Staff augmentation is a powerful tool used to boost efficiency and productivity of an organization that is otherwise understaffed. However, in some cases and when used improperly, it fails to offer the desired outcome.

Typically, this happens when organizations don’t opt for the right hiring model or lose sight of their real needs and goals. Picking the right sourcing partner also plays a role.  These failures have given a bad name to an otherwise great way to build a team fast and get things done.

We will try to debunk the myths associated with staff augmentation and discuss its ability to improve the quality and productivity of an organization.

Debunking the Myths

Before we go any further, let’s discuss what staff augmentation actually is. To put it simply, it is the use of contingent workers globally, across different organizations. This kind of method helps to augment the overall capacity of an organization. It gives you the ability to hire developers at a whim and without the bureaucratic and time consuming processes that one would have to go through while hiring full time employees.

No doubt, staff augmentation is a viable and successful method to connect the skills and complete projects within the given time. Unlike outsourcing, staff augmentation relies on the addition of a specialist person to a team that is working on new technology and product.

Especially while dealing with new technologies, employees need relevant training and support. This is where an expert and skilled person helps to augment the performance of employees.

We have tried to debunk the most common myths about staff augmentation to help you better understand whether staff augmentation is suitable for your organization or not.

Myth No.1: “Employees don’t have much control over the project”

This is another common myth about staff augmentation. People are of the view that the employer loses control over a new project by handing over the keys to the team. On the contrary, staff augmentation works by hiring a team and allowing it to use given resources to complete the task.

The team you have added works as a part of your latest project, and still allows you to maintain full control over the project. While a dedicated team of developers is working on a project, you can still exercise control by staying in touch with the project manager.

Myth No. 2: “Staff augmentation tends to be expensive”

This isn’t true, as, in reality, staff augmentation can turn out to be cost-effective in most circumstances. In fact, it allows the organization to cut down on a wide range of direct and indirect expenses. These include insurance, retirement benefits, and compensation of in-house employees.

Staff augmentation plays a critical role when it comes to resource and risk management. These benefits go far beyond cost savings. Furthermore, by eliminating the risk of recruiting inappropriate people, you can save a considerable amount by not hiring multiple people for the same job.

Myth No. 3: “Staff augmentation results in a communication gap between developers and project managers“

When outsourcing a project, you might be concerned about the technical status of the project. You may also be worried about the language barrier or time zone discrepancies when you hire an overseas team.

The reality is different, as you can exercise complete control over a team of professional developers and ongoing projects via a staff augmentation company. Augmented developers work as a part of your team and they are committed to your project.

You can directly obtain all kinds of updates regarding your project. You are the owner and would continue to be the owner of a project, regardless of the fact that you have opted for the remote augmentation.

Myth No.4: “It’s difficult to find tech support”

Project owners are also concerned about tech support once the project is over. However, you can negotiate this aspect at the time of hiring. Once included in your outsourcing contract, the team will be bound to offer tech support for a specific period.

How can staff augmentation improve quality and productivity?

In order to get the most out of staff augmentation, you need to choose the most appropriate model. Opting for the wrong or inappropriate staff augmentation model can ruin your project.

In most cases, organizations rely on different providers as per their needs. When thinking about staff augmentation, the most essential aspect to consider is the type of your project.

With the availability of different staff augmentation models, it is critical to choose the most appropriate one that fits your requirements.

Below are some of the ways in which staff augmentation can enhance the productivity and capacity of your organization:

• It relieves an organization from the hassle of training current employees to work on new technology. By hiring competent augmented staff, you can add more value to the project.
• Depending on the requirement of a project, it allows organizations to add employees with specific skills. Therefore, the organization doesn’t need to hire a new team.
• You can build a team or organization by hiring flexible labor. This serves as a way to gain a competitive advantage over competitors.
• The organization can increase or decrease the workforce depending on the demand for a specific project. As a result, an organization doesn’t have to bear the expenses of extra staff.
• It can also serve as a trial run for hiring a team of full-time employees. If an organization is of the view that the current team is doing a perfect job, it can hire the employees permanently.

Final Thought

Before outsourcing or hiring overseas employees, make sure to thoroughly explore staff augmentation. Consider a variety of aspects including project length, the secrecy of a project, ramp-up time, and overall budget. We are happy to help guide you through your hiring model decisions, so feel free to reach out for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.