Benefits Of Staff Augmentation
Now and then, every business needs extra hands or specific skills to tackle projects effectively. Traditional hiring is a long process. Outsourcing, while useful, sometimes fails to meet all project needs.
Plus, you can’t always maintain control over the work with outsourced staff. For looking for a middle ground, staff augmentation may be an ideal solution. It’s as flexible as outsourcing but you have full control over the project.
What Is Staff Augmentation?
You’re most likely familiar with hiring full-time employees and occasionally outsourcing tasks when your team’s overloaded or lacks certain expertise. Now, staff augmentation is a hybrid model. It lets you “rent” skilled professionals temporarily.
In outsourcing, you delegate tasks to external teams. For example, you may outsource some software development tasks to freelancers or a specialized agency. The key thing is that you will have to put in a lot of effort to manage their cooperation with your in-house employees.
In contrast to this, software development staff augmentation allows you to expand your existing team with external talents. These professionals will work under your guidance as a part of your in-house team.
Benefits of Staff Augmentation
1. Lower Cost
One of the central staff augmentation benefits is money. It might not seem obvious at first sight but this approach is a very cost-effective solution. Hiring someone full-time means salaries, benefits, plus lots of small things like a coffee fund — it all adds up. Now, think about outsourcing. You might dodge the full-time costs, but project invoices can be hefty, especially if you’re looking at specialized skills.
With augmented staff, you’re essentially borrowing expertise only when you need it. Need a cybersecurity expert for a short sprint? Augmentation means you only pay for those three months, not a full-time wage. This is huge for budget flexibility.
2. Control Over the Project
Now, control is another major plus. One thing with outsourcing a project is that you’re never quite sure what you’ll get back. With team augmentation, you’re the boss. The team you bring in slots into your way of doing things, following your lead.
Need to pivot or tweak the project? No problem. Your augmented team is on your turf, ready to move with you. In a way, they are like freelancers combined with the commitment of a full-time employee. It may be particularly useful when you must keep your project true to your vision.
3. Outside Perspective
Fresh eyes can make all the difference at times. Augmented staff come with a suitcase of experiences from various fields and that’s their huge advantage. If you manage it well, adding new people to your team for a fixed period can bring some nice benefits such as
- spark innovation,
- push your team to think differently,
- and overcome roadblocks.
And this is not to mention the fact that your full-time employees will most likely learn a lot of useful skills from augmented ones.
4. Access to a Wide Pool of Talents
One of the greatest team augmentation benefits is that the choice is practically unlimited. Need a niche skill that’s super rare in your local market? The framework connects you to global talent. This means you’re no longer limited by geography. You can find the best person for the job, whether they’re in Berlin or Bali.
Of course, you get the same benefit with outsourcing but as we’ve said, the latter means lower control over the process.
5. Flexibility
Unlike outsourced teams, which might struggle with swift directional shifts, augmented staff are integrated into your project’s ecosystem. This means they can adjust immediately without the need for extensive briefings or catch-up sessions.
This flexibility is one of the key benefits of staff augmentation services because, in most cases, projects are subject to frequent updates. Augmented staff, already familiar with the goals and working environment, understand these changes in context.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the benefits of staff augmentation are varied. Most notably, you can enjoy reduced costs, enhanced control, and fresh perspectives.
Plus, if your team needs to adapt quickly to changing project needs, there won’t be any issues with that. All in all, if full-time hiring isn’t your option, you will most likely choose between augmented or outsourced staff and there are good reasons to choose the former.
FAQs
How quickly can augmented staff be onboarded?
They can typically be onboarded much faster than full-time hires, often within days or weeks. The exact timeline can vary depending on the skills required and the availability of professionals. As a rule, the process is streamlined due to the absence of traditional hiring formalities.
How do businesses handle confidentiality and IP rights with augmented staff?
They can do it with the help of NDAs and IP agreements similar to those used with full-time employees. This ensures that all project-related information remains secure and the rights to any work produced remain with the company.
Can augmented staff lead or manage projects, or are they only for execution roles?
They can certainly take on leadership or management roles within projects. Businesses can bring in professionals with the necessary leadership experience and skills to oversee projects or teams, depending on the project’s needs.
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