Whether you run a startup, want to drop an NFT collection or build a mHealth solution for your healthcare organisation, you will probably need an experienced development team to assist you. Since each project requires specific conditions and resources, the development world is now based on four key working models, known as out staff, in-house team and freelance.
While each model boasts its own pros and cons, team augmentation is the most popular way for most businesses. Being a cost-effective and efficient solution, companies hire an out-staffed team that can help them fulfil the skill gap and launch the product much faster compared to other models. Let’s explore the benefits of team augmentation below.
What Exactly is Team Augmentation?
Team augmentation, commonly called staff augmentation or team extension, refers to the practice of hiring experts from another company to expand the in-house team. With this development model, the team that hires can select the candidates based on specific requirements and unique business needs. The staff augmentation provider covers all administrative hassles, allowing you to work with your new specialists the same way you do with your in-house teams.
According to Statista, the interest in staff augmentation increased and rocketed from 4.3% in 2017 to 6.3% in 2020. Now the number is even higher, and the interest is growing every day, making this practice the favourite choice for short-term projects. To be more specific, staff augmentation is the best option for companies whose in-house team lacks skills or certain technical expertise.
Benefits of IT Staff Augmentation
Cost-Efficiency
IT staff augmentation allows companies to use unique skills on their projects without all the documents and money involved in the hiring of new in-house staff. This development and cooperation model gives companies access to the expertise and experience of niche-down and tech-savvy professionals without paying benefits, insurance, providing equipment for work, office space, etc., which significantly reduces costs. In addition, most companies hire an out-staffed team for short projects, so this cooperation model is temporary in nature. This means you pay for resources only when you need them.
Additionally, using a team augmentation reduces costs that you would spend on the recruitment and hiring process while also reducing the time needed to sign off all the documents and provide onboarding for a new employee. Since team augmentation providers give you a list of candidates that suits your project most, you won’t spend too much time and will also be able to replace the candidate within one or two weeks.
Faster Project Completion
Most of the time, team augmentation is used to complete short-term projects that have to be developed on short notice. As we mentioned, hiring a staffed team allows you to avoid the hiring process, which significantly reduces the time before engineers can start their work. This cooperation model gives access to skills and knowledge that may not be readily available within your organisation, meaning that you don’t need to wait until your employees learn new skills and become thoroughly familiar with technologies.
Higher Flexibility
As discussed above, team augmentation allows organisations to scale up or down quickly and with no hassle. This is especially beneficial for startups or during times of growth when the company needs an extra IT staff to keep pace with the market without the need to wait weeks or months for perfect candidates to apply to your positions. This cooperation model has become increasingly popular during COVID-19 since all businesses were looking for quick and flexible solutions.
Team augmentation brings higher flexibility compared to permanent employees since they can be shifted from one project to another when needed, sharing skills with your in-house employees. This means you don’t need to worry about training them on specific projects, as they can start working on a project as soon as the contract is signed. In 2022 flexibility in the IT industry is the key to success, as more and more technologies are entering the space, and if you want to stay in demand, then team augmentation is the way to go. And here, flexibility means getting the right people for the right seats only when required.
In-Depth Expertise
Team augmentation brings an exceptional level of expertise and background. By hiring staff augmentation engineers over new employees, the in-house employees, companies get unique skills, especially for a project, without investing in recruitment and training. In addition, the talent pool is bigger, and decisions are made faster, so you get a competitive advantage by having the best out of the best experts in your team.
While not all team augmentation services have the same level of expertise, you will be able to choose the right provider, like Deazy. In addition, the provider will let you provide an interview of several candidates, making it easier for you to choose the right person. This ensures that you will get top-quality teams and improve the quality of your projects.
Better Control
While it’s true that team augmentation services give companies access to highly skilled resources, they also offer them better control of their resources. For instance, organisations can now develop custom workflows and processes that make monitoring their augmented employees’ activities easier. It also helps to better measure the augmented employees’ performance and report any mistakes. This higher control over your resources is known for boosting IT productivity, which increases profits and reduces costs.
Final Thoughts
Team augmentation is the most common cooperation model that helps companies develop better products, speed up the process, get cost reduction as well as provide access to a vast pool of unique talents. Knowing the exact benefits of team augmentation allows organisations to choose the best option for their business.
Interesting Related Article: “5 Differences Between Outsourcing and Staff Augmentation Solutions“