In today’s fast-paced world, where businesses are using advanced technology solutions, hiring employees in-house is not the only option. Globalization and technical advancement in IT services have made it possible for businesses worldwide to build remote teams for their projects efficiently. Nowadays, more and more technology-related businesses (like IBM AS400 iSeries, .Net Development, and Custom Software Development) are switching from traditional in-house hiring to IT Staff Augmentation. Before moving ahead, let’s have a look, what this blog contains for you –
What is Staff Augmentation?
Staff Augmentation is an outsourcing model intended at staffing resources within an organization according to their project needs or to fulfil pre-defined objectives. In terms of IT staffing, the terms imply – staffing an organization with the needed developers, project managers, analysts, architects, etc. (especially at remote locations) Usually, what happens is, companies fail to find the required resources due to various reasons. In such a scenario, it’s good to connect with some IT Staff Augmentation services providers and get the resources needed.
What’s so Good About Staff Augmentation?
Employers can make strategic savings through Staff Augmentation or temporary staffing by keeping the workforce flexible. The Staff Augmentation service providers will avail temporary staff according to the contract, or if any instant requirement emerges. Have a look at some important benefits of Staff Augmentation:
- Cost saving on staff training as you bring in already trained people from outside
- No need to take any liabilities for hired employees
- It’s not necessary to pay bonuses, health insurance, and other allowances
- You have the authority to increase/decrease the team size as per convenience
- Your staff won’t feel insecure as they are not permanent employees
- Practically, there is no contractor vs. employee scenario
Is Staff Augmentation Popular in IT Companies?
If you are concerned about the popularity of this service, our answer is a big YES. Many companies like Integrative Systems provide a dedicated team to many prominent & remote IT companies working in the field on IBM AS400 iSeries, .Net Development, Retail Merchandise Management System, and many more technologies. This is just one example that shows that IT companies recognize the importance of the staff augmentation model.
Objectives of Staff Augmentation Services
IT Staff Augmentation solutions are for the companies who require short-term engagement from expert candidates to complete their projects within a finite time-period. Furthermore, the model is also helpful for the companies who want to expand their team as per customer requirements. Have a look at a few of its objectives:
- Speed up your project by hiring talented people for a limited time-period.
- Minimize the investment risk by using a well-managed hiring solution.
- Get perfect talent (skills and experience) on board, as per your project requirements.
- Set up your hiring budget in advance so that you’ll get skilled resources within the budget.
- Get successful outcomes by hiring talented resources that are perfect for your tasks.
How IT Staff Augmentation Works?
IT Staff Augmentation is not a difficult process. Take the following steps to make this work:
- Before searching for candidates, first identify the project requirements, qualification of candidates to be hired, years of experience, and the number of resources you need. It should be clear in your mind what you need, define the exact number of people you want to hire and for how much time.
- Once you know whom to hire, the next step is to begin the search process for the right candidate. Connect with the right Staff Augmentation services providers to find and review suitable resources. Conduct interviews and let them pass the test to ensure that they are capable of joining your team.
- If you have signed an agreement with an employee to join your team, it’s a mistake to think that all the hard work is over. Integration of new members to the existing team is challenging, and you should do it steadily.
- Even after the integration process, continuous support and nurturing to the new employee is a must and should be done on a regular basis. Developing a strong relationship with them is critical for adequate support.
Difference Between Managed IT Services and IT Staff Augmentation?
People are often confused about these two terms and think of them as the same. But, these both are very different.
Managed IT services mean that the outsourcing company manages the team, but in the case of Staff Augmentation, the end client manages the team itself. In other words, a project manager is the one who draws the line between these two.
NOTE: If a client company has qualified for the tech management staff, there is no need to use managed services. But, if they cannot manage remote resources, then managed services are the best option.
Project Outsourcing vs. Staff Augmentation
In project outsourcing, the outsourcing company acts as the “third party” to perform a defined set of tasks for the client organization. And the organization which outsourced their project completely relies on a third-party company to get their work done.
Project outsourcing is like signing a contract with an organization to get their work done.
But in Staff Augmentation, organizations can hire several resources from different fields to get their project completed on time.
Well, it is believed that Staff Augmentation is better than Project Outsourcing in various ways. We will discuss this in the next step.
Why is Staff Augmentation Better than Project Outsourcing?
1. Control Over the Staff of an Organization
Staff Augmentation is preferred because it helps manage employees closely, and the project outsourcing model lacks this factor. In project outsourcing, all the process is controlled by an outsider.
2. Easy Integration with Organization’s Business Process
Most organizations find it easy to integrate with the resources of Staff Augmentation instead of aligning the business process with a third-party organization.
3. Acceptance by the Company Staff
The people working as permanent employees within an organization find it easy to work with the Staff Augmentation model compared to project outsourcing.
4. The Changing Needs of Organizations
The Staff Augmentation model provides skilled (proficient in their fields) candidates to the organization and meets the changing requirements because of expert and experienced candidates on board. At the same time, project outsourcing fails to provide such expertise sometimes.
Advantages of Staff Augmentation
1. Cost-Effective
As we are talking about niche experts, hiring them full-time will cost you more. So, Staff Augmentation will let you avoid this scenario, and you can hire developers or architects as per the project requirements.
2. Offers Better Control
Staff Augmentation enables you to have a holistic view of a complete project or a process by giving you full control over the operations. If you’re a project manager, you will be aware of who is working on the most crucial tasks and working on the routine office work.
3. Prevents Attrition
Many organizations spend their precious time and money on recruiting candidates, providing training, and seeing them joining a different organization. With Staff Augmentation, such incidents can be avoided as you can hire Staff temporarily after identifying your staffing needs.
4. Augmented Staff Management
The parent company ultimately manages the augmented Staff. It means you don’t have to worry if they leave your tasks in the middle of a project or have any operational concern; the parent company will look after it.
Flexible IT Staffing Services with Integrative Systems
Integrative Systems is the preferred staffing partner for our various client organizations. With significant growth in IBM AS400 iSeries services, custom software development services, and .Net development services, Integrative Systems has handled various prestigious projects and earned distinctive awards.
With IT Staff Augmentation Services from Integrative Systems, you can:
- Access certified IT professionals like, Developers, Programmers, Project Managers, Architects, Business Analysts, and many more.
- Get quick Support for your IT operations
- Gain access to critical skillset for your IT operations.
- Benefit from project-specific expertise.
Get in touch with experts at [email protected] and receive a free consultation with a detailed quote!
