As the world changes its dynamics drastically, this new era demands experts to encompass constantly growing needs. In today’s tech world, the demand for skilled workers has surpassed the resource, which has led established enterprises to look out for resources offshore or by remote means.
The owners of companies and startups are particularly interested in checking out the experts that deal in technologies and have capabilities of multi-tasking different jobs. This has led the companies to opt for a staff augmentation model, which helps them achieve their goals in less time.
But the question arises, how to manage staff augmentation? How does it work? To get answers to this, it is better to understand what is meant by staff augmentation.
Without further ado, let’s dig in to find how to manage staff augmentation.
What is staff augmentation?
Staff augmentation is an outsourcing model where companies temporarily hire external professionals to supplement their in-house team. This approach allows businesses to scale their workforce based on project needs without committing to long-term employment. It is commonly used to fill skill gaps, accelerate project timelines, and reduce hiring costs.
This is like a win-win collaboration for both the resources and the company. In this collaboration, both the technical and non-technical resources work side by side with the internal on-site team for the entire duration of the contract. The staff augmentation resources have the liberty to work both at the workplace and home.
For a detailed insight on the benefits of staff augmentation, check out our article: What is IT staff augmentation and how it can benefit your business
Staff augmentation has recently gained popularity and has emerged as one of the most popular ways of employing limited-time-frame employees, especially after the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic.
9 best practices to manage staff augmentation successfully
Staff augmentation is a powerful strategy that allows businesses to scale their teams with skilled professionals without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time employees. However, simply adding external talent is not enough; managing them effectively is crucial for maximising productivity and ensuring seamless collaboration with your in-house team. Below are some best practices to help you manage staff augmentation successfully.
Clearly Define Project Scope and Requirements
Before hiring augmented staff, clearly outline your project’s goals, deliverables, and required skills. A well-defined scope helps you select the right professionals and prevents confusion regarding responsibilities. Document workflows, expected timelines, and key milestones so that both internal and augmented team members have a shared understanding of the objectives.
Choose the Right Augmentation Partner
Not all staffing agencies or vendors are the same. Work with a provider that understands your industry and has a proven track record of supplying high-quality professionals. Assess their vetting process, technical expertise, and ability to align candidates with your company’s culture and workflow. Conduct interviews, review past client feedback, and establish a service level agreement (SLA) that defines expectations and quality standards.
Read also: How to find, hire, and partner with an offshore development team
Onboard and Integrate Augmented Staff Efficiently
A structured onboarding process ensures that external team members quickly adapt to your company’s workflow. Provide them with necessary documentation, access to tools, and training sessions if needed. Introduce them to key stakeholders and ensure they understand reporting structures. Assign a mentor or point of contact to help them integrate seamlessly and address any initial concerns they may have.
Maintain Clear and Open Communication
Communication gaps can lead to inefficiencies, delays, and misunderstandings. Set up regular check-ins through daily stand-ups, weekly meetings, or asynchronous updates via tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or project management software (e.g., Jira, Trello, Asana). Encourage an open-door policy where augmented staff feel comfortable raising concerns, asking questions, and sharing updates.
Set Performance Metrics and Expectations
To measure success, establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs) for augmented staff. These may include project deadlines, code quality, customer satisfaction, or any other relevant metrics. Conduct regular performance reviews to provide constructive feedback and address any challenges early. Having measurable benchmarks ensures alignment with business goals and helps track progress efficiently.
Encourage Collaboration Between Internal and External Teams
Avoid treating augmented staff as outsiders. Instead, foster a collaborative work culture where internal and external team members work together seamlessly. Encourage knowledge sharing through brainstorming sessions, shared documentation, and regular updates. Assign tasks in a way that integrates external professionals into your existing workflows rather than isolating them.
Provide Ongoing Support and Feedback
Augmented staff may need ongoing guidance to stay aligned with your expectations. Schedule periodic one-on-one check-ins to discuss challenges, clarify objectives, and provide mentorship. Recognise their contributions and ensure they feel valued within the team. Continuous feedback—both positive and constructive—improves performance and engagement.
