Staff Augmentation – A Model to Expand Your Team Cost-Effectively

When companies shift focus from being limited to brick-and-mortar enterprises and compete in an international market, the need of diverse talent is felt. There are various ways to fulfill these temporary workforce needs, and one of the most effective methods if opting for a staff augmentation model of manpower acquisition and management. This blog provides detailed information about staff augmentation.

Introduction

The staffing system is changing day-by-day with advancements in technology. New systems of employment are being created at a fast pace. One such method is staff augmentation. This system expands the boundaries of employment as it permits employers to hire talent from anywhere for a flexible amount of time.

The staff augmentation staffing model is many steps ahead of the traditional manpower temp agency and recruitment systems. It involves fewer efforts and offers more benefits. Depending upon your task, the service you seek, the workforce you require, and the professionalism you demand, you are provided staff by a company that specializes in offering staff augmentation solutions in your industry.

Temporary staffing needs vary, resulting in different types of staff augmentation

• Off-Shore- When the employer needs to recruit off-shore teams based on specific project or operations needs that call for increasing manpower resources with specific skill sets that might not be easily available onshore, the offshore model is used.
• In-Shore- When an employer is looking for a temporary workforce within the country and needs to hire on the go while meeting exact talent requirements, they go for inshore staff augmentation methods.
• Specialized Hiring- When employers need domain-specific subject matter experts, professionals with niche, hot skills, or professionals with particular expertise and certifications, etc., for a temporary period of time for one or the other projects, they choose staff augmentation methods based on specialized hiring.

Staff augmentation services combine the benefits of outsourcing and in-house hiring in a way that a company gets more control over manpower availability, productivity, and performance management, etc.. At the same time, they do not have to worry about spending numerous hours on hiring, disengagement, hiring again, etc. The risks are also fewer.

Companies can choose between long-term and short-term staff augmentation services

• Short-term – It is commonly used by companies during a period of heavy work-load, like a seasonal hike in operations.
• Long-term – It is used when companies need manpower resources for ongoing project needs, which could range from six months to more than two-three years.

Staff Augmentation Versus Traditional Staffing

The traditional staffing process includes screening numerous applications, interviewing, checking work experience, and analyzing previous work, etc. The new temporary hires are then added to the regular payroll system, and when the requirement is over, there is also an elaborate exit process. As and when different kinds of temporary talent requirements arise, all these hiring and exit processes are repeated.

Different Methods of Staff Augmentation

1. Master Vendor Staffing

Master vendor staffing is one of the most common methods of staff augmentation. Many big companies and businesses opt for this method to undertake staff augmentation. It eliminates the risk of non-contractual expenses and rationalizes the supplier portfolio. It is a reliable system that covers the whole process of managing subcontractors, new staff deployments, training and development, and employee retrenchment. Employers need not worry about sourcing manpower from different sources. The master vendor takes on all such responsibilities, helping companies find as many manpower resources as required on time.

2. Specialized Staffing Models

Specialized staffing models are designed by certain companies when there is not a permanent but frequent need for highly-skilled professionals from diverse backgrounds. The focus here is not on commoditized labor needs but on acquiring skilled manpower for specific time frames.

3. Through On-Demand Platforms

There are also a number of on-demand platforms available that allow companies quick access to curated, highly-skilled talent. Here, the focus is on the speed of hiring – finding highly competent manpower at very short notice.

4. Gig Platforms

These are online platforms that allow companies to post task-based manpower needs. Professionals responding to the job post are then screened and selected and hired for tasks as and when required. Platforms such as Freelancer and Upwork are among the most widely known in this category. This method gives a lot of flexibility to the companies as they can contract as many or as few professionals based on very specific functional expertise.

5. Independent Contractual Methods

There are staff augmentation service providers that allow companies to hire professionals as independent contractors for a specific time period. It is a skill-based hiring method that is often used by small- and medium-sized companies for positions demanding a range of specific skills. The fees or compensation could vary from one independent contractor to another. The staff augmentation service provider acts more like a facilitator.

Advantages of Staff Augmentation Services

1. Global Talent Access

One of the major benefits of staff augmentation is the ability to access talent from any part of the world. Whether you need professionals to complete certain kinds of tasks or a team to manage specific process chains, meeting temporary staffing needs quickly can be easily managed through staff augmentation. From finding data analytics professionals with expertise in manufacturing ERP systems for UK markets to hiring a solution architect for specialized technology product development in the Middle East, finding the right experts becomes easier and faster.

Although staff augmentation methods for hiring temporary manpower are becoming increasingly popular in the IT sector, it is in no way limited to that sector. It is also getting a lot of acceptance in the engineering, education, financial services, facility management, and other sectors.

2. Get Specialised Expertise On-Demand

Whether you need extra hands for developing websites, creating mobile applications, or for real estate rendering projects, using the staff augmentation model helps you to quickly find the right experts – that is, professionals with the exact level of industry exposure, experience, track records, creative skills, etc.

3. Increased Competitive Advantages

Competitiveness is often about the ability to be increasingly customer responsive, expanding resources to fulfill a wide range of requirements within costs that meet customer expectations. Often talent gaps make it difficult to achieve a high level of competitiveness. With staff augmentation, you can overcome most talent challenges and increase business competitiveness.

4. Scalability and Flexibility

Staff augmentation allows companies to expand their manpower resources without much effort. Scaling up to meet diverse operational and project needs becomes easier to manage. When temporary manpower requirements are frequent, using the services of, for example, a master vendor for staff augmentation allows companies to hire as many resources as required for any amount of time.

5. Reduce Training Costs

The staff augmentation model allows companies to hire professionals who are specially trained for executing the tasks they have in mind. For any project, the learning curve gets highly reduced. Also, the work and knowledge of professionals with highly specialized skills are often leveraged by companies to enhance their knowledge management about domains, functions, technologies, and related expertise.

Hiring through traditional methods, on the contrary, involves extensively training a temporary employee for a task for which they might not have the right level of competence. The company has to invest frequently in training as and when they recruit a temporary employee.

6. Control over Staff

In comparison to outsourcing, project-based outsourcing, managed services, the staff augmentation model permits companies to have more control over augmented staff performance and routine task management outcomes. Here, the work of the augmented staff is overseen by the relevant project manager, and based on corrective feedback, the work can be improved and performance standards retained.

7. Reduce Overall Operations Costs

The tremendous amount of money that goes into frequent hiring and when contracts are discontinued, into continual training, into providing infrastructure for temporary employees, and many other operational costs get minimized when a company opts for staff augmentation services.

Conclusion

Staff augmentation is one of the best ways to find skilled or commoditized labor for specific timeframes. Without having to worry about payroll, regulatory compliance, hiring challenges, limited talent pool access, a company only needs to contract with a staff augmentation provider that will help fulfill all manpower requirements without hassles.

Alliance Recruitment Agency

Alliance Recruitment Agency has more than a decade of experience in helping companies find the right staff augmentation companies for their manpower requirements. The agency offers end-to-end support, from framing the right approach and creating job descriptions to the assessment of vendors or companies offering staff augmentation services. You will be able to find a reliable, competent staff augmentation service provider within a very short time of placing a service request with us.

Let us connect if you would like to have more information about staff augmentation and discover how feasible or lucrative it could be in your context.