30 Questions About IT Staff Augmentation

30 Questions About IT Staff Augmentation

Are you seeking experienced software developers or other IT professionals? IT staff augmentation is one of the best ways to get things done quickly and effectively.

We've put together a list of questions that people often ask about outstaffing services that you won't find anywhere else. The list includes 30 questions and answers that SaaS organizations, fast-growing startups, software product development teams, and even enterprises in Saudi Arabia may find useful.

The questions are split into two groups: general questions about staff augmentation, like what it is and what kinds of jobs it can be used for, and more specific questions about the problems with hiring offshore engineers.

If you can't find the answer to your query in the list below, please contact us.

1. What is Staff Augmentation?

What would you do if you were in charge of developing software that is stable and secure? You would hire experienced software engineers and relevant product development team members.

What is staff augmentation, exactly? Staff augmentation has a broad definition. However, it is most commonly utilized in the IT business. Staff augmentation is usually thought of as a type of collaboration that lets companies hire outside workers to do a certain job.

These individuals will work as part of your in-house team or independently for a short or extended period of time. Staff augmentation is usually thought of as a type of collaboration that lets companies hire outside workers to do a certain job. 

2. What is IT Staff Augmentation?

To achieve project goals, software development, particularly product development, necessitates a variety of activities.

It all comes down to properly obtaining both functional and non-functional requirements; breaking down the task organization; specifying the project scope in-depth, and so on. As crucial as the rest is bringing the appropriate people together to form a team.

Many reasons contribute to tech teams lacking the necessary resources, skills, and competencies. These could include a lack of talent in the local market, the need for specialized knowledge, the company's high turnover rate, and so on. The staff augmentation strategy enables such teams to grow more quickly.

With this engagement model, they can find developers, architects, designers, test engineers, business analysts, product managers, project managers, and many other experts faster than they could on their own. Furthermore, development expenses are typically lower, yet job quality may be higher.

3. How Does Staff Augmentation Work?

As a customer, the first thing you need to do is figure out the necessary skills and experience, as well as the number of developers and their level of qualification.

It should be similar to a job description. A recruiting partner won't be able to help you find candidates who fit your job description and requirements until you've done that. When the description is complete, it should be given to a staffing agency.

Most suppliers have large databases of tech experts who can help you with your project. If your provider is a company that makes software, they either have people on hand or in the process of being hired, or they search the market for the right people.

They will schedule applicant interviews when the resume screening is completed. Most of the time, you can ask for a test task to be sent to potential candidates to check their technical skills. The candidate will receive a job offer from a staff augmentation provider if the interview and test go well.

4. What Are the Benefits of Using Staff Augmentation?

The absence of essential skills in the local market, the need for specific knowledge, and the desire to reduce the cost of software development are the most common reasons firms turn to staff augmentation services.

Imagine you're a fast-growing firm with a few million dollars in capital that has to scale up quickly. However, there may not be enough developers in your location or even country to complete the project. How would you respond?

You'd probably opt for a dependable software provider or a staffing business that could assist you quickly expanding your team with the necessary expertise.

5. What Are the Other Advantages of Staff Augmentation?

Quick recruiting, well-organized onboarding and excellent retention rates are the most notable benefits of staff augmentation. It usually takes a few weeks for recruitment partners to identify suitable candidates for clients. It's undoubtedly preferable to hire on your own, which may take many months. Furthermore, according to Deloitte's statistics, a bad hire costs $4000 and 52 days.

You spend a lot of time and money looking for the ideal individual for the position.

Another advantage is onboarding. And it has nothing to do with teaching your new team members proper behavior or defining their duties and responsibilities. It's all about clearly expressing the project goals, flow, and requirements to a beginner in the software sector. Most recruiting partners are unfamiliar with IT terms such as SDLC, project management approaches such as Agile or Waterfall, the distinction between functional and non-functional requirements, and so on.

It's different when you work with a software company. They are familiar with and understand all aspects of successful project outcomes, as well as how to express the client's requirements effectively.

6. Where Can I Find Staff Augmentation Service Providers?

Staff augmentation services can be obtained in a variety of ways. Let's take a look at the two most popular.

To begin, you can work with a hiring firm. Second, you can work with a software development firm that, in most situations, offers outsourcing services. If an agency understands the specifics of IT business, IT startups, and technology trends, the first option may be a strong fit. Otherwise, you run the risk of hiring the incorrect person.

The second option is preferable because software development businesses are familiar with your industry.

Need to hire certified and experienced software engineers? Contact Us

7. Which Method of Staff Augmentation Is the Most Effective?

The staff augmentation strategy is defined as a method of utilizing external resources.