Ensure Compliance with Legal and Security Policies
When bringing in external professionals, ensure compliance with all legal and security policies. Draft clear contracts that define intellectual property rights, confidentiality agreements, and data protection measures. Set up secure access controls for company assets, ensuring that sensitive data is only available to those who need it. Review cybersecurity protocols and enforce policies to mitigate risks.
Be Flexible and Adapt to Changing Needs
Business needs and project requirements may evolve, so it’s essential to stay flexible. Whether you need to scale your augmented team up or down, adjust responsibilities, or pivot strategies, adaptability ensures that you get the most out of staff augmentation. Regularly reassess the team structure and optimise resources to maximise efficiency.
What are the Benefits of Managing Staff Augmentation?
As mentioned above, staff augmentation is becoming one of the most popular and sought-after collaboration or recruitment models because of its many benefits. Some of them are:
Convenient Scalability
In simpler words, the scalability becomes more accessible because the added staff members ensure that the deadlines are met. The business scales up without the additional costs of the recruitment process.
Easy Access to Expertise
When a company outsources resources, it immediately gets access to expertise and a pool of talent with diversified skills. The experts are readily available to perform a job as they are under a contract.
Decreased Operational Overheads
The practice of staff augmentation drastically decreases operational costs. It is much more affordable for companies to hire industrial experts through outsourcing agencies rather than going through the detailed recruitment and training process. It saves them time, money, and effort and scales up the business more quickly.
Increased Efficiency
For businesses, it is efficiency that matters the most. Delivering results within the given timeframe is the main objective. This can be achieved easily with the already trained and expert staff. Staff augmentation is a perfect choice if a company is looking to increase the efficiency of its business.
Leverage New Ideas
Everything needs a change. If a specific set of employees have been working for too long for your company, this might lead to stagnation of ideas and a lack of fresh concepts and creativity. The induction of new resources through staff augmentation brings new ideas to the desktop app development company, and sometimes, it is needed for the company to evolve into a successful enterprise. This is the demand of time to scale up the business innovatively.
Difference between staff augmentation and other outsourcing models
When businesses need additional expertise or workforce support, they often choose between different outsourcing models. Staff augmentation is one such model, but it differs significantly from others. Below, we compare staff augmentation with two common outsourcing models: managed services and full outsourcing.
Staff augmentation vs managed services
Control and Management
In staff augmentation, the company retains full control over the hired professionals, managing their tasks, workflows, and day-to-day responsibilities as if they were part of the in-house team. This approach allows businesses to maintain their internal processes while supplementing their workforce with specialised talent.
On the other hand, managed services involve transferring the responsibility of a specific function to an external provider. The vendor takes complete ownership of service delivery, performance, and management, reducing the company’s involvement in operational oversight.
Scope of Work
Staff augmentation is best suited for businesses that need additional professionals to integrate into their existing teams without altering workflows. Augmented staff follow internal processes and contribute to projects directly under company supervision.
In contrast, managed services involve outsourcing an entire function, such as IT support or cybersecurity, to a third party. The service provider operates independently, ensuring predefined results based on a service-level agreement (SLA), with little direct involvement from the client’s internal team.
Cost Structure
With staff augmentation, businesses pay for talent on an hourly, daily, or monthly basis, making it a cost-effective and flexible solution for short-term or project-based needs. The cost is based on the number of professionals hired and the duration of engagement.
Managed services, however, follow a fixed-cost or subscription-based pricing model. This often includes infrastructure, ongoing support, and full-service management, which can be more expensive upfront but cost-efficient in the long run for businesses that require continuous service management.
Use Cases
Staff augmentation is ideal for projects requiring specialised skills on a temporary basis, such as software development, UX design, or IT consulting. It works well when businesses want to retain project control but lack the necessary in-house expertise.
Managed services, on the other hand, are better suited for companies that need to delegate a long-term function, such as cloud infrastructure management, cybersecurity monitoring, or help desk support, to a dedicated external team. This approach ensures that experts handle critical services while internal teams focus on core business operations.
Read also: How to Hire A Dedicated Software Development Team
Staff augmentation vs outsourcing
Work Model and Team Integration
Staff augmentation allows external professionals to work as part of the in-house team, following company policies, workflows, and collaboration practices. These professionals integrate with internal teams, ensuring a seamless workflow while filling temporary skill gaps.
