Do you run a business? If so, you can probably relate to the knot in your stomach and panicky feeling you get whenever there's a rush job, and you don't have enough specialized workers who can complete the project on time, besides do an efficient job. That's where staff augmentation services come in. Here's what you need to know about staff augmentation and how it can help your business. Consider these four top benefits of staff augmentation, along with a few other considerations.
What Is Staff Augmentation?
Maybe you've heard of the term "staff augmentation" but aren't quite sure what it means. Put simply, staff augmentation is an outsourcing strategy or business solution that provides temporary IT employees for completing special projects. The main advantage of using staff augmentation is that it gives you experienced, skilled manpower when you need it, so you can devote your attention to developing and growing your company.
Allows You to Cut Costs Without Sacrificing Quality
One of the primary perks of staff augmentation is that it's cost effective. While you may need a considerably large number of engineers during the stage of a project's highest intensity, once the project is done, less employees are needed. You save money because you only pay for the specialized work you've chosen for your temporary IT staff.
Gives You More Control
When you use staff augmentation services, you're able to stay on top of your business. This means you can have complete control over the people who are performing critical work as well as decide who gets assigned minor jobs. You can also control who's in charge of your most important projects. Your operations run smoother and are better organized, so you can get optimal results. Consider how you'll be able to eliminate the risks linked with full-blown outsourcing.
Offers Flexibility
A huge benefit of staff augmentation is that it can let you remain flexible, which is so crucial in today's competitive business environment. When you use staff augmentation as part of your IT consulting business, you'll be able to increase the output strength of your staff by immediately adding proven specialists to work on a project.
Offsets the Problem of Attrition
Although a better economy is a positive thing, studies have shown that many IT specialists working in IT consulting businesses tend to advance in their careers by moving on to different companies. Fortunately, IT staff augmentation services can fill in the gaps of your staffing needs when this occurs.
The Bottom Line and Other Benefits of Staff Augmentation
- Being overstaffed can be just as problematic as being understaffed. It's emotionally difficult when having to let go talented, dependable employees. What's more, layoffs can hurt a company's reputation. However, thanks to staff augmentation, staff members can be temporarily upgraded, making it unnecessary to demote them once a project is completed, and the demand for more workers is over.
- Sometimes, a project may require specialized skills, but they may not be needed for future business requirements. Staff augmentation offers you an excellent way to pay for specific skills without forcing you to commit to those specific skills later.
- Consider that the interaction between your internal workers and a temporary, contracted staff can help your company. Your regular employees won't feel threatened by the temporary workers because they will feel more appreciated.
What to Consider
When deciding on staff augmentation, it's important to ensure a company has the specialized skills required to work on your project. Other considerations include those, such as:
- If they're able to meet deadlines or timeliness—Before hiring them, be sure they have a reputation for being competent and meeting timeliness.
- Whether they're equipped with a stable resource pool—You want to make sure an IT staff has enough responsible, qualified workers.
- Whether their resources are dedicated to a single project or several projects—In other words, hire an IT staff or team who works only on your project.
Questions? Please contact us at Engelligence, where we're more than just an IT staffing agency. You can depend on us to deliver the most efficient, predictable and best-support services in the IT industry, so you can relax and focus more on the strategic tasks needed for growing your business.
