June 17, 2020

Learn More About IT Staff Augmentation and How it Can Benefit Your Business

The technological advancements that have taken place over the years have impacted every aspect of the social-economical field. Whether nuanced or huge, the difference has been felt everywhere, but more so in the way businesses recruit professionals to cater to the objectives they aim for.

Such is the backdrop when it comes to IT staff augmentation. Long gone are the days where companies or individuals preferred hiring in-house employees. With the wave of globalization that has deluged the world, it is no wonder that better options to acquire experts for your endeavors have emerged.

So, what exactly is IT staff augmentation?

Staff augmentation can be defined as the model used by companies to outsource professionals per their objectives and set goals. Applying the same principle to Information technology, IT staff augmentation entails finding and employing developers, who don’t necessarily have to be in the same geographical location as the employer, to staff the firm or company.

How does it work?

There are several steps that entail the functionality of IT staff augmentation. Here there are in chronological order:

Objective identification

Objective identification is self-explanatory, isn’t it? You have to know the exact objectives you hope to meet before trying to employ individuals. The said objectives will dictate the skillset the professionals you are looking for must-have, the years of experience they must have amassed and the number of experts you need. These nitty-gritty details should be clearly defined so that the outsourcing itself is smooth.

Review and selection

Once you have identified who exactly you are looking for, the search for the professionals begins. Experts are found and reviewed appropriately, meaning that interviews are conducted and they go through tests that ensure they meet the criteria that were created and that they are qualified enough.

Once they have been identified, it is up to the project manager to select the ones that he or she finds fit to be part of the team.

Integration

Integration must be conducted diligently to ensure that the team members you have acquired know each other well and understand the roles you have outlined for each one of them. Integration may involve having the members meet, having them understand the procedures and processes they should follow, and instilling the values of your company in them.

Support

Even after integrating the members, you have to provide support to them perpetually. Collecting their feedback and ensuring that strong bonds are built and maintained amongst themselves is essential in the functionality of the firm. It is only in showing support that efficiency and efficacy can be attained.

Management services and Staff augmentation

It is crystal clear that the difference between managing IT services and IT staff augmentation is nuanced. In managing services, the outsourcing company does exactly that; manage the staff. With staff augmentation, however, it is the client who controls the basic operations of the staff. The difference is simply who the project manager is. With managing services, it is the outsourcing company, but with staff augmentation, it is the client.

Advantages of IT staff augmentation

With the myriad benefits that IT staff augmentation offers, it is no surprise that it has gained plenty of notoriety over the years. But what exactly are the benefits that it can give you?

Ease of recruitment

Once you hire IT staff outsourcing companies, all the recruitment and reviewing processes are catered for by them. Necessary searches, interviews, and tests are conducted by them to identify experts that align with the parameters you set. Therefore, you can avoid the hassles of trying to pick professionals from a very diverse pool.

Legal processes

The legal processes and documentation required to procure the staff you need is hard work that even bordered on vexation. You need to pay taxes, ensure that all the staff is paid on time, and cater to their benefits. However, with staff augmentation, the experts who work for you are legally employed by the outsourcing company, which is responsible for everything. All you have to do is pay a monthly fee, which most of the time is fixed, and it will handle the rest.

Lower costs

With staff augmentation, you are assured that the cost of developing your staff will be subdued. Team members located in Europe or Asia will most likely command lower salaries compared to those in the United States. This can significantly reduce the costs of hiring IT professionals, thus facilitating more substantial profits.

With staff augmentation, brick and mortar firms are not required. Consequentially, this saves up on rent costs, buying equipment, and even taxes. The operational costs are therefore reduced by a significant margin.

Access to specialists

With staff augmentation, you can acquire the exact type of professional that you couldn’t get in the location you are in. Most of the time, you will even get the said expert for a price lower than what you would pay if you had in-house employees. Ultimately, staff augmentation provides specialists tailor suited to your specific needs. You can have access to an experienced and skilled workforce only when you need it. This way, you can meet all your IT needs while eliminating the need to incur overhead expenses.

Output and team size

With the cost lowering benefits that staff augmentation offers, you can employ other specialists, thus increasing the overall size of the staff at your service. With the same amount of money you would use to hire ten employees in the U.S, you could use to employ fifteen specialists from Asia who offer the same amount of expertise and experience. Consequentially, you can increase the output of your firm.

As illustrated, it is evident that staff augmentation offers numerous benefits. You must maintain the security of your property. By ascertaining that the outsourced employees sign Non-Disclosure Forms, NDAs, you will make sure that the vital information your employees come around to will remain safe.

Conclusion

IT staff augmentation provides enough benefits to cause a paradigm shift in the way firms and companies set up their staff. It is highly recommended throughout the globe. Give it a try, and you will be delightedly surprised at the results.

Resources

https://www.state.nj.us/treasury/purchase/noa/attachments/m0817-mo.pdf

https://www.rootstrap.com/staff-augmentation/

https://www.cgi.com/sites/default/files/white-papers/cgi-why-managed-services-why-not-staff-augmentation.pdf

https://recro.io/blog/staff-augmentation-benefits/

About the author 

Imran Uddin


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