Staff augmentation comes with a lot of benefits for your company. Outsourced employees are usually experts in their fields and they can give your company a fresh outlook. Staff augmentation takes the process of vetting potential employees out of your hands and as a result, the onboarding process is shorter compared to the traditional hiring method. Businesses spent about $75.2 billion on outsourcing in 2020 and the amount is projected to increase in the coming years.
Compared to other hiring models, how does staff augmentation/outsourcing fare? In this article, we will discuss the differences between staff augmentation and other hiring methods.
What Does Staff Augmentation Entail?
Staff augmentation refers to the method of hiring where a business employs an expert to work on a project with a limited scope of work. Typically, this method of hiring is short-term and the outsourced staff does not become part of your company. Let’s say you need an experienced developer to rectify a specific problem, staff extension/augmentation is the way to go. The onboarding process is faster and when the project is done, the developer can go on to work on other projects and you will not need to worry about downsizing.
Staff Augmentation Vs In-house Hiring
In-house hiring refers to the traditional way of hiring employees where each employee is offered a monthly salary. In-house hiring is a lengthy process and the employee becomes part of your company. Let’s look at some of the similarities and differences between staff augmentation and in-house hiring.
Similarities
- In both staff augmentation and in-house hiring, the company has absolute control over the project. You can give instructions and control the outcome of the project you are working on.
- Dedicated developers are also available for communication at any time. Remote working has made it possible to fix most technical issues from a distance and with no delay.
Differences
- There is less commitment with team extension. This works in your favor if you don’t have long-term plans. You can let your augmented staff go without fearing legal action.
- In staff augmentation, onboarding is faster than in in-house hiring. There is no need for you to personally run background checks on each candidate and there is no long legal process to follow. Your new employee is considered part of your development, IT, or Accounting team, etc. They are not considered as part of the company.
- Team extensions are more affordable overall. There is no need to pay for health funds, pension funds, or any other taxes.
- Finding an outsourced team member is simple. There are numerous excellent outsourcing companies that offer an excellent selection. You will be able to get an employee that offers the exact qualities you need.
- Team extension is easily scalable. You can grow or shrink your workforce according to your specific requirements without too much delay.
Staff Augmentation Vs Hiring A Freelancer
Freelancing platforms have stiff competition. This means that you can find a freelancer to perform any task you require at a relatively low price. Let’s look at some of the similarities and differences between staff augmentation and hiring a freelancer.
Similarities
- In both models of hiring, your business will have full control of both the task and the outcome.
- As in team extension/staff augmentation, there is no need for you as the employer, to pay health insurance, pension funds, etc. The only other payment is the commission you have to pay to the freelancing platform you are using.
- Both hiring models are perfect if you do not have long-term plans and just need a limited number of tasks done. You can let go of both freelancers and staff extensions when the required projects are complete without fearing legal action.
Differences
- Oftentimes, a freelancer might lack commitment. This can negatively affect the quality of work. Hiring a freelancer is safer for smaller chunks of the project.
- Freelancing is not easily scalable. Every time you need to hire a new freelancer, you have to go through the tedious process of checking the background and experience of each candidate. On the other hand, staff augmentation lets you grow or shrink your workforce as you desire without much hassle.
- Hiring a freelancer takes more time than getting an expert from an outsourcing company. When hiring a freelancer, you have to personally check the background and experience of each freelancer, and this takes time. When you hire from an outsourcing company, all your requirements are checked by the outsourcing company for you, which saves you valuable time.
- Most times, augmented staff from outsourcing companies are more experienced than freelancers. So the quality of work received from both might be different. Hiring freelancers for more complex projects is risky. If the job is not done properly, you will incur a lot more maintenance costs in the future.
- Freelancer onboarding is either missing or much faster compared to onboarding augmented staff.
Why Use Staff Augmentation/ Team Extension?
Staff augmentation comes with its pros and cons, but why should you choose it for your business? Let’s look at a few reasons why staff augmentation is a wise choice.
Onboarding Does Not Take Time
If you have a project with a tight deadline and are also understaffed, staff augmentation is your best bet. Hiring long-term or in-house developers can sometimes take a series of interviews that can stretch for months.
At the same time, hiring freelancers is risky and might lower the quality of your output, which will become costly in the long run. Setting up milestones for freelancers can also be frustrating and more time-consuming than team extension. You have to assess each candidate and check references yourself. Even with the background checks, there is still a possibility that the freelancer you pick might not be a good fit for the project.
With staff extension, you don’t need to assess each candidate yourself, and as a result, onboarding is faster. High quality of output is also almost always guaranteed.
There Is No Need To Commit
Hiring a dedicated team then firing them when you no longer need their services comes with legal implications. You could find yourself on the wrong side of a lawsuit, and that will cause complications for your business.
If you are not sure how long a project will take, staff extension is the best and safest choice. With team extension, you can get experts to lend their skills to your business and let them go when you no longer need their services without fearing legal action.
Reap the Benefits Of Staff Augmentation
Staff augmentation has numerous benefits. When you work with a trusted outsourcing company, you can be assured that you will get your pick of experts in the field you are looking for. Staff augmentation gives you a dedicated, professional team without having to pay benefits or going through a long and tedious onboarding process. Staff augmentation is easily scalable and you can easily control the size of your workforce. Get in touch with the best outsourcing companies on the market and reap the benefits of working with handpicked experts.