In 2020, 54% of global IT companies reported talent shortage, and the number grows with every passing day; talent shortage has become a huge barrier for businesses to grow and thrive. It has become difficult for HRs to find, attract and acquire skilled IT specialists for the organizations. IT staff augmentation services are the key to overcoming this challenge.
According to Statista, the market for staff augmentation solutions has experienced a rise from 5.2% to 6.3% between 2018 and 2020. More and more businesses rely on staff augmentation companies to enhance their IT capabilities. Let’s look into IT staff augmentation services to understand the reasons behind its fast-growing popularity.
What are IT staff augmentation services?
Staff augmentation services refer to the services extended by a staff augmentation company to enable businesses to hire qualified, skilled IT specialists on a contract basis. It is an outsourcing strategy to access to the needed IT skill without hiring a full-time employee. A staff augmentation company offers a business to hire external expertise quickly and flexibly.
IT staffing services are a cost-effective solution when the business experiences a staffing shortage. It is a scalable solution and helps businesses cut down recruitment costs. Moreover, staff augmentation solutions support business expansion by temporarily increasing the capacity of the business. IT staff augmentation provides the businesses with a middle ground between staff outsourcing and in-house staffing.
Why are staff augmentation services popular, especially in the IT sector?
The global talent shortage is the most dominating factor contributing to IT staff augmentation’s popularity. Rather than hiring a full-time employee, businesses can outsource specific project tasks to a staff augmentation company. In addition, on-demand staff augmentation services allow companies to scale up or down as needed, which can be especially useful for small businesses with limited resources.
With staff augmentation services, businesses can also leverage the expertise of experts in different fields, allowing them to complete projects more efficiently and effectively. Finally, many staff augmentation service providers offer flexible working arrangements, ideal for busy professionals who want the flexibility to work from home or on the go.
Overall, IT staff augmentation services are becoming increasingly popular in today’s fast-paced business world because they can save companies time and money while allowing them to access top talent whenever needed.
Business benefits of IT staff augmentation solutions
Staff augmentation services come with multiple competitive advantages to the business. Here are some of the pros of staff augmentation services.
Access to global talent
IT staff augmentation services can help businesses access the best talent from around the world. Hiring through these services helps you to save time and effort. The services work as a bridge between clients and skilled professionals to deliver top-notch results. The clients can find the best talent regardless of their location. This increases the diversity and creativity in the organization. The best part is that clients will know the cost of hiring employees through IT services. You can also hire a team with specialized skills.
Optimizes Recruitment costs
Businesses are spending millions on hiring new employees. But the recruitment costs include sourcing, screening, and hiring the new employees. So, it will be an added expense for organizations. It includes costs like salary, benefits, travel, and onboarding. Staff augmentation services will help you to optimize your recruitment costs. It includes what you need for your project and eliminates the non-essential costs. With the help of IT services, you can get the right skills for your project. You can get the best skills and services at a lower cost.
Adaptability and growth
The businesses are growing and scaling up look for flexible talent to support their business. Almost one-third of IT organizations are looking for flexible talent to bridge the anticipated skill gaps. They are targeting to enhance their talent pool by 25% by 2020. You can handle peak times through IT staff augmentation services and scale back when business slows down. It is a great way to scale your IT team without adding more full-time employees. You can hire a team for a specific project or a period of time. This helps you to enhance your business processes without any challenges.
Scalability
IT organizations are growing and expanding to new geographies. So, you need flexible and scalable talent to meet the demand. IT staff augmentation services are a great solution for business scalability. You can hire talent for a specific period of time and project. As a result, you can quickly scale up and down without any challenges. You can get skilled resources for peak times and scale back when business slows down. You can hire a team for a specific project or a period of time.
Lower training needs
Employees also have to train their new team members. It takes a lot of time and effort to train the new team members. This is a great challenge for organizations as they have to focus more on training. But it is not a great idea to focus more on training. Staff augmentation services can help you to lower training needs. You can hire the best talent with a proven track record and expertise in the field. So, you can get the results without training. You can also hire the best talent with less training time.
Read our another blog on Challenges of IT Staff Augmentation and How to Solve Them
Limitations of IT staff augmentation solutions
IT staff augmentation solutions are designed to drastically reduce the time and resources required to fill vacant IT positions. Increasingly, organizations are turning to this hiring model to fill critical roles quickly and without breaking the bank. While there are undoubtedly many benefits to using an IT staffing agency, there are also some limitations.
● Management issues:
Successful IT staff augmentation solution implementation requires careful planning and collaboration between the client organization and the staffing agency. You must state your entire requirement beforehand to avoid management issues.
● Privacy issues:
Remember, you will be entrusting your most sensitive information to this vendor, so it’s essential that you do your due diligence on their security policies, processes, and compliance measures.
● Miscommunication:
As staff augmentation is global, the communication language and time of working may become trouble for a business. Effective communication is essential to break through the language and time barrier.
● Inefficient workflow:
A third-party provider may not be able to provide the same level of flexibility as an in-house team, so it’s important that you clearly define your processes beforehand. If SOPs and automation are not in place, staff augmentation can become a reason for inefficient workflows leading to lower productivity.
The right IT staffing agency can be a powerful asset for any organization. By carefully considering your needs and weighing the pros and cons of different hiring models, you can ensure that you get the right team for the job every time.
When to opt for IT staff augmentation services?
Staff augmentation solutions serve as a powerful tool for business in the following business scenarios
● Fast business expansion: When your business’s main objective is to expand
● Within a short time frame, staff augmentation services can help you attain it.
● Specific skill requirement: When your project requires a specialist in a specific domain, it’s better to opt for IT staff augmentation services than hiring a full-time employee.
● Project-based requirement: When your business requires a specialist for a project, you can always opt for this outsourcing staffing strategy for contractual employment.
● Fill skill gaps: When you already have an in-house IT team but still need a few more specialists, you can affordably get access to highly specialized IT professionals through staff augmentation services.
IT staff augmentation services are ideal when you want to reduce hiring costs and time. It enables businesses with the flexibility to scale up and down as and when needed.
How to implement IT staff augmentation services in your business?
IT staff augmentation services are the most commonly chosen option for outsourcing IT functions.This approach has many advantages,, including lower costs and faster access to the latest technology and skill sets. Here’s how to implement staff augmentation services in your business:
● Pen-down specific criteria – As with any outsourcing arrangement, you should start by defining your business needs. What kind of work do you need help with? Who would be best suited for the job? How much support will you need?
● Create a strong SLA – Most staff augmentation services require a service-level agreement (SLA). This is a contract that defines the level of service the provider is expected to deliver.
● Endorse a clear contract – The SLA is one part of a clear contract. You should also have clear expectations of the vendor’s role and deliverables and clearly define all costs, including setup fees, monthly fees, and other charges.
● Check reputation – There are numerous staff augmentation companies in the market. Before choosing an IT staff augmentation company for your business, check their reputation through online reviews.
IT staff augmentation services can help companies and organizations overcome the challenges of skilled talent shortage. It is a flexible hiring solution for organizations to hire the best talent for a specific period of time or project. Hiring through these services offers many benefits to businesses and organizations. Ecosmob is a reliable IT staff augmentation company that helps businesses hires skilled IT specialists to enhance their IT capabilities, thrive for growth, and drive long-term value.
If you are looking for expert staff augmentation services, feel free to get in touch by connecting at sales@ecosmob.com
Related Read: IT Staff Augmentation Vs Managed Services: Which one is for you?
