5 Key Benefits Of Staff Augmentation & How To Select The Right Team
Selecting the best team for your task could be tricky, and you might be tempted to just go along with a dedicated team, but the benefits of staff augmentation are compelling. Examined below are five key benefits of staff augmentation.
Flexibility In Proximity
In staff augmentation, the focus is on matching the right developers with the right companies, regardless of location, and then settling on a mode of collaboration that works for both parties, whether that be nearshore (located close to the client), onshore (located on the client’s premises), or offshore (remotely).
Here, augmented teams need to aim for the most flexible conditions possible, with developers flying in as required to work as an onshore dedicated team or onshore or nearshore but retaining the option to work remotely.
More Control Over The Hiring Process
You can analyze all prospective applicants while augmenting your team and select the developers with the required training and skill set. Additionally, you have the opportunity to interview the chosen professionals to determine how well they would fit into your team.
Niche Skills
The advancement of technology has created a new breed of customers who are on the lookout for solutions with the most advanced technology. To fulfill this demand, companies are looking for the most skilled developers that will be able to build niche technological solutions.
In addition to finding a loyal software developers team, staff augmentation also helps companies find engineers with both the hard and soft skills needed for complex projects.
High Scaling Velocity
Many software developers are employed full-time by organizations that provide staff augmentations because they have at least five years of experience managing software development teams. They also have access to a developer pool because the Asia-Pacific has a large and diverse population of software engineers.
An excellent example of balancing cost-effectiveness and code quality is Eastern Europe. Because of the size of this talent market and its legal system.
The hiring process can be customized to the client’s needs thanks to staff augmentation’s high degree of flexibility, enabling them to meet the demands of the dynamic business climate.
High Loyalty
It is essential to the staff augmentation process to cultivate a company culture that encourages existing developers to remain with the company and continually draws in fresh talent. Both planning one’s career and effectively managing one’s work life is equally important.
Consequently, staff augmentation provides an unrivaled low attrition rate within a team of software engineers. As a consequence, the team can take on long-term projects that continue for more than a year.
Pitfalls Of Staff Augmentation & Possible Solutions
While the benefits of staff augmentation are valuable for any company, taking this approach is not without its setbacks. There are some challenges that business owners are bound to face. However, these challenges are not insurmountable, as companies in the past have overcome them. We would outline the possible setbacks you are likely to face in case of a collaboration with a vendor and actionable solutions.
Pitfalls of Staff Augmentation
Searching For A Short-Term Solution
The most common mistake businesses make when selecting staff augmentation services is viewing it as a quick solution to plug the team gap momentarily. This strategy will not lead to the success of this collaboration.
The primary strategy to minimize disappointments and bad results are cultivating long-term connections and integrating an augmented staff into your in-house team. Only by doing so will you attain peak performance, total alignment with corporate objectives, and outstanding results.
Prioritizing Costs Over Value
Although outsourcing is an excellent approach to cutting software development costs, each engagement model has its pricing. Typically, organizations prioritize cost over the value that a team could potentially provide.
Rather than looking at the cost alone, you should focus on the value an augmented team will add to your existing team. This, plus their current track record, will more than foot their bill.
Setting Unclear Expectations
You should understand that you also have a role beyond picking the staff augmentation model. Even if you have the most qualified professionals, you will not progress on your project if they are unclear about what they are trying to achieve and your company’s core values.
Spend some time clarifying what contributions you anticipate from each new team member, and provide in-depth documentation that can serve as a resource for them while they work on your project.
Treating Your Extended Team Differently
Augmented team members are a valuable part of your company. However, not all business owners remember that they are part of a team and must be treated equally.
Because of the term ‘augmented’ or ‘extended’, many companies forget that the augmented staff are also integral members of the company. They are often not treated as members of the software team.
To guarantee their excellent results, they must enjoy the same working conditions as other team members and participate in extra office activities such as corporate parties. Your attitude will determine their degree of participation and stimulate them. You will secure future great results for your organization.
Not Embracing Cultural Differences
The major pitfall companies face with augmented staff is not recognizing and embracing cultural differences. When you opt for staff augmentation, you cannot determine what cultural backgrounds they would be coming from. This should be considered.
This also boils down to how vast the cultural differences are. Making room for differences between European and American cultures would be easier. On the other hand, hiring from some Asian countries with no knowledge of western civilization would have difficulty fitting into a work environment. Companies should put this into consideration when it is augmenting their staff.
How To Choose A Trusted Team Extension Partner
Because employing a committed team becomes more difficult with the additional requirements for staff augmentation, converting to higher speed and effectiveness necessitates suitable expertise. We propose consulting with an expert who has access to the market’s essential resources and can aid you in locating actual specialists for your assignment.
There are four primary rules when hiring a dedicated team using team extension. In brief, you should ensure that the new team members are a good fit for the project and have extensive knowledge in their industry. For you, total control over the situation and a clear explanation of the project goals are required.
Ensure That the People Hired Fit Your Project Perfectly
It is essential to make thorough preparations before incorporating staff augmentation into a project to achieve the highest possible levels of speed and effectiveness. Before recruiting, be sure that the chosen specialists can devote their total attention to your work without jumping between projects.
Furthermore, we propose that each new team member be introduced in person. Because you’ll be working together for several hot months, mutually pleasant integration is essential.
Check The Professionalism Of A Dedicated Team
You’ll often face how things go wrong during the project implementation. Having the right expert on your team can reduce uncertainty and pressure. Their experience can help you address all these issues and ensure that your project is more effective in the long run.
Establish Direct Control Over a Dedicated Team Under Team Extension
Be actively involved in the staff augmentation process even if you will be outsourcing the task. For the staff augmentation model, it is assumed that you retain complete ownership of the project. Therefore, be prepared to handle various technical updates, revisions that demand your attention, and strategic and tactical decisions.
Further, you will be responsible for controlling the development process, communicating effectively with your team, and evaluating their performance. It’s essential to grasp that the increased effectiveness of the team doesn’t mean you’ll have less work. Instead, your responsibility increases alongside their effectiveness.
Clearly Define Project Goals & Criteria
You’ll need a crystal-clear picture of your project and its eventual destination if you want to gauge the efficiency and productivity of a growing team’s work. In addition, make sure everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing on the team, so there’s no room for confusion or wasted effort. More concretely, this entails developing project milestones and an evaluation scheme for each new team member. Use the SMART method of goal-setting and honest communication with your larger team.
Finding a software development company that has been in business for more than five years is ideal. A large percentage of them provide the staff augmentation model. Even if there are minor differences in the services provided by different businesses, the fundamental promise should remain consistent.
Conclusion
Speaking generally, staff augmentation is not just a one-off task; it involves a lot of planning and deliberation, weighing benefits, and avoiding pitfalls. Once a company can give the time and dedication required to staff augmentation systems, they will get the expertise they need and reap the benefits massively.
Rather than going through the entire stress of picking your team, why not allow a team of tested and trusted experts to do the dirty work for you? At Aristek, we have a whole team of professionals who have experience in helping you decide on staff augmentation. You can reach out via a call to the contact or book a session with one of our trusted experts.
