What is IT Staff Augmentation and How Does It Work?

82 IT staff augmentation is how firms rely on outsourcing to satisfy their technical demands, augmenting their employee structure. It is not so difficult to comprehend if you have a strong vocabulary. The term ‘augment’ implies to enhance or enlarge. And IT is the person who fixes your machines if a restart or power cycle does not resolve the issue. Honestly, it is the essence of it. Yet, more is needed if you are in charge of your company’s procedure. Not accepting shortcuts is not an option. 68% of HR professionals surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management in 2016 indicated that locating full-time IT computer specialists (SHRM) is challenging. Yet the IT business often needs more specialists. Using this metric, IT staff expansion may be a requirement for the smooth operation of your organization. IT staff augmentation may be what your organization needs to fill up the gaps. Read on to learn what staff augmentation is and how it operates.

What Is Staff Augmentation?

It is a technique of addressing corporate demands by outsourcing specialized skill sets. The common conception of outsourcing is when a powerful corporation recruits low-paid workers in the Far East because it does not care to pay its local employees a decent salary. Although this may be true in some instances, there is much more to outsourcing than meets the eye. It is typical for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) to outsource their IT needs. This is because SMBs sometimes need more financial means to recruit their employees directly. Nonetheless, this does not imply that the company disregards its employees. In truth, small enterprises and startups are typically relatively close-knit. There is no concentration of responsibility at the top of the pyramid, and managers often make it evident that employees should be taken seriously. Despite this, SMBs frequently need more resources. Many businesses need more financial resources to host physical infrastructures for their servers and databases, making cloud technology a viable alternative. Yet, even if the cloud performs its intended function, almost every organization needs specialists to handle its information technology (IT) department, as computers are vital to corporate operations. IT staff augmentation comes into play at this time. By outsourcing, organizations can add temporary or permanent people to their teams.

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Staff Augmentation

IT staff augmentation may sound advantageous in principle. However, there are still numerous considerations before implementing it for your firm. The followings are the advantages and disadvantages of IT staff augmentation. You’re here because you’re interested in the advantages of IT staff augmentation. Yet, some of the benefits of augmentation take time to be apparent, so pay close attention.

⁍ Assured Talent

By definition, an outsourced IT partner can meet the demands of your organization. IT staff augmentation ensures that your new employees can effortlessly integrate into whichever environment you need them most, enhancing your workforce. Thus, they will stabilize the processes facing bottlenecks due to a lack of personnel or resources. And you might emerge from the process delighted with the efficacy of IT staff augmentation.

⁍ Hiring Efficiency

Typically, IT staff augmentation relies on an outsourcing firm with skilled and screened IT experts available on demand. Their full employment consists of achieving the goals established by their customers, regardless of who those clients are. This method is significantly more efficient than scouring hundreds of job boards and manually sifting prospects. Also, the expense of hiring is not inexpensive, totaling over $4000 for each hire with about a month and a half of a vacant post. With IT staff augmentation, you save both time and money.

⁍ Enhanced Adaptability

The fact that there are so many euphemisms to describe the simple act of dismissing an employee shows a deep significance underlying it all. This is likely because losing a job is never enjoyable, and the person on the other side is likely not having the best time either.

⁍ Enhanced Flexibility

Nonetheless, widespread layoffs are common during economic recessions, such as the Great Recession between 2007 and 2009 or the coronavirus recession beginning in 2020. Even when firms fail, retaining personnel is a significant challenge. Yet, you designate a portion of your team to always be temporary. In that case, this prevents the unexpected from destroying the lives of permanent employees. In contrast, temporary employees can find alternative employment through their agency. Because of this Adaptability, firms can add or downsize their staff as necessary. Generally, the firm will be more solid, and you can assume responsibility for employee support.

Cons

Now that you know the benefits of IT staff augmentation, it is up to you to determine whether or not these disadvantages are deal-breakers or mere inconveniences.

⁍ Quality Threat

IT staff augmentation presents some dangers, even though outsourced teams often comprise highly skilled specialists. For example, your IT project demands a high context level. In that case, familiarizing your augmented employees with the project might be challenging. Sometimes it might be more beneficial to hire a dedicated employee in this area. The requirement would be familiarity.

⁍ Time Delays

Hence, fulfilling deadlines might be challenging. Familiarizing new employees with your project might take a considerable amount of time. However, it is essential if a quality product is desired. The time required for onboarding and training might delay your project. The additional labor may feel particularly burdensome if your new employees are around for a while. Some company managers believe that the administrative costs associated with IT staff augmentation do not justify the expense.

