Even before there was a widespread labor shortage that affected every industry across the country, IT teams were already struggling. Forced to accommodate remote groups with secure network access rapidly, many IT departments have been working with inadequate resources since the pandemic began. Now, many are turning to staff augmentation.
Staff augmentation is a way to fill the gaps in your team without going through the time-consuming and costly process of traditional hiring. If your company is anticipating a tight deadline on a project, such as an infrastructure upgrade or a data migration, you may want to consider an IT staff augmentation solution.
Types of Staff Augmentation
There are several types of staff augmentation:
- Commodity augmentation is an unskilled position that typically helps fill a front-line role, such as retail.
- Skill-based augmentation requires some capabilities in a specific area, such as typing or data entry.
- Highly-skilled augmentation is where you’ll find IT staff augmentation. It’s a specialized skill that cannot be quickly trained or taught. This augmentation includes positions such as application development, cloud migration project manager, or specific coding skills.
Once you’ve determined that your project could use IT staff augmentation, there are a few steps you should work through before your temporary team member joins your project:
Define Your Needs
Is there a specific position that the staff augmentation provider will assist you in filling, or is there a list of tasks you can detail for the provider? Consider including multiple team members in this discussion to improve buy-in and make sure you’ve captured every part of the responsibilities you need to be covered with IT staff augmentation.
Choose a Provider and Negotiate a Contract
Be sure to choose a company with a similar company culture that vets its employees well and demonstrates effective communication.
Consider Team Building
While your outsourced team member may only join you for a specific project, you’ll want to make plans for team members to work well together. For example, you may want to set aside time for employees to meet and become familiar before diving into the necessary tasks.
The Benefits of Staff Augmentation
The most straightforward benefit of investing in IT staff augmentation is cost savings. In addition to eliminating the salary and benefits you would pay an in-house employee, you’ll also save on a costly hiring process. In addition, the outsourcing provider has already gone through the challenging steps of vetting the employee’s qualifications and certifications. They may also have helpful insights from past clients about what strengths and weaknesses the employee may bring to your project.
Your company will also benefit from not losing time on your project while you wait for the hiring process to be completed. In addition, when your project is over, the outsourced employee moves on to their next assignment. As a result, you aren’t faced with a situation where you’ve hired an employee with a specific skill that is no longer critical to your business.
If your company is considering staff augmentation, consider the benefits of using Proper Connections. We can help you avoid costly delays in your project timeline and close the gaps in your team. Contact us to get started.