Staff Augmentation on a Budget for IT Managers

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought a major shift in the way businesses in the IT industry hire and recruit employees. Organizations have had to rethink their hiring and recruitment strategy to adjust to the needs of the current times. From virtual recruitments to the adoption of low cost hiring models such as staff augmentation and others of the nature, organizations are looking for ways to sail through these challenging times adequately, without hitting roadblocks on the way.

Team augmentation is the most prominent recruitment model to have popped up during the pandemic. The model allows businesses to operate with the help of technical experts for a specified period of time. This process has not only proven to be effective for organizations on a budget, but has also helped organizations manage tough projects without entering into long term commitments with employees.

What Is Team Augmentation and How Does It Work?

For organizations in the contemporary world, staff and team augmentation are effective recruitment strategies to meet the needs of complicated projects and get expert help during tough times. The highly skilled professionals who enter your workforce for a temporary period within this model can help bridge the gap between business requirements and the required talent. As a result of this, businesses are able to potentially harness the full potential of the workforce and achieve business objectives.

While staff augmentation has multiple motives, it works with the primary objective to reduce costs and help IT teams hire developers from all over the world to meet project needs. This model has also effectively broadened the horizons of project teams, as they can augment their current workforce with gig workers from around the world.

Most organizations reach out to staff augmentation when the skillsets in the firm are inversely proportional to business requirements. In such cases, most organizations will approach a staff augmentation firm to send in a pool of talented individuals to not only complement the current workforce, but to also help with future tasks.

The staff augmentation firm takes charge of the process and takes it from the ground up, so that the organization can focus on all projects, without going through the hassle of the recruitment process. This also eventually reduces the in-house costs that are usually associated with hiring. For instance, you can reach out to a staff augmentation firm if you need a hire developers for a particular project, but don’t have the required talent in your workforce. This way, you will be able to get the talent you require, without necessarily reaching a long-term commitment.

Recruitment Process in Team Augmentation

The recruitment process that organizations should follow for team augmentation is relatively simple. All you need to do is start by getting in touch with a staff augmentation firm and then let them take the lead thereon.

The steps below are usually involved in the recruitment process for team augmentation:

Examining Project Requirements and Skills

You first need to start by specifying your project requirements and the skillset that is needed to handle the project. Once the project requirements and skills are understood, the staff augmentation firm will look for individuals that match your project requirements and have the required skillset. Specifying and clearly identifying your project requirements and skills will help the staff augmentation firm find the best fit for your firm.

Interviewing Candidates

Recruitment is usually time consuming, strenuous and risky to manage. This is usually when businesses can reach out to team augmentation firms for added assistance. With your specifications and requirements clarified, the firm will take care of all the processes involved in the interviewing process. The firm will look after eligibility tests and interview candidates as a part of it. This will help save time and allow you to focus on the actual project scope.

Candidate Onboarding

Once candidates are shortlisted from the interview process, the staff augmentation firm will work with you to help them come onboard the firm and the project. Once the onboarding process and initial training is done, the individuals are introduced to the working culture, core processes and values that are followed within the organization. This helps align responsibilities and ensures optimal coordination.

Round the Clock Support

Finally, once the onboarding is done, the augmentation consultancy firm will provide continuous support around the clock to help the smooth flow of operations. This support will look after minor or major problems in the continuity of the work and will continue until the term of the project ends. This eventually reduces any and all pressure on the company.

Benefits of Team Augmentation

There are a number of benefits that organizations can enjoy by supplementing their team with team augmentation. Some of these benefits are summarized in the following pointers:

• Team augmentation allows organizations to access a global talent pool, not restricted to their local geographic area.
• The process for team augmentation is extremely transparent and flexible. The process also offers scalability for when you grow in size.
• Recruitment usually takes a lot of time, by the end of which organizations are still unsure whether they have hired the right personnel. Team augmentation helps provide optimal quality in limited time.
• The augmentation model reduces recruitment costs and allows businesses to get the help they need without additional expenses.
• Team augmentation comes without a long term commitment or contracts. The process is transparent and flexible to your needs.

The team augmentation model is perfect to grow your business slowly and work with the top talent in the industry. In short, it helps you expand your workforce and benefit from the best IT talent on a budget.