We’re happy to announce that we have a new managing partner on board – Rami Wazni. With over two decades of experience in the software development industry, Wazni will be responsible for overseeing Appstronauts’ North American division and helping to increase our presence in the region.
What is Staff Augmentation? Pros and cons of Staff Augmentation services
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Every successful project depends on having the right team in place. But what makes a great project team? And how can you ensure that you have the right people on board from the start?
If you’re considering staff augmentation to help grow your business, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons carefully. This blog post will explore when staff augmentation is a good idea, and how to implement it successfully. By the end, you should have a better idea of whether or not staff augmentation is right for you.
Table of contents
1. What is Staff Augmentation? – The definition.
2. Why should you use Staff Augmentation Services?
3. What are the benefits of Staff Augmentation?
4. What are the cons of Staff Augmentation?
5. When will Staff Augmentation be the right choice?
6. How to implement Staff Augmentation model successfully?
7. Conslusion
Introduction: What is Staff Augmentation? – The definition
Staff augmentation model is the process of adding additional staff to an organization in order to meet increased demands or achieve specific goals. This can be done either by hiring new employees or by contracting with external firms to provide personnel. There are pros and cons to both approaches, which will be discussed in more detail below.
With Staff Augmentation you can add employees to the team based on the project requirements. What’s more, the augmented staff can join the team at any stage of software development. The aim is to add the necessary skill set for a required period of time or at a certain stage of the development.
Simply put, Staff Augmentation is hiring external staff for projects to fill gaps in your in-house team.
Why should you use Staff Augmentation Services?
There are several reasons why an organization might choose to use staff augmentation services. One common reason is simply that the organization has more work than it can handle with its current staff. This could be due to an increase in business activity, the introduction of new products or services, or seasonal fluctuations. In such cases, staff augmentation can help ensure that work is completed on time and to a high standard.
Another reason for using staff augmentation model is to fill skills gaps within the organization. This could involve bringing in experts in specific areas such as marketing or IT, or providing additional support for key projects. Skills gaps can often lead to delays and errors if they are not addressed, so staff augmentation can be an effective way of preventing these issues from arising.
There are also situations where an organization might need extra staff but cannot afford to hire full-time employees. In such cases, contracting with an external firm can be a cost-effective solution. This approach also has the advantage of giving organizations access to a wider pool of talent than they would otherwise have access to.
Overall, staff augmentation can be a useful tool for growing businesses when used correctly. However, it is important to carefully consider the pros and cons before making a decision about whether or not it is right for your organization.
What are the benefits of Staff Augmentation?
Staff augmentation is a process by which you hire someone to work as a part of your business. The main benefit of this type of staffing change is that it can help reduce costs associated with employee turnover and training. Additionally, staff augmentation model can help increase productivity in your workplace. What are the pros of Staff Augmentation?
Cost savings
You only pay for the time that the hired specialist spends on your project (see Time & Materials pricing model) that is why Staff Augmentation is a cost effective outsourcing model. This way you cut costs of recruitment and hiring, non-billable hours, holidays or illnesses. With the augmented staff you do the accounts per each hour spent on the task and hiring highly skilled developers you only focus on business needs and delivering them – without all the work around having an in-house specialist.
At Appstronauts, we like to say that the cost of augmented staff is the all inclusive cost. Simply put, you pay one invoice and have access to the talents. This way you do not need to worry about hiring costs, labor costs, software licenses costs, hardware costs, as well as education, benefits and any additional hidden costs.
Access to Expertise
When you work with a staff augmentation company, you gain access to their pool of pre-vetted talents. This can save businesses money on benefits and other costs associated with full-time employees. In addition, you can tap into specialized expertise that may not be available internally. What is more, you always hire a person who matches your expectations which with hiring an in-house team, it may look differently.
That’s why, at Appstronauts we apply two different approaches to Staff Augmentation. On one hand, we have partners who depend on our expertise on who should be involved in the project once they share all the project details, on the other hand we work with partners who participate in the whole recruitment process and may pick the suitable options.
