Staff Augmentation Services- When to opt & When to Not

Last Updated on September 13, 2022

In the current era, you can not afford to be slow in any aspect. Businesses need to be more serious due to the competition being extremely tough in recent times. Digitalization has led them to innovate more. 

A business must have a complete workforce to deliver the clients what they need. To have a complete staff, a business might face difficulties due to the hiring process being time taking and complex sometimes. In this scenario, Staff Augmentation Services might come handy. 

What Is Staff Augmentation Service?

Staff Augmentation is one type of outsourcing option to get your job done but more cost-effectively and flexibly. It can offer you huge benefits to fill the essential job roles that are vacant in your company. 

In this service, employees are hired on a contract basis and they have the option to serve you from their homes or even from the office of the company that is offering you Staff Augmentation services. 

Expected Growth In Staff Augmentation Services

Staff Augmentation services are growing at a rapid speed as businesses are preferring them due to their flexibility and cost-effective nature. 

• According to We Are UV, by the end of 2022 the outsourcing market will reach a value of $531 billion.  
• As reported by PR News Wire, the Staff Augmentation Services market will experience an incremental spend of around $81.87 billion in the 2021-2025 cycle. 

What Are the Pros Of Staff Augmentation Services?

• Access To Huge Talent Pool- The hiring process for full-time employees may consume a lot of time and effort. However, still, the company may not create a properly balanced team. Staff Augmentation serves businesses as a means of short-term recruiting that lets them access a huge talent pool. 

As the Staff Augmentation recruits are domain-centric they can offer new thinking capabilities to the firms. Apart from that, Staff Augmentation enables the companies to appoint experienced professionals in certain aspects who can offer them more in a short duration of time.

• Cost-Effectiveness- Every business focuses on cost savings. It is one of the major ways to generate more revenue. Staff Augmentation offers cost-effectiveness to the companies in completing projects. 

In case your business is in a country where the cost of living is very high it will be costly for you to appoint full-time employees. As you will be required to pay them high as the cost of living is high. But you can always avail of Staff Augmentation from a country where the cost of living is not that high.

• Expansion- Software companies always try to scale their business high as it helps them in taking full advantage of profitable market conditions. But to scale up their business they need a bigger workforce and for that, they need more capital.

Staff Augmentation can serve companies in extending their workforce by hiring more dedicated developers without investing in advanced staffing.

• Better Control- Software companies can have better control over their projects as in Staff Augmentation Services, an organization only outsources the employees to other organizations. 

Having complete control over management can help you complete the project as desired. 

Recent Trends In Staff Augmentation Services

• Cloud Computing- As businesses are now preferring to move their whole infrastructure and apps to the cloud, they are in huge need of IT experts in Cloud Computing.

• AI And ML- To improve business operations companies are preferring AI and ML more. So an increased demand for IT experts in AI and ML is observed.

• Big Data- In the current age business operations are nothing without data the need for IT experts in Big Data technologies has increased immensely.

• Cybersecurity- Cyber attacks are now familiar to all of us. Every day there are hundreds of reported cases of cyber attacks. So IT professionals with relevant experience in cybersecurity are in huge demand.

What Are The Possible Consequences Of Staff Augmentation Services?

• Learning The Context- When you hire an employee through Staff Augmentation Services, the employee enters a new working environment. It may take time for him to adjust to that environment. 

In some cases, the new hires need to change their working style and soft skill practices to be more productive. That is why you must be focused on making the integration process run smoothly without any time loss.

• Quality Risks- The risk an aspect of quality is present in every cooperation model. You must find a reliable partner to ensure there are no compromises in quality. 

A fixed contract with Staff Augmentation Service provides the company minimize the threat of low-quality services. You can also take part in the hiring process to select the best candidates for your services.

• Communication Gaps- In case you have an existing in-house team you must be aware that the recruit may not share healthy communication with all of them at once. This is noticed more when your in-house teams are working from your office and your newly hired profession is working remotely.

Different Types of Staff Augmentation

Staff Augmentation can be divided into three different categories-

• Within Country Staff Augmentation- In this model, any business hires employees within the same country.  It offers the advantage of being familiar with the behavior of the citizen. Being familiar with the behaviors can help make decisions. The only negative aspects of this type are it can be expensive, and it restricts access to a large talent pool.

•  Near Shore Staff Augmentation- In this type of Staff Augmentation a company hires staff from another country but within the same time zone. This category helps in getting a large pool of talent and it also helps in getting different perspectives as well.

• Offshore Staff Augmentation- In this category, a business hires staff from a different country and a completely different time zone. This category can offer the ultimate benefits like a much bigger talent pool to choose from and that too at a very low price. The only challenge in this model is the cultural or language barriers. Apart from that, it can be challenging to manage the team, because of different time zones. 

Beginners Guide For Using Staff Augmentation Services

In case you are planning to avail yourself of the Staff Augmentation Services and you have never used it before here is a step-by-step guide for you-

• Required Model- You need to select the model you need for outsourcing. If you think Staff Augmentation is the best option just evaluate the other options comparatively to be sure.

• Type You Need- If you are sure that you want Staff Augmentation Services then you need to select which type of service will be best for you. Like within the country, near-shore or offshore.

• Project Requirements- Analyze your project and mark out the specific requirements which you want the specialized recruit to do.

• Prioritize Your Preferences- In the fourth step you must make up your mind on what is important for you in price, quality, experience, or other factors.

• Preparation- In the final, you are required to prepare the questions you want to ask during the vetting process. You must be as strict as you are during the hiring process. 

When To Opt for IT Staff Augmentation Services?