In contrast, outsourcing involves handing over an entire project or function to a third-party provider. The outsourcing team operates independently, often following their own work methods and management processes without direct integration with the client’s internal staff.
Flexibility and Scalability
One of the key advantages of staff augmentation is its flexibility. Companies can scale their workforce up or down based on project needs without long-term hiring commitments. This is particularly beneficial for businesses dealing with fluctuating workloads or seasonal demands.
Outsourcing, however, is typically governed by long-term contracts, making it less adaptable to sudden changes. Modifying project requirements or scaling up resources usually requires renegotiation with the outsourcing provider, which can lead to delays and additional costs.
Project Control and Oversight
Businesses using staff augmentation retain full control over the project’s execution, ensuring that external professionals align with company goals and quality standards. Since the augmented staff work under internal supervision, companies can closely monitor progress and make real-time adjustments.
In outsourcing, the vendor assumes responsibility for project execution, timelines, and deliverables. While this can reduce management overhead, it also means businesses have limited control over execution details, which can sometimes lead to misalignment with company expectations.
Cost Considerations
Staff augmentation follows a straightforward pricing model based on the number of professionals hired and the duration of engagement. This makes it a cost-effective solution for short-term needs without additional overhead costs.
Outsourcing, on the other hand, often involves comprehensive pricing that includes project management, operational costs, and sometimes offshore labor costs, making it a more predictable but potentially higher long-term expense.
Use Cases
Staff augmentation is ideal for companies that need specific expertise for short-term projects while maintaining full control over execution. It works well in industries like IT, engineering, and digital marketing, where specialised skills are required temporarily.
Outsourcing, however, is best for businesses looking to fully delegate a process, such as software development, customer support, or HR management, to an external provider. This allows internal teams to focus on core business functions while the outsourcing partner handles execution.
Why GoodCore is the best IT Staff Augmentation Company?
Since 2005, we have been providing reliable staff augmentation services, with 88% of our clients returning for additional hires. Our long-standing expertise ensures consistent quality, trust, and long-term partnerships.
- Affordable access to global talent: with branches in the UK, Pakistan, and Malaysia, we provide access to top global talent at cost-effective rates.
- Full flexibility and scalability: we offer flexible resourcing, enabling you to scale your team up or down, modify skill sets, or adjust roles as needed.
- Feedback-driven delivery: with continuous feedback loops, we ensure every hire meets your expectations. If a developer doesn’t align with your needs, we’ll arrange a replacement to maintain productivity and project success.
- Tailored to your specific requirements: our staff augmentation model is fully customised to fit your needs, considering roles, team structure, technology stack, cultural fit, and process alignment for a perfect match.
- Easy Collaboration communication: with at least 5 hours of time zone overlap, fluent English-speaking professionals, and full-time engagement, we ensure smooth collaboration.
Wrapping Up
Staff augmentation is a perfect solution for companies who want to achieve their business objectives with the help of the latest industry knowledge and technical expertise. The induction of resources accelerates the speed as well as the quality of the projects while being cost-effective at the same time.
IT staff augmentation is the perfect way to check out proficient resources with expertise in different technologies leading to a company’s growth.
FAQs
Can a company using staff augmentation be sued?
A company using staff augmentation can be sued if it violates labor laws, contract terms, or intellectual property agreements. Liability depends on factors like misclassification of workers, workplace discrimination, or breaches of confidentiality. Clear contracts and compliance with regulations help mitigate legal risks.
What is nearshore staff augmentation?
Nearshore staff augmentation involves hiring professionals from neighboring or nearby countries to support business operations. This model offers cost savings, cultural and time zone alignment, and easier collaboration compared to offshore staffing. It is commonly used for IT, software development, and customer support roles.
How does staff augmentation work?
Staff augmentation allows companies to temporarily hire external professionals to fill skill gaps without long-term commitments. Businesses work with staffing agencies to select qualified talent, who then integrate with the in-house team under company management. This model provides flexibility, scalability, and access to specialised expertise.
How to start a staff augmentation company?
To start a staff augmentation company, define your niche, build a talent pool, and establish partnerships with businesses needing skilled professionals. Develop a strong recruitment process, ensure legal compliance, and implement HR and payroll systems. Marketing, networking, and a reliable service model are key to attracting clients and scaling operations.
