IT staff augmentation temporarily expands the current IT teams with external talent skilled in specific technologies. It addresses the shortage of advanced skills, enabling businesses to stay aligned with the changing technology landscape. You can augment your IT staff for any period, ranging from a few months to a year or more. The hired talent can be from your own country, a neighbouring country, or overseas.
Each model of this hiring technique brings unique benefits. It enables the business to never get outstripped by the pace of change. Explore the top benefits of IT staff augmentation and the unique advantages of different types and models of this approach.
Software development projects that stand the test of time need specialised skills. It demands a workforce adept at using next-gen technologies. However, recruiting such talent is far from easy. In a recent IDC survey, 90% of IT organizations reported missed revenue goals and forceful project delays because of the absence or low number of IT staff. The trend is gaining momentum despite the widespread tech layoffs and recession.
Recruiting top IT talent, such as DevOps engineers, Machine Learning experts, QA professionals, and the like, has become challenging for firms across industries. However, there is a solution to prevent you from losing hope: IT staff augmentation. This hiring strategy allows businesses to fill their talent pipeline for any complex project quickly. It enables you to scale your teams, who work productively under your supervision.
What Is IT Staff Augmentation?
IT staff augmentation is a hiring model wherein you supplement your existing teams with external skilled professionals who have the skills to complete your project. You can augment your workforce with any number of developers who know the nuances of specific technologies essential for your project.
An IT or software development company wanting to build an AI-enabled shopping app may have only five full-time developers skilled in AI. The company can augment five more developers by connecting with a staff augmentation service. These professionals will be experienced in building AI-enabled applications and can work efficiently on the project. As the application is completed quickly with more skilled manpower, it will hit the market quickly.
You can increase or decrease the workforce you hire throughout the development period. It depends on the complexity of your work, deadlines, and stakeholders’ expectations.
How Does IT Staff Augmentation Work?
An IT staff augmentation process is not lengthy. It typically consists of the following four steps:
1. Assessing requirements
Before contacting an augmentation service, the company outlines the goals to be fulfilled. It means analyzing the in-house talent and identifying the gaps and resource needs.
Here are the major things you should have clarity over:
a. Project’s goals
b. How do you perceive success
c. Timeline of the project
d. Your budget
e. Deliverables
f. Type of skills you need
g. Level of skills required
h. Period for hiring (it can be long-term or short-term)
2. Discovery call with the staff augmentation provider
Schedule a discovery call with the service that will provide you with the external team after assessing your requirements. It is essential to discuss your needs and the level of skills needed in detail. Otherwise, you will not get the right people.
Explain the qualification, level of expertise, and the term for which you will require assistance. The augmentation provider will analyse your request and find suitable candidates. You will receive their CVs and details and can then schedule the interviews.
3. Design interview questions with the chosen candidates
Interviewing candidates that the staff augmentation firm has chosen is a crucial step. It will allow you to understand their ability to fit in with your company’s culture.
Do not get caught up in measuring technical proficiencies. Varying the interview questions will enable you to assess their abilities realistically.
You will get the best performance results from outside talent when you design questions that assess the following aspects:
a. The professional’s capability to resolve tricky problems.
b. The potential for collaboration in groups
c. The way that the candidate communicates information to non-technical people.
d. Their approach to staying aligned with the advances in their domain
e. The approach toward challenging situations
f. How well do they solve job-related technical assignments
4. Onboard the chosen candidates and scale the team as needed
The candidates chosen after the interview will be onboarded. When this period ends, the project manager should make all the deliverables and objectives clear to the augmented staff. Companies can make onboarding easy and gear the new members to perform productively using these steps:
1. Discuss the requirements of the job and how you want them to contribute.
2. Introduce the external team to your workflows and processes.
3. Make the staff familiar with the existing in-house team.
4. Tell the new hires how you monitor the progress of the project as a whole and individually.
5. The new professionals should get the tools needed to do their tasks.
6. You can increase the number of external talent if the need arises or if the project’s scope increases unexpectedly.
The Role of IT Staff Augmentation in Business Growth
Hiring IT professionals externally brings many benefits to businesses of all sizes, from startups to large-scale companies. You gain a pipeline of strong candidates that you can retain for as long as you want without exceeding your budget. Here are the many ways IT staff augmentation fuels business success.