Remote consulting, on-site consulting, and individual or team specialists are the three types of engagements. The fourth option is to utilize a hybrid method that combines all three types of engagement. The greatest strategy is one that is tailored to your requirements. Evaluate your present resources and identify any gaps to better understand what works best for you.

Only then will you be able to see where you need resources or experience, as well as which technique is appropriate for you.

8. How Can I Identify a Reputable Staff Augmentation Company?

Try one of the following methods to identify a trustworthy vendor:

  • Recommendations: One of the oldest and most reliable ways to find a reliable contractor is through word of mouth. Your friend would never refer you to an unethical service provider. However, you should verify that they deliver the services you require.
  • Listings: Thousands of different vendors are frequently listed on platforms like Clutch or Good Firms. The companies listed there are frequently checked and even ranked so you can see who is the best provider of .NET developers, for example.
  • Google: If you are adept at delving further, looking for a reliable provider is also a fantastic fit. Millions of websites advertise software developers. The first stage is to verify their legal status and portfolio; the second is to communicate with corporate officials. During the conversation, you will be able to tell if these are the ideal people to hire. When a vendor offers you pricing, hiring speed and steps, deadlines, and other information, it should ideally seem like a planning session.

9. What’s the Difference Between Staff Augmentation and Fixed Price?

A fixed price is a type of engagement model that works best for short-term projects since it has a defined budget and deadline.

A fixed pricing model is more commonly employed for outsourcing turnkey software development, but it is also a common approach for staff augmentation that assumes fixed hourly rates for developers.

10. What’s the Difference Between Staff Augmentation and Managed Services?

A lot of managed IT services include data backup, system administration, cloud transformation, data warehouse, data storage, network security, and so on. Most businesses use these services. 

Staff augmentation, on the other hand, is mostly used by product development firms and only rarely by businesses.

11. What Is the Difference Between Staff Augmentation and Outsourcing?

One of the outsourcing models is staff augmentation.

The latter is more commonly linked with turnkey software development, which occurs when clients employ dedicated teams to develop a software solution from start to finish, following all stages of the SDLC.

12. What’s the Difference Between Staff Augmentation and Time and Material?

One of the most common outsourcing engagement models and payment contracts is time and material. It works best when you know your needs may change, you need regular project updates, and you want to strike a balance between time spent and quality delivered.

For long-term projects, this model is ideal.

13. What Distinguishes the Staff Augmentation Engagement Model From Others?

Businesses can benefit from the staff augmentation approach in a variety of ways. To begin with, you can obtain the resources you require.

Consider the situation when you require a specific technology to develop a module or feature for your software product. Your in-house team members do not have this precise expertise and skills, and learning them will take a long time. You'd probably look for a technological specialist to join your team and assist you in developing the solution. You recognize, however, that you do not require this person to work with you on a permanent basis.

External staffing is a great way to recruit skilled developers for a limited time. They will finish the job and you will be charged exactly for what they have done.

Related: What is the Difference Between Staff Augmentation and Other Models

14. What is a Staff Augmentation Strategy?

The IT staff augmentation strategy is a set of plans and actions designed to assist you in finding the best people at the greatest prices. Legal agreements, recruitment, interviewing, hiring, training and onboarding best practices, workspace environment, retention, and so on are all part of the plan. A client or an IT staff augmentation agency can come up with the approach. Why is it vital to have a strategy like this? The key to success is having a well-structured and well-organized procedure.

15. What are the Critical Stages of Staff Augmentation?

The staff augmentation process usually consists of a few key stages: gathering needs, interviewing and recruiting, starting work, and providing support. Most hiring firms follow a similar procedure. However, the technique should be better planned out for greater results.

16. What is the Flow of a Staff Augmentation Process?

The Sitech staff augmentation procedure is as follows:

  1. Approval of the detailed job description and brief (5-10 business days)
  2. We score the market's available resources and supply CVs (1-2 business days).
  3. You choose the CVs and request technical tests (1-3 business days).
  4. The candidate passes the testing phase (1-2 business days).
  5. You submit test feedback (1-3 business days).
  6. The candidate is interviewed in the sixth stage (1 business day).
  7. You provide the candidate comments. The candidate receives an offer if the results are positive (1-2 business days).
  8. Finally, onboarding begins.

17. What Best Practices We Apply in Staff Augmentation?

Account management distinguishes our staff augmentation services from those offered by other outstaffing firms or recruiting firms. 

Every client who works with us is assigned a personal account manager. This individual is in charge of establishing the most conducive climate for collaboration. He or she is always ready to address any client concerns or queries about the devoted employees or the overall project flow.

