In decades past, hiring an in-house IT department was the only option for businesses in need of tech expertise. Today, advancements in technology have made it possible to enlist the assistance of IT professionals on a per-job basis. IT staff augmentation is a popular type of outsourcing that involves using temporary workers to complete short-term job positions within a company.
When businesses encounter a project that requires extra IT support that the company may not possess, IT staff augmentation services can provide the rapid skills they need to complete projects quickly and efficiently.
How Does IT Staff Augmentation Work?
Getting a project completed on time and within budget requires a team of talented professionals that can help see it through to completion. Depending on the project at hand, businesses may seek out assistance from project managers, system architects, business analysts, software developers, infrastructure specialists and other IT experts with a unique knowledge base and skillset.
IT staff augmentation is comprised of several steps designed to give businesses a temporary boost in their workforce throughout the duration of a project. The IT staff augmentation process flow typically involves the following basic steps:
1. Identify Skill Gaps
Preparing for a project involves several important steps, such as outlining specifications and gathering resources. However, no project can be successful without the contributions of skilled workers. Before bringing on IT experts to fill in skill gaps, businesses must first identify what skills are necessary to reach successful project completion. Consider conducting an in-depth project analysis to determine where there are talent shortages and how best to expand the IT team to meet goals and objectives.
2. Properly Integrate New Team Members
Once the talent shortage has been filled by the right professionals, and the necessary contracts and NDAs have been signed, it is time to integrate the new staff into the workplace. This typically involves introducing them to the rest of the team, getting them acquainted with the project and conducting training if necessary. This will allow the new team members to become more familiar with the company and start the project with as much information as possible.
3. Managing The Team
The final step in the IT staff augmentation flow process involves continuously managing the team until the project is completed. Existing employees can benefit from the value that IT staff augmentation brings to a company and allows business leaders to see that their investment is justified. Businesses can choose to manage their augmented staff on their own or may choose to outsource a project manager to allow them more time to focus on core activities that drive growth.
Benefits Of IT Staff Augmentation
Finding and hiring new employees can be a long and time-consuming process. IT staff augmentation is designed to eliminate these costly tasks while giving employers the flexibility of adding and removing workers from their augmented team as needed. There are also many other benefits of IT staff augmentation, including the following:
Flexible Hiring
Turnover within a company can cause projects to fall behind, leading to wasted time and money. With IT staff augmentation, businesses can hire workers to meet their short-term needs without the commitment of hiring a regular employee. This flexibility eliminates a great deal of administrative work and HR tasks relating to health and fringe benefits. IT staff augmentation workers can be hired on a per-job basis and only called in when a business experiences a skills gap.
Access To A Large Talent Pool
Many companies face challenges in an attempt to locate the right experts for the job. IT staff augmentation solutions make it easy to find the IT professionals that businesses need without an extensive search. Companies have direct access to a large talent pool of skilled professionals in many areas of technology. These professionals have extensive education and training in their area of expertise and can provide businesses with a fresh perspective and unbiased opinions. When businesses need someone with a particular skill set, hiring a temporary staff member is a highly effective option.
Reduced Costs
Cost savings can be a major benefit for businesses in search of IT professionals. Hiring full-time employees for the purpose of contributing to a specific project can waste time and money that could be better spent elsewhere. Companies can choose to bring on an augmented staff on a short-term basis to meet the specific and immediate needs of the business without sacrificing the quality of talent. Money can be saved in many areas, such as ongoing salaries, employee benefits, training costs and the cost of employee turnover.
Greater Operational Efficiency
It is not unusual for businesses to experience high operational costs, often with a minimal return on investment. IT staff augmentation often involves the use of remote workers that collaborate and perform tasks from a remote location. Allowing temporary staff to work remotely can save on operational costs and allow for more flexibility which can spark creativity. Savings accumulated from greater operational efficiency are often translated into higher profits.
Streamlined Hiring
When hiring a traditional employee, companies must complete a long and complex hiring process that often involves extensive interviews, background checks and HR. The use of IT staff augmentation allows businesses to bypass many of these tasks and get straight to leveraging the skills of the temporary employee or consultant. This efficient hiring process allows companies to get the expertise they need as quickly as possible.
Fresh And Unbiased Perspective
IT employees often suffer from tunnel vision when working on a complex or long-winded project. It can be difficult for them to come up with new ideas or think outside the box when they are committed to a certain series of steps. When projects run into problems, costly delays can occur that put businesses behind schedule. Temporary workers tend to be more focused and can provide a fresh perspective on a particular project or problem. They can also offer an unbiased view based on their expertise and experience working on similar projects.
Rapid Business Scaling
Every business aims to grow and thrive but not all have the tools and resources necessary to make this possible. IT staff augmentation enables employers to cost-effectively scale their workforce. Companies can scale their business faster by hiring top talent for specific projects and cutting down on costs for overhead, training and the additional costs associated with paying permanent employees. Temporary staffing is an excellent solution for managing the ongoing demands that businesses face when transitioning from project to project. Accelerated scaling can be achieved without sacrificing project quality.
Fewer Administrative Duties
Administration costs can skyrocket with increased staff and the required, associated HR duties. Companies can eliminate many of these time-consuming activities by allowing the agency responsible for the temporary workers to manage their own staff. Many of the agencies that provide IT staff augmentation services also manage the payroll, benefits, coaching, unemployment, performance issues and termination of their staff. This can save businesses a great deal of time while ensuring that all aspects of the new hires are being addressed by a team of professionals.
Team Management
Many people confuse IT staff augmentation with traditional outsourcing; however, they are not the same. While IT staff augmentation is a form of outsourcing, companies retain control over the experience and skills that they require from temporary staff. Businesses also have the ability to continuously manage and monitor the progress of their temporary hires who are likely to work alongside any full-time employees. IT staff augmentation also enables businesses to maintain a level of confidentiality with their projects that is not always possible with traditional outsourcing.
What To Consider When Hiring Staff
In determining whether or not a business requires IT staff augmentation, there are several things to consider. Take the time to assess the current situation of the project and team members. Consider if there is sufficient talent to successfully complete the project on time and within budget without sacrificing the quality of the project or its outcome. Many businesses will discover IT staff augmentation to be an effective solution to their current problems.
Before outsourcing responsibilities to IT staff, consider what tasks need to be completed and what skills are necessary to complete these activities at an expert level. Interim team members assigned through IT staff augmentation typically hold the same level of responsibility as senior staff members of the organization. Temporary staff is expected to follow the same guidelines established by the company as full-time employees.
Many businesses have concerns about how well temporary staff will contribute to the project. Augmented workers typically complete a challenging vetting process to ensure that only the most qualified IT professionals work on outsourced projects. These experts have vast experience in the tech world and may offer unique specialties that can be hard to find elsewhere.
Businesses in nearly every industry can benefit from IT staff augmentation services, including companies in automotive, healthcare, logistics, insurance, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, sports, professional services, media and entertainment. When selecting personnel for the job, consider what temporary staff can offer the company beyond just adding individuals to the team. IT staff augmentation aims to provide employers with the delivery of any required role, as well as C-level project support.
Get Started With IT Staff Augmentation Services From Orases
Orases, a leading custom software company, is known for delivering the most qualified talent, hand-selected by their IT staff augmentation team. When businesses work with Orases, they are provided with years of experience by a team of experts in the custom software industry. To learn more about IT staff augmentation or to request help from a team of custom software specialists, reach out to the professionals at Orases today.
