Staff augmentation is a flexible way to enhance your in-house team. Thus, you can cover the positions your team lacks or find expertise not available in your area. The key aspect is that you can add or remove members according to your needs without unnecessary expenses. Moreover, the staff augmentation provider handles the process, saving you the trouble of recruiting, assessing, and hiring.
Challenges in Staff Augmentation and How to tackle them
Communication Issues
This strategy usually depends on remote cooperation. Hiring staff from abroad brings benefits like lower fees and new talent, but it has its issues. First, verify the team you hire speaks English or your preferred language. Second, establish certain conditions. For example, ensure everyone is on the same page regarding means (email, WhatsApp, etc.), time frames (working hours), and tone (formal or informal).
Time Zone Differences
Ideally, the hired team and in-house staff should be in the same zone. However, this is not always possible. If you live in the United States and hire professionals from Eastern Europe or India, working hours will not coincide. Therefore, ensuring that the outsourced team will adapt to your time zone is vital.
Payment
This aspect is crucial. Staff augmentation is a terrific opportunity to lower expenses while getting quality, but it needs to be well organized. Business managers must establish payment conditions, i.e., dates, hourly or fixed, methods, etc. The best option is to pay a fixed price and have the staff provide care for internal costs, salaries, and expenses.
Fulfilling Expectations
Software development is a complex process that combines various strategies and expertise. In this sense, managers must establish the project’s deliverables as clearly as possible and do the necessary research to find the right team that can do the job. Asking for references and checking the provider’s portfolio is a solid supporting point.
Hiring Process
Finding an efficient hiring manager is key to your success. Searching for candidates, interviewing, background searches, and tryouts are colossal tasks. Require your staff augmentation provider to take care of this so you can concentrate on the product’s development.
All in all, staff augmentation presents many difficulties, but you can overcome them. By considering these factors in advance, doing the proper research, and establishing clear goals and conditions, you’ll be able to grow your business and profits.