⁍ Long-Term Dependencies

Continuous reliance on third-party sources is untenable. Continually depending on external resources to accomplish a goal could harm your organization. Although you are in charge of your company and IT project, the outsourcing firm ultimately has authority over your workforce. You will be left exposed if something unanticipated occurs to your augmented personnel or their outsourcing agency. In the near term, it makes excellent sense for SMBs and startups to utilize IT staff augmentation to establish themselves. Eventually, though, your organization should be able to manage its resources. It is best to have an internal scaling strategy in place. Over time, you will be better off.

The Three Forms of Staff Enhancement

Your staff augmentation model might vary based on your specific requirements. There are primarily three categories of staff augmentation: commodity, skill-based, and highly skilled.

⁍ Commodity

Staff augmentation via commodities does not require certain specialties. The conditions surrounding this staff augmentation approach emphasize immediacy over skill development. Hence, this form of staff augmentation may comprise, among other things, manual labor, manufacturing work, or retail.

⁍ Skill-Based

Talent-based staff augmentation needs a bit more expertise. Yet, this form of staff augmentation does not require a high level of ability. Examples of skill-based staff augmentation include typing and data entry for administrative tasks.

⁍ Highly-Skilled

Last but not least, there is the augmentation of competent personnel. And this form of staff augmentation is probably just what you require. Highly competent outsourced partners operate in information technology and software development. These professions require training and experience, and IT staff augmentation does not excuse deficiencies in these areas.

How to Enhance Your Team Effectively

There are several measures you must take to augment your staff correctly. Like the scientific method, IT augmentation should be cautious and accurate.

⁍ Determine the Issue

First, you should determine the nature of the problem. Ask yourself, “What does my business lack?” or “What does my business require?” You may also solicit the input of your regular personnel. They have the most excellent grasp of where and how your firm succeeds and fails.

⁍ Specify Your Requirements

After identifying the issue, you may define your demands significantly. These are some of the multiple specifications you should make: Do you desire your personnel expansion to be temporary or permanent? Is your additional personnel a commodity, skill-based, or highly skilled? How many additional employees do you need to enhance your IT staff?

⁍ Investigate Staff Augmentation Companies

Scrutinize the IT staff augmentation market before selecting an outsourced provider. Please choose what you want and use it as the focal focus of your searches. And don’t simply choose the lowest price. The prices should be reasonable, but remember you always get what you pay for. Nearshore outsourcing and offshore outsourcing provide distinct advantages and downsides. Consider the benefits and downsides and make a prudent choice. In the end, there will be a give-and-take based on your organization’s current needs.

⁍ Narrow Down Your Alternatives

Evaluate and, if feasible, test the skill set of your prospects. In addition, you want to ensure that your augmented personnel has the soft skills necessary to work well with your team and cooperate efficiently. Make sure you have a solid connection with your potential vendors by speaking with them over the phone. You should not hire someone who does not get along with others.

⁍ Discuss Terms With Your Selected Partner

You should engage in some form of discussion with the IT staff augmentation firm you’ve selected to discover all the terms of your contract. You should not feel like your coworkers are manipulating you. Don’t hesitate to be straightforward about your desires, but also be reasonable.

⁍ Execute a Contract

You may now dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Establish a contract between you and your new IT staff augmentation partner that is mutually acceptable.

When Is Staff Augmentation Suggested?

IT staff suggestion is suggested for those who seek the best of both worlds. People are typically familiar with the classic approach of outsourcing, which entails outsourcing your entire company to a strange and foreign organization. With staff augmentation, however, you and other business managers can get a feel for the people you’re working with, as agencies for IT staff augmentation — and likely other forms of highly-skilled staff augmentation — will lend you a few professionals at a time who will integrate seamlessly with your team and projects. IT staff augmentation makes employing specialists far less resource-intensive due to its Adaptability. It can also be a short-term remedy to otherwise persistent problems.

Conclusion

IT staff augmentation is a complex, well-oiled process that might solve all your problems about getting your startup or small business up and operating. 10Pearls is the best place to seek if you need highly-skilled IT staff augmentation Services. Developers at 10Pearls have a unique position within the IT sector. They do not directly operate computer hardware. But they can create the application you need to advance your firm.