Companies struggling to keep pace with growing consumer demand for technology solutions turn to team augmentation to ease the burden on their in-house staff. With a growing shortage of good software developers and tech talent, hiring the mobile and web development professionals your in-house team requires to succeed can be difficult and costly.
This post will discuss team augmentation, also known as staff augmentation. First, we’ll explain what it is and how staff augmentation services work. Then, we will explain the benefits associated with the staff augmentation model.
What Is Team Augmentation?
Team augmentation is when your business temporarily contracts new employees through a staffing provider to fill a skill gap or provide extra labor. Your business has complete managerial control over the employees provided by staff augmentation services. However, it is common among software developers that augmented team members will be distributed off-site.
The staff augmentation model is popular with skilled positions like software developers and engineers. IT staff augmentation services have gotten popular because they allow businesses to retain managerial control of tech talent instead of communicating through a contractor, which can cause delays in the development process and lead to an inferior product.
How Staff Augmentation Services Work
Now that you better understand what team augmentation is, it will be helpful to learn how this process typically works. When you are ready to engage staff augmentation services, you need to connect with a company that can provide skilled software developers. Take your time to thoroughly vet staff augmentation services to find a provider that understands your business objectives and can deliver the quality tech talent you require.
Once you find a trusted staff augmentation partner, your company will explain its needs and requirements. The staff augmentation provider will then send your business resumes to review. When you see resumes that you like, the staff augmentation provider will set up interviews with the tech talent you have selected. If the interviews go well and you decide to hire, the staff augmentation provider will create a contract, and the talent you interviewed will immediately join your in-house team.
The staff augmentation model is a great way to get skilled software developers, designers, business analysts, QA testers, and more while retaining project management control. Typically, this hiring model works best for small requests of one to five people. However, the process, as described above, tends to break down when the staffing requests are large.
The issue is staff augmentation providers don’t have tech talent sitting on the bench waiting for a job. Software developers and other tech talent are in-demand, and they won’t pay tech professionals just to sit on the bench and wait. So what typically happens when large staffing requests are made is that the provider will try to subcontract the recruitment of talent and fill the request as quickly as possible.
Remember, recruiting and retaining tech talent is costly. Staffing providers have no incentive to try and fill a large request on their own. Therefore, if your business makes a large staffing request, look for a staff augmentation provider with a good reputation that will offer you a contract upfront. Not only will this minimize your risk, but it will also minimize the risk of the provider and lead to your business getting better employees.
The Benefits of Team Augmentation
Businesses need to understand the benefits associated with an option before they make a decision that will affect the company. There are several benefits associated with staff augmentation, including:
- Cost savings
- Flexibility
- Managerial control
- Access to experts
- Faster time to market
Cost Savings
The primary benefit of staff augmentation is the cost savings businesses can realize. Companies unlock savings in a variety of ways. First, staff augmentation is a temporary relationship. Your business will not be paying a salary and benefits indefinitely. You only pay while you use the talent for the duration of your project.
Second, your company doesn’t have to spend the financial resources to recruit, hire, and retain tech talent. Recruitment can be costly, and it can take months to hire one software developer or engineer. Finally, you won’t have to pay for training, equipment, software, or office space for augmented team members. Staff augmentation is a cost-effective way to access top tech talent.
Flexibility
Staff augmentation offers businesses unparalleled flexibility in terms of scale. Need extra developers to complete a project fast? Staff augmentation services allow your business to rapidly scale up, and when your project is completed, your business can rapidly scale down without having to lay off employees. In addition, since augmented team members are highly skilled, they can be plugged into any project without going through a lengthy training or onboarding process.
Managerial Control
Retaining managerial control of tech talent is a significant benefit of staff augmentation. For one, this guarantees that employees are dedicated to your project alone. It also improves communication with remote employees and ensures your project is completed faster. Augmented team members are a part of your in-house staff. You can assign them to the areas that will best serve your business objectives and monitor their progress in more detail than would be possible through contracted services.
Access to Experts
Beyond the cost and difficulty of recruiting and hiring tech talent, many businesses might not have sufficient talent in their immediate area to hire in the first place. Staff augmentation gives your company access to a wide range of different development experts. Access the best talent without having to go through the process of recruiting and hiring them. Staff augmentation services allow your business to access expert tech talent that otherwise would be unavailable.
Faster Time to Market
Getting your product to market before your competitors is a major advantage. Staff augmentation services accelerate the software development process and allow your business to get its product to market in less time. The flexibility and expertise associated with staff augmentation ensure that your project will move faster than it would by utilizing alternative hiring models. Sometimes extra hands and additional expertise are just what you need to complete your project swiftly.
Final Thoughts
Staff augmentation services are valuable to businesses that need to beef up their in-house team. However, if you don’t choose the right provider, you might not experience the many benefits that we covered in this post. If you want to access world-class team augmentation services, reach out to an experienced app development partner.
