Make Your IT Staff Augmentation More Efficient with these 5 Steps • Slash

Employing new IT experts comes with a huge cost in terms of time and money. A study by the Society for Human Resource Management reveals that hiring a new software engineer requires $4,700 and a period of 58 days. That is why companies prefer IT staff augmentation to reduce the wastage of essential resources.
But before you take this approach, it is vital to understand staff augmentation meaning, uses, strengths, and flaws. This article will provide a complete picture of this hiring model by making you understand the types. Moreover, you will also learn about the 5 critical steps for choosing the right staff augmentation company.

Table of Contents

What is IT Staff Augmentation?

The simplest staff augmentation definition is that it’s a strategic outsourcing model in which a firm hires external tech experts to work on specific tasks or projects. This temporary hiring helps organizations stay agile by acquiring the talent that is missing from their in-house team. Also, IT staff augmentation helps eliminate recruitment costs and permits companies to hand over their projects to proficient software developers to ensure successful outcomes.
Also Read: The Best Recommended Size of an Agile Team

4 Types of IT Staff Augmentation Approaches and Why Do You Need Them

Before implementing staffing augmentation for your IT needs, you must know its four types.

a. Remote Staffing

Remote IT staff augmentation is the most popular model where firms hire remote software teams or individuals to fulfill their staffing requirements. This approach lets you tap the global pool of talent. Also, it is excellent for your business if you need professionals at minimal hiring costs.
Remote augmentation provides several benefits, including:

Scalability
Adaptability
Ability to work in different time zones

However, you must ensure the company has an effective communication system for successful remote staffing. A reliable tech vendor will always use various communication tools to ensure availability according to your time zone.

b. On-Site

In on-site IT staff augmentation, you hire professionals to work at your physical office. Through this type, you can let the hired external staff collaborate with your internal staff more compactly.
The on-site augmentation is suitable for you if you need:

In-person interaction
Teams to work on extensive projects
Synchronization among the team members

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c. Team-based Augmentation

The team-based IT staff augmentation allows you to hire an entire IT team to work on a specific project. There are ready-made teams with all the required expertise and skills to overcome challenges.
This model is advantageous when:

There is no in-house team
You need teams for long-term commitments
You are dealing with time-sensitive projects
Your in-house team lacks an advanced skillset to build solutions

Although the team augmentation is usually of remote nature, you can also hire them for your physical location.

d. Project-based Augmentation

The project-based staff aug works similarly to the team staffing except for long-term commitment. You only hire staff for a particular duration to provide services for a specific project.

When You Should Use IT Staff Augmentation?

As you know, what is staff augmentation and its types, so let’s understand when you will need to implement this hiring model.

a. To Expand Expertise

It is always beneficial for a company to improve its in-house software staff knowledge before starting a new project or releasing a product. When the people hired through staff augmentation mix their talent with your in-house team, the combination can create wonders.

b. To Meet Required Skills

It is rare to have an in-house team with all the demanding skills needed for complex projects. That is why IT staff augmentation is essential because you can onboard people with different expertise in frameworks, programming languages, and IT structures. You can use their technical superpowers to make winning solutions.

c. To Increase Team with Minimal Efforts

Hiring is a lengthy process. It takes time to find a suitable match for present and future software projects. But the story does not end here. You must keep them on a payroll system, provide benefits and holidays, and even train them at your own expense.
Contrarily, IT staff augmentation helps you hire the right people without going through the tiring recruitment process. It is because your tech partner will do this on their behalf. So all you will be doing is enjoying the benefits at a very low cost compared to in-house hiring.

d. To Ensure On-time Delivery

If you want your company to deliver high-quality projects on time, you will need to implement resource and staff augmentation to make it happen. Since this approach lets you have some of the most rightfully talented and experienced people, they will help you build software with speed by using the right Agile project management methods, such as Scrum and Kanban.
Also Read: Kanban vs Scrum: Differences, Pros, Cons, and Everything You Should Consider

Pros and Cons of IT Staff Augmentation

Every hiring model has benefits and flaws, so let’s uncover the consequences of IT staff augmentation.

Pros	Cons
Versatility	Difficult quality control
Low-cost	Privacy issues and security risks
Time-saving
Clear communication
Enhanced productivity
Access to the worldwide talent

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecompetenza/status/1600467787029307393

5 Steps for Choosing the Right IT Staff Augmentation Services

Prior to selecting staff augmentation services, make sure the company has the following attributes.

1. Proven Track Record

Don’t just believe the online search results, but also verify your provider’s capabilities and track record through customer reviews and past projects. Always pick the one that has offered high-quality services to its former and present clients.

2. Scalability and Flexibility

A good IT staff augmentation company will always help you scale the number of team members as per your needs. Therefore, before getting into any contract, discuss how your provider can accommodate the change of requirements from time to time.

3. Cultural Similarity

Choose a software development staff augmentation company that can fit your organizational culture. They must match your time zone, work hours, number of meetings, and all other activities, which are part of your everyday work routine.

4. Communication Methods

Inquire about what communication channels are used by your provider. Likewise, evaluate the project management tools to ensure transparency and seamless collaboration. Also, make sure the IT staff augmentation firm has developers who can communicate fluently in the same language that you can understand. Otherwise, there will be a huge communication gap, which can lead to project failure.

5. Wide Talent Pool

Identify what sort of developers and IT experts your provider can access. You must ensure that the staff you’re hiring meets your requirements. They have the right educational background, work experience, and soft and hard skills.

Conclusion

When you know how to hire an IT staff augmentation provider, you can witness a lot of positive progress in terms of software quality and performance. To ensure the professionals work efficiently and effectively on your projects, you must hire experienced people with problem-solving skills. Your vendor must provide you with software development experts with a vast understanding of all major technologies.
At Slash, we give life to software projects through our IT staff augmentation services. From coding to project management, our top-tier talent can handle everything smoothly without exceeding deadlines. Contact us to align our tech squad with your goals and roles without disrupting your workflow.

FAQs – IT Staff Augmentation

Q1. What is technology staff augmentation?

Technology staff augmentation refers to outsourcing professionals with high IT knowledge and development experience.

Q2. What is an example of staff augmentation?

The simplest example of staff augmentation is hiring teams or individuals on a non-permanent basis.

Q3. What is IT staffing or staff augmentation?

Staff augmentation or IT staffing means hiring IT personnel externally to bridge the technological gaps.

Q4. What is the meaning of augmentation in work?

Augmentation in work means adding such resources to your work environment that improves products or services.

Q5. What is software augmentation vs consulting?

Software augmentation refers to the inclusion of features in a product. In contrast, consulting is related to offering suggestions on building great strategies.