6 myths about IT Staff Augmentation

Staff Augmentation has become a popular way of outsourcing. However, there are common beliefs about IT staff augmentation that are wrong and prevent organizations from seeing the benefits of this strategic solution that allows them to rapidly scale.

#1 Staff Augmentation is too expensive

Companies believe that since staff augmentation is commonly charged by the hour rather than by salary, it is more costly, but this is not the case. There’s also the belief that the company does not save money by hiring one or several developers for a project.

In the case of staff augmentation, there are internal costs that can be avoided and that in a fixed contract scenario, are needed to seek for, hire and train a new member of the company.

When outsourcing with a staff augmentation company, the business does not have to pay for these additional worker’s benefits because they will remain employees of the staff augmentation company .

What expenses is the employer saving by using Staff Augmentation?

The expenses an employer can save include fixed salaries, legal and employment benefits, premiums, corporate aids, and social security benefits. Using IT staff augmentation allows an organization to grow their workforce with specific professionals for particular tasks without having the necessity to incur in long-range recruitments. Moreover, the developers hired will be available for the company without additional costs. Lastly, the fees for these dedicated resources are lower than the total cost of an employee.

#2 There is no control over the projects

Another myth among companies who are exploring staff augmentation is that there will be no control over a project and that the result won’t be the one expected. However, the project director will be in direct contact with the developers and their dedicated team, which enables complete control over the development of the project.

Also, the company could count with different professionals such as experts in programming, development, UX designers, and key personnel that contribute to the successful implementation of a project.

#3 Communication and management issues

Since it’s usual that these services are offered with nearshore dedicated teams that are usually located in different geographical areas It’s a common myth that there will be challenges around matching time zones, which can prevent communication to be carried out in a proper way.

However, today’s technology tools such as Confluence, Notion, Gitbook, Slack and management tools such as Jira, Asana and Trello, allow companies to always be connected to their teams. As a result, this improves communication and management of dedicated teams regardless of timezones. Communication can be very effective with the tools and applications that are properly implemented to the project.

#4 Cultural differences affect the project

Cultural differences can pose a challenge when exploring to work with a staff augmentation company. However, before deciding to invest in staff augmentation services it’s important to communicate clearly the company culture. It is also equally important for the staff augmentation company to help the company better understand the cultural differences such as customs and norms. This will enable clear expectations but also improve communication between the company and the staff augmentation partner.

#5 You do not get the same quality

Another common myth is that by contracting staff augmentation services productivity will be reduced. Moreover, the quality work executed by the developers working remotely is not efficient and as a result communication challenges will arise which may cause the project to not turn out as expected.

In our experience delivering digital products to more than 20 companies in the United States and Latin America, we have learned that if done the right way, staff augmentation can support the operational efficiency of a company. Moreover, we have learned that remote work tends to provide the opportunity for teams to focus more by working from their preferred environment.

Recruitment processes are also essential to ensure and demonstrate the quality of the professionals or candidates to augment the hiring company’s team. These processes are based on testing a person’s different abilities using tests for each one of the sides necessary to cover the job.

Lasly, in order to ensure a high quality team, it is equally important that the staff augmentation company has a robust recruitment process including a series of technical and non-technical tests, interview prep support, and clear onboarding documentation. This will ensure that the individuals joining the hiring company are a strong fit and are ready to add value.

#6 It is too risky and there are no long term benefits

A barrier that seems to be in the way of a company’s decision of augmenting their IT staff, whether is a developer or a dedicated team, is thinking that by doing it, they would be taking a chance and their project will not be taken seriously or with the responsibility it requires.

Before hiring a developer or a dedicated team, a pre-selection and selection process is completed. Based on the results of the pre-selection and selection process, the most fitting candidate is selected. This process is carried out by the Staff Augmentation company.

Staff Augmentation also offers long term benefits by hiring staff to cover the business needs that are immediate and specific. Even though short term projects are ideal for temporary employees who only need to work during a fixed amount of hours, companies can identify areas in which their permanent workforce need support and leverage staff augmentation to cover such needs. This gives the company more control over their projects as well as the expenses in general.

How to break these myths?

Companies can debunk these myths by implementing the proper evaluation and selection procedure for the staff augmentation model they need, clarifying the definitions and types of staff augmentation services available, and determining which one best meets their needs and aspirations.

After doing the review, companies must also know how to find the ideal partner for their staff augmentation needs. First, they can check online reviews and compare different companies that offer this service. Second, they can verify if the company has the experience that meets their requirements.

A company will be able to debunk the myths when encountering a reliable IT staff augmentation partner that creates enough value and trust to implement this model on their projects.

At SunDevs we provide talent with the ability to transform your company. We ensure you are introduced to a selection of top candidates within 3 business days at extremely competitive rates. Contact us here.