A crucial factor for cooperation between Appstronauts and a client is a chemistry between all parties: Appstronauts and our partners, our partners and our developers and between developers and Appstronauts. If all parties have the chemistry and feel that they picked the right company, project and/or person, the cooperation overall is much more fruitful.
Improved Productivity
By bringing in additional staff to support your existing team, you can free up time for them to focus on core tasks and responsibilities. This can lead to increased efficiency and productivity within your organization as a whole.
Scalability
You do not need to immediately grow your in-house team when the project grows in time. Instead of worrying about additional employees that may be fired once the project is delivered, you can hire specialists with the right skill set and continue the project at the right scale and not worry about a higher level of deliverability.
Geo-limitations
Certain, highly skilled specialists may be hard to find on your country’s market. Staff Augmentation can be your solution, especially when your team is English oriented. Then you can pick any specialist from most of the countries as most of the IT world is already speaking English. In addition, working with the clients from other countries you may look for native specialists who may support you with everyday communication or any other issues that may arise.
Increased Flexibility
Staff augmentation can provide your organization with increased flexibility when it comes to managing workloads. Rather than being tied down by full-time employees who may not always be needed, you can bring in augmented staff on an as-needed basis to meet spikes in demand. This can help save on costs associated with payroll, benefits, and other overhead expenses.
What are the cons of Staff Augmentation?
There are also some potential disadvantages to consider when implementing a staff augmentation strategy:
Increased Costs (long-term)
While staff augmentation can save your organization money, in the long run, if the project takes longer than you had expected, it can generate more labor costs. All in all, you are paying for highly-skilled specialists which may generate higher overall costs.
Lack of internal knowledge
Some of the projects require previous knowledge from the project or the company and with staff augmentation, only existing employees have it. Anyone who is added to the team externally needs to source the needed information. That’s why it is so important to share all the information with staff augmentation provider who will transfer the knowledge to the out-staffed people.
Project management
More people means more time and effort into people management or project management. The out-staffed employees should be much easier to manage but still, you need to have the capacity to manage the additional staff.
Training
Even though you hire the right people for the project and you do need to train them from the technical capabilities point of view, sometimes you need to train them to follow your company’s processes, tools or work culture.
When will Staff Augmentation be the right choice?
There are many reasons why a company might choose to use staff augmentation model to grow their business. In some cases, it may be the only way to maintain or improve operations while keeping costs down. In other cases, it may be the best way to quickly and efficiently add new skills and capabilities to the company. Here are some situations when staff augmentation may be a good idea for your business:
- When you need specialized skills or knowledge that you do not have in-house,
- When you need additional capacity during peak periods,
- When you need to respond quickly to market changes or opportunities,
- When you want to minimize risk by reducing reliance on any one employee,
- When you are launching a new product or service and need extra help to get it off the ground.
How to Implement Staff Augmentation Model Successfully
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how to implement staff augmentation successfully. The key is to tailor the approach to the specific needs of your business. Here are some tips on how to do this:
- Define your goals. What do you hope to achieve by augmenting your staff? Be as specific as possible.
- Identify the skills and expertise you need. What kind of skills and expertise will help you achieve your goals with software development? Again, be as specific as possible.
- Find the right provider. Not all providers are created equal. Do your research and find a provider that has a good reputation and that you feel confident working with to build a development team.
- Communicate clearly with your provider. Once you’ve found a provider, make sure you communicate your goals and expectations clearly from the outset. This will help ensure that they understand what you’re looking for and that they can deliver on their promises.
- Set realistic expectations. Staff augmentation is not a magic bullet. It can help you achieve your goals, but it’s important to set realistic expectations about what it can and cannot do.
- Be prepared to invest time and resources. Staff augmentation is not a quick or easy fix. It takes time and effort to find the right provider and to implement the solution successfully. Be prepared to invest both time and resources in order to get the most out of it.
Conclusion
There are pros and cons to using staff augmentation services, and it’s important to understand what staff augmentation is before making a decision. In general, staff augmentation can be a good idea when you need extra help but don’t want to commit to hiring full-time employees. It can also be successful if you take the time to plan and implement it carefully.
If you are looking for software development team support at the moment, get familiar with Appstronauts offer and let us know how we can support your projects.
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