1. Financial Benefits
IT staff augmentation pricing models are cost-efficient and remove many sources of expenses associated with in-house recruitment. In fact, staff augmentation lowers the project cost by 40% and offers 25% savings for tech operations.
By doing so, you do not need to worry about the costs associated with traditional IT recruitment, which are as follows:
a. Job advertisement
b. Expenses related to HR’s wages
c. Fees for the recruitment agency
d. Expenses related to training the employee
e. Healthcare-related costs
f. Fixed staffing costs
In contrast, when augmenting talent, you pay only for the professionals you hire. You can pay a fixed price for a specific project, make monthly or hourly payments, or pay a monthly retainer fee. Also, there are no indirect costs related to workplace setup or equipment since the talent you hire mostly works remotely. The company that outsources the professionals gives them all they need to work on your project.
You only need to give them permissions and access to documents and systems they will need to work. The predictable and upfront costs allow you to manage the budget well.
2. Access to a Vast and Specialised Talent
According to a study by Harvard Business Review, the half-life of certain technology skills is significantly low (2.5 years). Technologies like generative AI and blockchain are further reducing their lifespan. Consequently, organisations face a serious shortage of skills, which is capable of hindering their competitiveness in the market.
Rapid digital transformation has accelerated the demand for software developers skilled in the following technologies:
- Data Science
- Cloud computing
- AI
- Machine Learning
- Blockchain
- Cybersecurity
Typical IT staff do not know these technologies and need sufficient training to use them optimally. IT staff augmentation mends this skill gap by enhancing your team with highly skilled professionals. Access to a diverse talent pool with specialised, future-forward knowledge drives business growth in the following ways:
a. There is no need to settle for less qualified candidates
b. There are no expenses or complexities of relocation to incur
c. IT teams do not need to use unreliable approaches for software development
d. The need to rely on legacy and outdated systems is gone
e. Organisations can deliver the commitments made to the stakeholders
f. Increased adaptability to changing trends
3. Increased Ability to Respond to Changing Needs
IT staff augmentation provides you with a specialised skill set, which makes it easy to pivot when customer demands change or competition increases. The ability to meet the new needs positions the business at the top. An organisation that can thrive amid evolving trends is also agile, and increased agility leads to scalability.
Some of the key roadblocks hindering agility include unexpected project demands, scope creep, and the need for the latest technologies to develop a solution. IT staff augmentation resolves all these roadblocks, facilitating continuous project excellence. The external talent team is capable of handling unexpected and varied project demands and loads. They have the expertise and experience to use cutting-edge technologies and help you tackle complicated projects with specialised features.
External IT staff can be hired for any period of time until the project needs are met. The predefined time limits also ensure that there is no rush during the work and that the final solution maintains its quality and reliability.
4. Reduced Risks of Hiring, Long-Term Commitments and Compliance
Hiring full-time in-house IT staff can be counterproductive when the project requires a decent experience in domain-specific expertise. What will you do after the project is complete? It increases the risk of full-time commitments, which is where augmentation shines.
By using the services of external talent for a pre-specified duration, you do not need to think about the post-project period. There are no HR-related tasks associated with them, which significantly eases the administrative burden.
Similarly, the staffing provider ensures legal compliance in IT staff augmentation. The robust contracts specify the obligations of both the business and the augmentation provider. These contracts lay down comprehensive liability and indemnification clauses. So, you are protected if any unforeseen circumstance, like a breach, arises.
