Staff augmentation is a great tool for project managers
Staff augmentation opens the door to a whole world of talent for your organization. Where staffing numbers or skills may be lacking in a project, augmentation gives the ability to call upon experts who can join your team to give their time and expertise for a given period and within a tightly-defined scope.
The benefits of staff augmentation are clear-cut. There are significant advantages that come from not having to recruit expensive specialist staff for short-term tasks, and when the task or project is complete, the staff can easily move on without complicated HR procedures coming into play.
There are a few key points to bear in mind when considering staff augmentation for your project, however. While the benefits are clear, there can also be some challenges to overcome, and it’s important to be aware of the solutions to those challenges. We take a look at three common challenges along with suggested strategies for how to solve them.
Using staff augmentation to add to your team brings rewards
Achieving savings on internal processes
A significant advantage to using staff augmentation is the removal of the need to go through many of the ‘normal’ internal processes. By this we mean recruitment, interviewing, induction, corporate training, and so on; instead of going through these normal HR channels, the staff are added to the project for a short amount of time without needing these types of processes to be applied.
The challenge is to maximize these savings to bring the most benefit to the organization. Everyone involved in the project in the host organization should be on the same page in terms of not needing these HR processes to come into play, and therefore it’s important to build a great relationship with your staff augmentation provider.
Having a strong provider relationship with clearly defined requirements means that you will be offered the right staff, with the right training, removing any concerns about capabilities or capacity and reducing the need for on-the-job training once the employees are in post.
Choosing a provider that can flex with you
One of the major features of staff augmentation is the flexibility of being able to add or subtract staff to your team with little administrative burden. This is particularly useful in a project environment because scope can frequently change, and you may find that you need more or fewer staff with very little notice.
The challenge of a changing workload can be solved by choosing an augmentation provider with the agility to be able to scale with you as required. This means that they should be able to provide more good quality employees if needed, or alternatively remove employees from your team when they are no longer needed.
It’s vital, therefore, that the provider understands both your industry in general and your project requirements specifically. This will help them access suitable staff easily and quickly, with the appropriate training to be able to hit the ground running.
A good provider can add additional staff to your team as and when required
Bringing in staff with the correct skills
It’s important to ensure that you bring in staff with the correct specialized skills to benefit your organization. One of the major advantages of using staff augmentation is that you can add to and enhance your own existing skill sets, so choosing the right people to join your team is key.
In order to achieve this, you should work with a supplier who knows your industry, understands the demands of the work involved, and is committed to continuous professional development for the people they place into roles. They should follow a rigorous process of selection, training, and testing, to make sure that the employee who joins you can offer the maximum benefit.
Staff augmentation can give you the winning edge
The benefits of staff augmentation are significant. The ability to draw upon skilled, expert staff in a range of disciplines means that you can focus your own project staff on your core competencies, only supplementing from external sources for specific tasks when needed. The challenges outlined, therefore, are well worth addressing in order to reap these benefits.
Our knowledgeable management team has experience placing employees in every type of project environment and in a wide range of industries. We always ensure that our placed staff have received the most up-to-date training and are suitable for the level of experience you require, whether you need a project manager generalist or a cost analysis specialist. We can provide you with the additional staff you need to give you the winning edge.
