Is Staff Augmentation the Solution to the Technical Talent Shortage?

18 Jan 2023

The technical talent shortage is an increasingly concerning issue for businesses. Skilled professionals in certain specialties are now more challenging to find. And, even as you find those skilled professionals, some of them may be too costly to hire—and hire quickly based on your needs.

But did you know that staff augmentation can provide a comprehensive solution? On cost, speed and effectiveness?

Let’s explore the advantages of staff augmentation, from increased access to trained talent, and improved versatility to the cost savings businesses can experience. We’ll also take a look at when you should leverage staff augmentation and how to make the most of augmenting your internal teams with an external agency.

 

Technical Skills Shortage is a Real Problem for Businesses

The talent shortage is a genuine concern for businesses in today’s increasingly competitive environment. With evolving technologies comes the emergence of new roles. Companies struggle to find skilled professionals with the right experience and qualifications to fill these vital positions. 

This trend created a gap between available talent and employer demand. It can be challenging to bridge this gap quickly and efficiently—especially as your business stakeholders demand rapid turnarounds from your developers. Not to mention that due to the competitive nature of the labor market around technology, developers and engineers typically have many offers to transfer companies constantly made available to them. And, any loss of existing staff can be critically fatal for your project timelines. 

By leveraging the expertise of a staff augmentation company, you can quickly access talented personnel who already have the skills needed for your project or position requirements. It will save you time, money, and resources in the process. 

Furthermore, augmenting current internal teams with additional trained experts helps your business stay agile as you adjust to ever-changing market conditions. You’ll have the flexibility to scale up or down staffing levels depending on your changing needs and evolving stages of your project.

 

Staff Augmentation Is a Cost-Effective and Rapid Talent Solution

Staff augmentation can effectively solve the growing technical skills and talent shortage. It allows quick access to trained talent with the right experience and qualifications. 

With a staff augmentation service provider, you can overcome time and resource constraints by augmenting your internal teams with additional personnel. It’s an excellent way to avoid costly mistakes associated with hiring inexperienced candidates. 

Furthermore, augmenting current teams provides improved versatility in scaling up or down staffing levels. It allows your businesses to adapt to today’s constantly shifting marketplace environment. 

Ultimately, staff augmentation services are an efficient way for companies of all sizes to bridge the gap between available talent and employer demand without sacrificing quality or performance.

 

Benefits of Staff Augmentation

Staff augmentation creates opportunities to hire professionals with unique skill sets. You’ll have access to dedicated, focused, unbiased, and motivated employees to meet your deadlines and deliver results.

Other outstanding benefits of staff augmentation include:

Harmonious Integration with Existing Teams

Staff augmentation is an excellent way to avoid the stress of hiring top talent. You gain access to highly skilled professionals with the right qualifications for your project requirements.

The experts have diverse experience that allows them to immerse fully into your workplace culture, ethics, and principles. You can rest assured that the augmented team will function like your team’s extension. A good staff augmentation company will ensure that every member you work with is custom-fit for your position. 

Flexibility and Scalability

Staff augmentation allows you to scale up or down depending on changing needs quickly. For any project’s beginning stages, you may only need one or two developers to get a valid prototype. Then, as you secure funding, you can then immediately scale up to a team of 5-10 for your major development phases. In any real-world scenario, this flexible model ensures your business thrives in today’s ever-changing environment. 

When you partner with industry experts, you don’t have to deal with talent sourcing, hiring, onboarding, and training new team members. The experts will handle all the heavy lifting so you can focus on more vital aspects of your business.

By leveraging the expertise of these professionals, your business can remain agile as you adjust operations in response to emerging technologies or market changes. You’ll achieve this agility while continuing to provide superior customer service.

Cost Savings

Staff augmentation is a cost-effective way to bridge the gap between employer demand and available talent. It offers significant cost savings compared to traditional recruitment methods. 

The streamlined process eliminates overhead costs, such as advertising for positions and interviewing multiple applicants. 

Furthermore, you can avoid costly mistakes associated with hiring inexperienced candidates. It’s an efficient means of meeting tight deadlines or handling fluctuations in workloads without sacrificing quality or performance. 

Objective View

Experts from the augmented team come with a new perspective, outlook, and insights into your business processes. Unlike existing team members, the fresh set of eyes is free of pre-existing connections, opinions, and office politics.

They can share an objective, unbiased opinion about the project and another business process. This new perspective may be just what your business needs to gain a competitive edge and implement positive changes. 

 

When to Choose Staff Augmentation

It would help if you considered staff augmentation when you need to quickly access trained talent with the right qualifications for your project or position. 

Augmenting your internal team also provides improved versatility in scaling up or down. You can leverage staff augmentation in different situations, such as when you need to:

Test a New Position

If you plan to expand your internal team, you can use staff augmentation to try out new positions. You can avoid committing to permanent costs and premature logistics for hire.

Add Value to Your Team with Niche or Under-resourced Skills

As you embrace innovation, you may discover that your existing team needs more technical expertise to manage new projects.

Staff augmentation empowers your team with training and knowledge from experienced professionals. You’ll have access to their skills for as long as you need. 

Temporarily Cover Staff on Leave

Staff augmentation can help eliminate the logistical challenges you face when some team members request extended personal, sick, maternity, or service leave.

Some industries also require more experts during particular events, such as conventions or high-volume seasons in the market. In such cases, it’s best to empower your internal team with augmented experts. There’s no need to hire more people when the season peaks, only to let them go shortly after. 

Have a Limited Budget 

In most cases, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and startups work with a limited staffing budget. It’s challenging to balance the need for technical talent and how much you can afford to pay for it. This often means compromising since top talent is expensive. 

Staff augmentation eliminates this challenge, giving you access to experienced experts for daily, weekly, or monthly hours per your needs.

Manage Complex or One-off Projects

Large-scale and complex one-time projects require extra talent but not continuously. Staff augmentation allows quick access to trained talent with the right qualifications for your project or position. 

An experienced staff augmentation service provider can offer immediate access to highly skilled personnel with the expertise you need to get the job done. Augmenting your internal team also provides improved versatility. You can scale the team for the project duration without incurring long-term costs. 

 

Reap the Full Benefits of Staff Augmentation by Partnering with a Reputable Provider

Ultimately, using external staff augmentation services is an efficient way for companies of all sizes to bridge the gap between available talent and employer demand without sacrificing quality or performance.

If your business struggles with a talent shortage, you should utilize staff augmentation by working with Sphere Partners. You’ll gain access to highly skilled professionals with the necessary experience and qualifications—saving you time, money, and resources. 

By leveraging our expertise, you can quickly overcome skill shortages while avoiding the costly mistakes of hiring inexperienced candidates. You’ll have access to skilled talent while saving on costs without sacrificing flexibility. Schedule a consultation today and take your business to the next level with the talent you need to thrive.