You can avail of IT Staff Augmentation in different scenarios-

• You Are In Need Of Specialized Skills With Experience

Small and mid-sized companies may find it difficult to employ fully skilled and experienced candidates to handle every project. In some cases, giant companies having a complete IT staff of experts require hyper-specialized candidates for consultation purposes. Staff Augmentation offers everyone the flexibility to accept projects even with limitations in skills.

• You Need To Manage Increased Workload

In the IT industry companies often face the trouble of increased workload on employees. To manage this troubling situation, companies prefer seasonal hiring. Staff Augmentation offers you the flexibility of hiring for the increased workload timeframe. It frees your company from hiring full-time employees and then reducing the staff when the workload streamlines. 

• You Need To Complete A Short-Term Project Outside Your Expertise

The IT industry is the fastest growing in terms of both innovation and revenue generation. So projects with the latest technology may be offered to businesses but not having the required expertise can force you to back off. Staff Augmentation can help you in accepting the project. You can hire the required developers from outsourcing companies and combine them with your existing team.

• You Need To Save Costs

Having a full-fledged workforce may cost you a huge amount of money and in a situation where you are focusing on cost savings, it can be a serious issue. With Staff Augmentation you can hire temporary developers to assist your in-house teams and it is far less costly than having a bigger full-time staff.

• When You Want To Upgrade And Innovate

Often software companies may feel a lack of innovation in completing numerous projects. Lack of innovation may end up affecting the staff and make them feel saturated. 

During this phase, you can opt for Staff Augmentation to bring new perspectives and fresh minds to the company. It can help you establish a culture of result-oriented ideas and a new style to think of creative ideas. 

When Not To Opt For IT Staff Augmentation?

Staff Augmentation is extremely beneficial but there are a few scenarios as well where you can avoid it-

• When You Have The Experts

Staff Augmentation offers you the flexibility to hire temporary employees to help your in-house team in certain areas of completing the project. In case you have a complete team who are well suited for the project then you must not opt for Staff Augmentation as it will only result in extra spending.

• If You Need A Full-Time Member

IT Staff Augmentation is not full-time. Yes, you can hire for the long term but not full-time. So if you need a full-time employee to be a permanent member of your in-house team and coordinate not only on specific projects but every single one he is assigned to then you must not opt for IT Staff Augmentation.

• You Want To Completely Delegate Responsibility

In case you are facing issues in multiple projects and you think delegating the responsibility of a whole project might be helpful then IT Staff Augmentation can’t be the option for you. Yes, you can hire a project manager both on a full-time or part-time basis for the projects in Staff Augmentation but there are far better options available than Staff Augmentation like Managed Services to opt-in scenarios like this.

Considerable Factors While Choosing A Staff Augmentation Partner

• Staffing Needs- Identifying own staffing needs is the most crucial aspect in deciding on a Staff Augmentation partner. You may need a few supportive members of your team, or you just don’t have any extra office space to extend your workforce. You may need to free your most skilled developers from a specific project to handle another business.

• Experience Of Your Partner- The experience of your partner is a huge thing as it can lead you to complete the project with no compromise in quality. 

You can consult their previous clients, review their portfolio, ensure their experience in your required field, and go through their reviews and ratings to ensure that they can offer you quality service or not.

• Examine Their Communication Protocol- Communication is one of the key activities in partnering up with other companies. So it is important to understand how much they communicate, and which is their communication method.

• Commitment To Security- Security in this modern era is the most important factor to consider while doing any business activity. You must verify if the staffing agency makes both on-site and remote staff sign NDAs and ensure employment background checks are done.

• Language And Cultural Differences- If you are planning to work with a remote staff then you must verify that there are no language issues between the in-house teams and the outsourced talents.

OyeLabs Staff Augmentation Services Offers You The Desired Flexibility

OyeLabs is one of the best IT service providers around the globe. We are an extremely client-oriented company and aim to offer you the best possible solutions. for all your needs. For years we have delivered quality service to every business niche across numerous industries.

We offer top-quality Staff Augmentation Services based on our experts’ skills and experience. Below we have elaborated our Staff Augmentation Process-

Initial Contact	When you contact us to expand your in-house staff our managers will analyze your request. Then the managers will contact you again to discuss in more detail the required qualifications of the developers and the contract.
Selecting Developers	Once we understand the requirements precisely we start selecting suitable experts with the required skill sets. Once we select a few experts we send their CVs to you.
Interview	Once you approve the CVs, the selected developers need to pass the tech interview to verify their skills.
Signing	After all the steps above we sign a contract with the selected developers who cleared the interview. Once the contract is signed we involve them in the project.

Our process ensures that you receive the best possible experts for your needs. Contact us today to discuss more.

Final Words

The IT industry is the most rapidly growing across the globe. Regular innovation and new technologies are forcing software companies to innovate as well. In doing so Staff Augmentation has become an essential tool to achieve success. 

Throughout this article, we have discussed several areas of Staff Augmentation. We have discovered the advantages of it, and we also found the disadvantages of the service. However, it is upon you if you want to take the risks in completing your projects.

Types of Staff Augmentation Services, the working model, and trends are also discussed in this article. You have the flexibility to choose the type of service based on your preferences.

In specific scenarios, Staff Augmentation must be your first preference due to the ultimate benefits you get. But in a few cases, you must not opt for it as it may not serve you your desired service and cause extra expenses.

There are several factors you must consider while selecting your partner as they may hamper your reputation. 

OyeLabs offers you a complete client-centered service in Staff Augmentation. We are open to discussion on your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Staff Augmentation (FAQs)