What is a Staff Augmentation Model?
Staff augmentation is a simple and popular outsourcing model where businesses add contractors to undertake certain tasks on their behalf. There are various reasons for augmenting staff in this way, such as increasing output without making permanent hires.
Another common reason for staff augmentation among smaller businesses is to plug a skills gap. Software development, for example, is a highly specialized skill that many small businesses will not have access to without outsourcing to a firm who has developers available to work with.
What is Staff Augmentation?
While staff augmentation may be a new and rather fancy terminology, it has existed in the professional world for a long time in the form of freelancing or consultancy.
There are many cases where a business might need a skill for a short time or a small project, after which the skill won’t be required for a long time. In such instances, it makes no sense to recruit a permanent hire of someone who will become redundant shortly after the task is complete.
Where staff augmentation differs from freelancing and traditional consultancy is that a business can outsource a project to a firm who will have multiple team members with a variety of skills. It is not just hiring someone to do a very specific job and that’s that.
Using software development as an example again, a business can hire a firm to design and build a website. It can then continue partnering with that firm to maintain the website and make improvements as more data becomes available. It is also likely that the hired firm will have access to SEO specialists and content creators to help the website rank high and remain fresh and informative. These are all tasks that require different skill sets, and which one person would struggle to competently perform all on their own.
Implementing a Staff Augmentation Model
A staff augmentation model refers to augmenting your staff with people from a service provider. Such service providers can be very niche or cover a broader range of skills and expertise.
The model works by the outsourcing company contracting a specific number of personnel for a particular period from the service provider. The outsourcing company may request personnel with specific skills or will simply explain what they need and let the service provider assign the roles accordingly.
How it plays out will be determined during a consultation where the outsourcing company and the service provider get to know each other. They will discuss what is required and what solutions can be provided.
It is a flexible business model that allows businesses to scale up and down according to what suits them at any given moment. The outsourcing company maintains control over everything, including the service provider’s personnel, but can add or withdraw services as and when they are required.
To find out more about staff augmentation and how your business could benefit, please contact our team at +1 800 974 7219 ext. 202.
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