As more firms pick staff augmentation for their IT projects, the partners that supply these services provide a variety of skills to meet this need. However, there are certain frequent challenges that you may face while subcontracting IT professionals.
Following that, we will discuss four potential issues with the staff augmentation model, as well as what you can do to address them in a proactive manner and ensure the success of your project.
Staff Augmentation Challenges and Solutions
New Employee Onboarding
For any group of people who have been working for a long time and have developed a corporate culture and work ethic, co-opting a new member requires time and effort. Fitting in may be tough for newcomers, and it does not always go well. However, since staff augmentation is typically performed amid time pressure, all stakeholders simply do not have the opportunity to make extensive changes.
Solution: During exploratory interviews with possible coworkers, try to ignite their interest in the project and reassure them of your firm’s nice working environment. They should be excited about your temporary union and approach it with optimism.
Your regular employees should be aware that the firm needs the new employee’s services (however temporarily) and should be accessible to help and reassure them.
Quality of Service
Service quality will be one of the most difficult difficulties you will encounter when selecting the IT staff augmentation option. It is usual to believe that your supplier will fall short of the standard quality of the increased employees who will work on your next project, as well as the team in charge of it.
Solution: To avoid faulty code lines, cost overruns, and project delays, among other issues, do extensive research on possible organizations, taking into consideration elements such as case studies and other clients’ remarks.
After examining prior projects on which they have worked, the developer’s abilities and expertise, and the outcomes acquired, you may make a decision regarding the staffing partner. You may also arrange tailored interviews with applicants for this purpose, allowing you to explain their level of expertise and adaptability to the work culture.
Security Risks
Security is a key concern since staff augmentation entails engaging a third party and incorporating them into internal processes. Client and project security and privacy are vital and must not be jeopardized.
Solution: To address the issue of security threats and hazards, enterprises must do frequent security audits, and in order to retain total secrecy, they must follow all NDA signing requirements after employing the expanded team.
Staff augmentation enables businesses to extend their operations and complete difficult projects swiftly without committing to a long-term commitment, using net development and the services of experienced professionals. It is a fantastic resource for obtaining several advantages such as quicker time to market, lower costs, more innovation, faster processes, and decreased workloads.
Transfer of Project Knowledge
Knowledge transfer is critical at every step of the project, including the project kick-off phase, project execution, and project completion. You risk organizational waste if the whole process is rewritten from the start if you don’t have a solid strategy in place for what information assets to gather and how to arrange the process itself.
Solution: Make sure that information is shared effectively. Hire a vendor that has developed best practices for efficient knowledge transfer to guarantee a smooth and safe knowledge transfer journey. Choose a firm with a track record of successfully completing projects collected from both customers and former suppliers. We have learned from experience that knowledge transfer fails when it is haphazard and informal, and it works when it is deliberate, well-planned, and well-communicated.
In any event, you will have to grow your staff sooner or later if you make such a choice, since recruiting and maintaining competent personnel has become a difficult task, with 54 percent of organizations worldwide reporting talent shortages, the largest in over a decade.
Excessive Expenses
Temporary and project-based employees are often hired on an hourly basis. However, it is impossible to forecast how long your project would take when enlisting their assistance to complement your employees. Furthermore, since labor costs vary from month to month, you’ll never know how much money to save away.
Solution: If you want to know precisely how much staff augmentation will cost, use fixed-price contracts. Despite the fact that commissions and administrative costs are usually included in the pricing, this model works well for long-term employment. The hourly-rate approach is excellent for one-time jobs that can be completed quickly.