18. Do we have Staff Augmentation Rated Cards?

Staff augmentation rate cards display developer rates so that all clients are aware of the cost of hiring a specific developer. Certainly, we provide rate cards to make our customer relationships completely open.

19. How to Avoid Staff Augmentation Risks?

Do you want to understand your risks and how to mitigate them? To begin, it's vital to find a reputable IT staff augmentation service provider to avoid being duped by frauds or dishonest suppliers.

As previously stated, there are several options for finding providers: 

  • Recommendations
  • Listings
  • Google

Other risks associated with staff augmentation include:

  • High prices
  • There's no account manager.
  • Unsuitable individuals (with poor skills or having expertise different from that you search)
  • No assistance with onboarding
  • Customer service is either poor or non-existent.
  • Protracted hiring process
  • Candidate interviewing and testing are disorganized and chaotic.

20. What should a Staff Augmentation Proposal Look Like?

The following information is included in a conventional IT staff augmentation proposal:

  • Work Description (SoW)
  • Deliverables and tasks that must be completed, along with a list of tech professionals.
  • Responsibilities of roles
  • Rates
  • Contractual terms

21. Why is it Important to review Job Descriptions?

One of the most crucial aspects of the outstaffing process is a thorough job description. It can be used to create the ideal employment advertisement. Furthermore, the description aids recruiters and tech specialists in compiling a list of pertinent questions for applicant interviews. 

It's a surefire approach to finding the correct individual quickly without having to check and ask for further information. We spend a few days with the client preparing a highly complete description so that we don't waste your time in the future looking for more information.

22. Could You Provide Me With a Copy of Your Staff Augmentation Contract Template?

After a few sessions to determine how many and what resources you require, we will send you our staff augmentation contract template.

23. How Do You Gather Information Needed for Staff Augmentation?

To better understand what our clients require, we ask them the following questions:

  • What kind of software are you working on?
  • How many people have already signed up?
  • To scale up, how many workers do you need?
  • What is the appropriate amount of seniority for these experts?
  • What specific abilities or knowledge do you require?
  • Do you require the services of a project manager?

24. When Will I Be Able to Recruit Developers?

The applicants from our recruitment pipeline will take 1-2 weeks to hire. Finding folks in the market will take us 2-4 weeks. In total, our hiring process can take up to 21 business days, which is twice as fast as hiring through a standard recruiting firm.

25. What Is a Matrix of Seniority Levels?

A seniority level matrix is a card that both IT firms and their clients can use to assess the level of experience of developers.

It might say, for example, that a developer with 5 years of experience is a senior developer. Of course, each outstaffing company has its own matrix, but they are all very similar. A card like this shows you what you're paying for as a customer.

Remember that it must include not just information regarding years of experience, but also a clear explanation of the talents that a developer should have in order to be classified as a junior, medium, or senior specialist.

26. How Do You Ensure That the Services You Provide Are of High Quality?

We value both our employees and our customers. As a result, we strive to provide the most pleasant environment possible.

We provide specific bonuses and privileges to our employees, as well as personal development programs for ongoing professional development. A dedicated manager conducts one-on-one interviews with staff on a regular basis to learn how they feel about working on the project, what issues they are experiencing, and what they would like to see changed.

When it comes to clients, we assign a dedicated account manager who is in charge of managing productive work and maintaining positive relationships between clients and Sitech team members.

27. Can I Provide the Developer With a Test Assignment to Assess His or Her Technical Abilities?

You certainly can.

Candidates are given test tasks. With reference to your project's specifications, the assignments can be produced by client-side specialists as well as our tech team leads or senior specialists. Sending, completing, checking, and providing feedback on a finished test usually takes 3-4 days.

28. Is It Possible for Me to Attend Interviews?

Our clients are, of course, invited to attend interviews and ask questions. Once candidates have been shortlisted, a customer and candidate interview is scheduled. As a result, you won't need to speak with many people. It saves time and gives you a better idea of someone you might want on your team.

29. How Will I Interact With My Programmers?

One of the most important aspects of staff augmentation is determining how you will interact with new team members. As a result, we create a well-structured communication strategy with you, including preferred communication channels and hours.

30. How Do You Ensure That My Employees Stay With Me?

As previously said, we look after both our clients and staff since we recognize the harmful impact of employee attrition on software development projects. To create the most comfortable working environment, we develop specific benefit programs, sign-on bonuses, referral programs, sick leave and vacation policies, personal development plans, and much more.

Do you still need a clearer idea about how staff augmentation works? If so, you can contact us for a free consultation

Are you ready to start hiring and get your software development pipeline moving? Simply submit a request and we'll assist you in finding the best developers!