Team augmentation, also known as staff augmentation, is an outsourcing strategy that above all things, provides flexibility. In today’s technology-centric landscape, there will be many projects that go beyond the scope of your currently existing team. By partnering with a staff augmentation company, you access a vast pool of skilled professionals, no matter how long or short your operational and development needs might be.
IT Team augmentation is a way to address project needs, address skill gaps, and allocate resources without the hassle and added prices of a full-time hire.
Understanding Team Augmentation – What Is It?
Unlike your traditional form of outsourcing, where a separate team takes care of a project from start to finish, team augmentation zeroes in on enhancing your own team’s capabilities. It integrates experts into your workflow, filling in the technical gaps that arise when engaging in new projects. This approach promotes the sharing of knowledge and improves team performance, as all team members are under a single roof.
Furthermore, it is a lifesaver for small and medium businesses, as this McKinsey study reports that around 50 percent of business owners report difficulty filling open positions, and roughly 90 percent report few or no qualified candidates for them.
Team Augmentation – Benefits And Key Features
There are several elements that might convince a company to hire a top staff augmentation company like Belatrix, with different levels of reach and type of results. Let’s expand now on the benefits of team augmentation.
SPEED: Faster Project Delivery
Team augmentation grants you with a boost of highly technically skilled individuals. This lets companies (specifically tech companies that hire software team augmentation services) take on more complex projects with greater efficiency. Thanks to these skilled new hires, you can streamline workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and achieve strategic milestones faster. When push comes to shove, this translates to shorter time-to-market without compromising quality.
ADAPTABILITY: Agile Scalability At The Tip Of Your Fingers
Agility is key when it comes to software development, as the needs of the organization usually change from quarter to quarter. IT team augmentation offers the flexibility to adapt your IT workforce to project demands that are prone to change. Whether you face a rise in workload or customer demand, launch a new product, or are looking to scale down your operations, team augmentation services adjust your team size up or down.
ACCESSIBILITY: The Top Talent For Key Needs
Finding IT professionals with highly specialized skills is a challenge in this day and age, mainly due to the evolution of the technological landscape. Staff augmentation businesses provide access to a database of talented people, including experts in services your brand might need. By partnering with a company like Belatrix, you access top-level professionals with the skills that your projects require. This eliminates the time-consuming and costly process of recruitment and training.
COST-EFFICIENCY: Team Augmentation Helps Your Bottom Line
Hiring full-time employees involves significant costs like salaries, benefits, taxes, and overhead expenses. Team augmentation offers a much more cost-effective alternative by allowing you to pay only for the specific skills and time you need. You avoid the expenses associated with recruitment, onboarding, training, and potential turnover. Furthermore, team augmentation is a flexible approach in managing labor costs based on project requirements.
RISK MITIGATION: There’s No Substitute For Experience
Bringing in experienced professionals to boost your team can greatly reduce project risks. The experts that a software development team augmentation company can provide have most likely faced similar challenges in the past. Thanks to this, you reduce the likelihood of errors and improve the overall success of the project.
Team Augmentation Considerations
Team augmentation can be a valuable strategy in various settings, but make sure it is the right solution for your needs. Just like with any other service solutions approach, here are scenarios where you should (and should not) consider using team augmentation.
When To Consider Team Augmentation
Team augmentation services are particularly useful for peak workloads and anything involving seasonality. They help you handle the increased workload and will not overwork your existing team. As mentioned before, they’re also excellent when covering skill gaps: they address specific skill needs within your organization. If business is booming and you need to expand rapidly, staff augmentation companies will be happy to scale up your team.
When To Not Consider Team Augmentation
In order to avoid problems, it is important to also know when not to use this service. If you have long-term goals in mind and very defined strategic needs, then you should build an in-house team. This also works when having to deal with projects that are very tightly integrated with your existing systems and processes. If you handle highly sensitive data, you might prefer to have full control over the team members and their environment.
How Team Augmentation Works
You’ve recently experienced a massive surge in customer complaints. Or perhaps you’re a project manager assigned to complete a software development initiative, but your current team lacks the manpower to make it under the expected completion date. Either way, you need more people. This is when team augmentation companies can lend a hand.
The team augmentation process typically involves the following steps:
ASSESSMENT
Depending on the project, you identify the gaps or increase in workload within your organization. Whether it is an extra set of programmers, an additional customer experience team, or something far more niche, you must identify what are your specific needs.
TALENT ACQUISITION
You then partner up with a company that’s well versed on IT staff augmentation trends. The company will review your needs, provide you guidance, and recommend you with a list of suitable and qualified candidates that cater to your requirements.
ONBOARDING
Once the candidate or candidates have been successfully selected, they are integrated into the existing workflow and company culture so they hit the ground running.
PROJECT EXECUTION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
The team then focuses on meeting the established objectives. The new members provide insight and experience, and will help the existing team with any additional concerns. After the project has been completed, the performance of the augmented team members is usually evaluated and the company makes any necessary adjustments.
All in all, team augmentation is a powerful solution for teams that aim to expand their capabilities, accelerate project delivery, and save resources. By carefully selecting a reputable staff augmentation company like Belatrix, businesses can access a well of talent, help innovate, and meet any goals they set their minds to.