5. Greater Operational Efficiency
When operations are efficient, they optimise costs and reduce wastage. High operational costs are particularly harmful for small and medium-scale businesses. Hiring in-house IT staff further increases the overall expenditure, making achieving the desired return impossible.
IT staff augmentation increases operational efficiency because you do not need to manage the external team. The IT staff is adept at handling unexpected workloads and unique demands, so you can achieve more with minimal effort. Trained professionals can commence any project immediately, and you can increase or decrease them according to your targets.
Additionally, the niche expertise of outsourced talent prevents unnecessary resource usage. Whether implementing a new tech stack, developing a novel app, boosting cybersecurity measures, or getting technology advice, you can be sure that the external staff will work efficiently.
6. Better Project Management
IT project management is quite complicated. Organisations without specialised skills struggle to meet deadlines while keeping expenses under control. External teams can be hired for specific projects on a need-basis, making it easier to complete projects.
External professionals adapt quickly to difficult demands without using unnecessary resources. They are well-versed in using the right tools to monitor work progress and deliver work in a timely manner without compromising quality. You do not need to spend additional hours training them for large-scale projects.
Augmented staff is also uniquely positioned to identify potential pitfalls and risks and enhance workflows. They implement effective solutions to common workflow issues that ensure optimal outcomes in terms of project completion and delivery.
7. Increased Control and Visibility
With an augmented team of IT professionals, you know how your project is going from its inception. You can monitor the progress of the project and its quality from the moment you hire the professionals. The external team works similarly to your in-house team, and you retain complete ownership of the project.
Direct control over the workflow, team, and skillsets also leads to greater visibility. Issues and roadblocks are identified earlier, allowing for quick action. There is no confusion about what is happening at any particular time.
Moreover, the external members dutifully manage, complete, and periodically report on the work progress, fostering transparency. In order to boost efficiency further, you can conduct frequent performance assessments. Combine them with feedback meetings, and it is easy to notice that the project is being completed on schedule.
The high degree of transparency creates a bond of trust and strengthens the relationship between you and the augmented members.
8. Assurity of Being Adequately Staffed at All Times
High attrition rates have a significant financial impact on businesses. Constant turnover also disturbs team dynamics, creates instability and prevents knowledge sharing. What would you do if your top candidate accepted another offer after going through a couple of interview rounds? The wastage staffing budget cannot be recovered.
All this hinders business growth. An excellent way to reduce instability is using augmented team members.
IT staff augmentation keeps organisations well-staffed throughout the year without additional expenses. No member can leave a project midway as they are all bound by a contract. Thus, you do not need to worry about a lack of employees, especially when working on a crucial project.
You can consider staff augmentation when unexpected or challenging work requirements and deadlines occur. It is even possible to redeploy the team to the next project after the current one ends. You can continue the contract with the staff augmentation provider for any number of years according to your needs. This ensures that your business never stagnates because of a lack of workers or specialised talent.
Business Benefits of Different Types of IT Staff Augmentation Services
There are several benefits of staff augmentation for IT companies. Each benefits businesses with different requirements.
Skill-based IT Staff Augmentation
In this augmentation solution, you hire third-party skilled professionals for a particular period. So, if you need particular skills for your project that you cannot access currently, a skill-based augmentation solution helps. As the hired staff has more skills than the existing ones in your company, skill-based augmentation comes in handy.
The talent whom you hire through this solution can assist you on a short-term or long-term basis. Also, you do not have to invest in training them. This, in turn, removes the need to also train your staff in specific technologies or tools. Skill-based IT staff augmentation solution works perfectly for finding professionals who are not highly expert but have enough skills to complete your project in a timely manner.
Highly Skilled Staff Augmentation
As the name suggests, highly skilled staff augmentation involves hiring professionals with advanced skills. If your organisation faces a shortage of skills for critical processes, hiring high-skilled professionals will be advantageous.
You can find highly skilled staff for key programming technologies or to complete a software development lifecycle. Experts in advanced technology like Computer Vision, Augmented Reality and AWS can be augmented according to project demands.
