IT staff augmentation is an outsourcing strategy that businesses use to hire skilled technical workers on a contract, temporary or permanent basis to help fill their needs. Instead of hiring a full-time employee, businesses can use IT staff augmentation to hire a contract worker who has the specific skill set that they need for a given period. These staff members can come into your business with all the experience and tools needed and immediately integrate well with your team.
IT staff augmentation directly solves one of the biggest problems companies have with completing technical projects: resource and talent allocation. Most companies cannot afford to recruit and onboard all the technical talent needed to finish a given project. With staff augmentation, companies can leverage the skills and resources of an outsourced IT team without the overhead that comes with completing a project.
When is IT staff augmentation needed:
Talent shortage: A perfect solution for companies with talent shortages. The labor market is already competitive and staff augmentation allows companies to meet their short-term needs while they look to hire full time employees.
Skill gap shortage: Some companies may have a sufficient head count, but they lack the specific skill set for a project. This approach enables companies to leverage staff with that particular skill set to meet client needs.
Bridge to hire: When a company relocates or is taking on a big new project, hiring is often their biggest issue. Recruiting, onboarding, and hiring the wrong staff will cost tens of thousands of dollars for a company. Staff augmentation allows companies to trial workers and even hire them full time after a project is completed.
Benefits of IT staff augmentation:
Flexibility: Enables businesses to be extremely agile and flexible because they can hire based on their short-term needs. Instead of taking weeks or months to interview and onboard a new employee, a business can quickly onboard a skilled professional with specific knowledge and expertise for a project. Additionally, the company doesn’t have to keep the worker on staff after a project is finished.
Cost: Costs a fraction of hiring a similarly skilled full-time employee. A business may need a developer or engineer who’s well versed in a specific coding language, technology stack or something similar. A full-time employee with that skill set can easily demand a six-figure salary. With staff augmentation, a skilled contractor can do the same job as a full-time employee at a fraction of the cost.
Scalability: Allows businesses to scale projects and staff as fast as possible. For any given project, you can onboard up to tens of skilled workers with staff augmentation. This can enable you to exponentially increase your output without hiring an entire new team permanently. Additionally, staff augmentation allows you to maximize your existing resources. The new staff will come with both the skills and equipment needed to complete a project.
To learn more about IT staff augmentation, check out this blog.
