What is staff augmentation?
It often happens that when you are working on a project, you find yourself lacking a skilled member on your team. Many times, you do not have the time to interview potential candidates and make an assertive choice when you want to meet ambitious deadlines.
There are numerous problems and delays involved in recruitment processes. Will the new hire be able to communicate properly with the rest of the employees? Is he a team player? Does he need training? And the list goes on and on…
All this can be quite overwhelming and part (if not all) of your focus shifts to hiring the right person, when it should be on the project.
Wondering how to avoid all the hassle?
Staff Augmentation is the way.
I’m not here to confuse you with technical jargon. Let’s keep it short and simple.
Understanding Staff Augmentation
Staff augmentation is a term best described as a recruitment process that allows you to hire employees globally without putting them on your payroll permanently. It’s an outsourcing strategy that allows businesses to manage their team of professional employees directly, anywhere in the world.
A staff augmentation company, helps you find and incorporate skilled technical resources to your team. These people join your in-house team for specific projects, for specific periods of time. Think of it as a very large talent pond, where you can fish freely. A global talent pool assures that you get your hands on highly skilled professionals FAST.
Staff augmentation offers you a platform to reach talented professionals from all over the world without the typical hassle of traditional recruitment processes.
You might need a large team of professionals for a certain project and a smaller one at other times. Staff augmentation is the best way to make sure that your project’s needs are fully met but at the same time, you’re not stuck with a fixed team and a fixed set of skills when it’s not necessary.
Advantages of Staff Augmentation
- Cost Effective
The one advantage that holds the most appeal to a business is that it can save money. First of all, since the team is on your payroll only when it’s needed, you don’t have to worry about overspending in the long term. You don’t need to draft detailed contracts with employee benefits, compensation, taxes and more. Moreover, there’s no training period so you’re cutting costs there too!
- Increased Flexibility and Adaptability
Never say “no” to a project again. The beauty of staff augmentation is that you can create a team of any size and capabilities whenever you want it. You will be able to expand the scope of your projects and offer better quality solutions.
- Better Control
When a project is outsourced, it is hard to keep track of the progress. However, through staff augmentation you can make sure the project is on track and can also measure its efficiency with a reduced security risk.
- Counteract Attrition
On-time delivery is what boosts a business’s image. Unexpected attrition can cause problems in project management. Through staff augmentation, you will always have someone who will be ready to pick up the slack.
Flexibility, the ability to meet ambitious deadlines, highly skilled resources available on a short notice — these three attributes of staff augmentation are what makes this model so appealing and essential for business and projects.
At the end of the day, Staff Augmentation is nothing more than a remedy for old processes and structures that are not always the best choice for a modern company.