This type of augmentation solution also works best when you need to make major technology decisions but lack the expertise for them. For instance, suppose you want to develop or optimise a cloud infrastructure. If you lack the expertise to assess the current infrastructure, cloud strategies, and tools needed to do the job, the work you will do will not yield the desired returns.
Top consultants experienced in implementing cloud-based solutions will help you throughout the process and guide you to the best tools that will result in a well-optimised cloud architecture. When you use their advice, it will prevent you from unwanted resources and money wastage.
Commodity-Based Augmentation
Staff augmentation is beneficial even when you do not need extremely specialised talent. In commodity-based augmentation, you hire employees who can perform general tasks in your company.
Businesses can rely on this type of augmentation for tasks defined by their low complexity. If the skills your company needs are easily available in the market but you do not want to invest in traditional hiring processes, commodity-based augmentation will be beneficial. The model is also suitable for projects that demand additional resources for daily tasks. It fills temporary gaps in your company and supplements the existing productivity levels.
Some key examples of commodity-based IT staff augmentation include basic technical support, data entry tasks, repetitive manual testing and customer service. These roles do not need professionals with niche expertise or high-level decision-making abilities.
IT Staff Augmentation Models and Their Benefits
There are different staff augmentation models. Each involves associating with a provider in different locations.
Enterprises can hire staff from a provider in their own country, nearshore or offshore locations. It depends on specific requirements. Here are the benefits of each augmentation model
Onshore Staff Augmentation
In an onshore model, you hire from an augmentation provider in your geographic location. This approach gives the following business benefits:
1. There are no timezone differences, so it facilitates efficient collaboration
2. The onboarding happens quickly. You do not need significant time to look for suitable candidates.
3. The hired talent is a cultural fit. It increases collaboration and understanding.
4. The contact between the external and in-house teams is uninterrupted and smooth.
5. Progress check-ins and real-time feedback are easier to attain.
Nearshore Staff Augmentation
In this model, you partner with augmentation services in countries that are not very far off from yours. So, there is no issue of different time zones. Also, the cultural variations are minimal. Here are its benefits for IT firms:
1. Nearshore staff augmentation is cheaper than the onshore one.
2. There is effective project collaboration because of very few time zone variations.
3. The risk of miscommunication is quite low because of a similar culture.
4. The model offers greater visibility related to software quality and its production.
5. You benefit from faster time-to-market of your projects.
Offshore Staff Augmentation
Offshore IT staff augmentation is currently the most popular model. This is especially true for corporations that aim to cut costs without sacrificing talent.
Offshore talent is best found in India, Poland, the Philippines, Ukraine, Brazil, China, Romania and Vietnam. This model of augmenting development teams has varied advantages.
1. Offshore talent proves ideal when you want a large workforce for a time-consuming project.
2. This model is highly cost-effective. Still, companies can deliver high-quality products.
3. Through offshore IT talent, you get to explore a diverse talent pool experienced in cutting-edge tools.
4. Your software development teams can be scaled easily without increasing the budget.
5. There is greater scope for innovation because of the varied perspectives that offshore staff brings.
Conclusion
The rapid rise of technology is widening the skill gap, which is potentially threatening the growth of IT companies. Attracting the right candidates is now an arduous task many firms wish to resolve. Onboarding in-house IT employees is expensive and comes with many commitments.
However, sourcing highly specialised tech talent through IT staff augmentation fixes the pressing issues. This hiring strategy is becoming popular, especially for enterprises needing to manage large projects or sudden workload increases. It gives you vetted professionals capable of producing high-quality output whenever needed.
The flexibility of hiring makes it easy for any organisation to strengthen its technical abilities. If you, too, want to get these benefits, reach out to eSparkBiz. We have over 370 highly skilled IT experts for various roles ready to fulfil the distinct expertise required by organisations.
