term basis, based on your needs.
Paying For What You Need
IT staff augmentation also allows organizations to save money over time. This unique model allows you to hire temporary workers, meaning you do not have to employ full-time employees which can be highly costly. You only pay for what you need for as long as you need it.
Crucial Time Saver
With IT staff augmentation, you can also save your business leaders a lot of time. It takes time to create job postings, interview job candidates and go through the proper paperwork to hire full-time employees. With it, you can eliminate time spent recruiting new employees.
Maintaining Control Over Existing Staff
Another major perk of choosing IT staff augmentation is the ability to maintain control over your existing staff. When you outsource your project to a third party, you are essentially putting your work in the hands of strangers. However, staff augmentation allows you to choose a temporary team to work with. You have control over who leads the project and what to prioritize.
How it Works
To be truly successful, a business must have the proper resources and talent at its disposal. Unfortunately, an organization may lack the talent needed to reach its goals. That is when IT staff augmentation can come in useful. Here is a closer look at how it works.
Determining Needs
The first step in the process involves clearly outlining your outsourcing goals. This ensures that you are in the best position to create a team of talented workers who have the energy, creativity and skills needed to complete the project on time and on budget.
Sourcing Talent
Next, take time to choose the right talent source. Not all technical staff firms are made equal and you want to ensure that you are choosing one that sufficiently vets their workers. By properly sourcing your talent, you can maintain peace of mind that your workers are equipped for the task at hand.
On-Boarding Talent
Once you have a team onboard, it is important to clearly define all roles and responsibilities. This will help ensure that there is no confusion about who plays what roles in the project and that the project remains on track. Allow team members to ask questions and provide feedback throughout the process to create a cohesive team environment.
Providing Ongoing Support
Another major perk of choosing IT staff augmentation is the ability to It is not enough to simply hire temporary staff and leave them to their own devices. To ensure that your project is completed based on your specifications and deadlines, it is important to provide continuous support to your team. Even the most talented workforce needs a leader to guide them through the process.