COVID-19 created havoc in both the offline and online world. In the physical world, lockdowns and social distancing became the new normal; businesses had to shut down, remote-working became nearly the default model. All these prompted a rise in demands for IT staff augmentation services across industries.
Fortunately, things in the online world are quite different. Digital businesses are flourishing to the point that dealing with orders has become a big headache for the staff. Products are running out of stock, especially for eCommerce stores supplying healthcare products, grocery items, etc. The scarcity of products has compelled several businesses to reinvent and optimize their supply chain.
Indeed, online businesses are doing great and showing a considerable growth trajectory despite the pandemic. This is where staff augmentation services prompt in as it is becoming difficult for companies to handle their staffing requirements and manage their businesses simultaneously.
IT staff augmentation services can address this problem efficiently. You could hire professionals with technology-specific expertise to handle critical activities. Such arrangements are based on contracts and then augment your in-house team’s capacity.
What Is IT Staff Augmentation?
Staff Augmentation involves the process of hiring a contingent workforce from staff augmentation companies to scale up and down your business operations and processes. The dedicated or part-time workers mainly include freelancers, contractors, consultants, individual professionals, and even remote workers.
Businesses can hire for both long-term and short-term projects temporarily or permanently. Companies are also looking to hire part-time or full-time staff.
While currently utilized in IT and engineering companies where highly skilled professionals are required for large-scale projects, even other business sectors could take advantage of this service. OrangeMantra has been catering to global businesses with IT staff augmentation services for over two decades. So, you can count upon us for all your staff augmentation needs.
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Staff Augmentation Services – Crucial Roles Amidst COVID-19 Crisis
Currently, several global organizations are turning to staff augmentation companies. Below are the major reasons why businesses are opting for a flexible working approach.
While organizations may have independent HR systems that have the potential to meet all their staffing requirements, hiring a reliable staff augmentation company is always better as it makes hiring employees for new or existing projects hassle-free.
Points to Remember Before Hiring a Staff Augmentation Company
- Determine Your Requirements
First and foremost, identify which department(s) is running short on resources. Also, what type of resources would be ideal in terms of expertise, qualifications, experience, etc.
- Examine Candidates
It would be wise to examine candidates thoroughly through interviews and tests to know if the candidate you’re going to hire is worth your time and money.
- Integrate Your Newly Hired Staff
Once you hire the contract-based staff, you need to welcome the new team members and ensure that they feel comfortable working with your in-house team. You should educate them about your company policies, values, and business procedures and operations, etc.
- Constantly Nurture Relationships
After the integration of the new team members, you need to constantly build a good rapport with them by asking for their feedback and suggestions.
Advantages of Staff Augmentation Services in the COVID Era
- Cuts Down Recruitment Cost and Ambiguity
During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are struggling are running tight on their budget, and so training new employees could only strain their budget, more so if they plan to quit immediately post-training.
Moreover, hiring staff augmentation services in India from an outsourcing company like OrangeMantra will reduce your recruitment cost and ambiguity. You can augment your in-house team with skilled people temporarily without bearing hiring or onboarding cost.
- Hiring Workforce on Contractual Basis
Hiring full-time, permanent employees, you not only pay their salaries but also manage their payroll taxes, social security, employee benefits, and bear expenses in case of team downsizing.
This could be manageable if the situations are normal; however, during tough times like the ongoing pandemic, drastic measures need to be taken. So, this is the right time for businesses to hire part-time or contractual employees.
- Hire Specialized Professionals for Specific Period
Sometimes companies need professionals with specific skills for short-term projects. However, they do not prefer hiring a resource permanently or even bearing the cost of training an existing resource.
This is where OrangeMantra can help with its staff augmentation services in India. We can provide you with a skilled resource that matches your requirements on a contractual basis. The hired resources will help you complete the project within the desired timeline.
- Hiring Contractual Resources from Cheaper Locations
Building a remote team can help you save you a lot of money. Staff augmentation services in the USA are comparatively costlier than the services offered by companies that come from Eastern Europe and Asia.
We, at OrangeMantra, offer affordable staff augmentation services in India which comes with the benefit of massive savings.
More Reasons to Hire a Staff Augmentation Company
- Quick Hiring Process
Hiring tech talents with advanced skillsets is a back-breaking job. Moreover, it may take days, months to find the best match. IT staff augmentation services make the hiring process much easier as the outsourcing company has an up-to-date database of the talents required.
The company ensures that the selected candidate is the perfect fit for your project requirements and budget. This saves a lot of time for businesses.
- Greater Flexibility and Scalability
With staff augmentation, every department can enhance its portfolio without worrying about resources. Furthermore, they could try out multiple things and figure out what’s working for them and what’s not, without thinking much about the resources.
- Handles Unanticipated Attritions
Attrition rates could overwhelm existing employees because of the additional workload and stringent deadlines. Staff augmentation companies can reduce this workload by filling in the gap and ensuring that your project gets completed within the designated timeframe.
- Full Control Over Your Project
When outsourcing a project, you hand over your entire project to the company. This is not the case with staff augmentation. Even though resources are hired externally, you have full control over your project. This can help you give shape to the project in the most appropriate way.
Outsourcing of projects dilutes the role of a business in terms of project execution and management. However, IT staff augmentation ensures that the parent company has a complete hold of the business.
- Saves You from Legal Hassles
Hiring new staff involves a lot of paperwork and legal accountabilities, including payroll, taxes, and more. With staff augmentation services, the outsourcing company handles all your paperwork and legal liabilities.
Final Thought
The demand for IT staff augmentation is rising exponentially in the COVID era. With the number of on-demand resources and developers increasing due to the ongoing pandemic, IT companies can opt for staff augmentation services without any hesitation.
Staff augmentation companies not only ensure a rapid recruitment process and reduced development costs, but they also handle all legal responsibilities and scalability requirements.
If you’re looking for IT staff augmentation services in US or India, you can contact us right away.
FAQs
Q.1. What are the pros and cons of Staff Augmentation?
Ans. Staff augmentation comes with its own set of pros and cons
Pros
- Global talent pool
- Greater flexibility
- Hiring cost reduction
- Training cost saving
- Administrative support
Cons
- Managerial challenges: the integration of remote and in-house teams may be time-consuming.
- Privacy risks: your data should be protected by NDA
- Communication issues
- Lack of coordination if people are not instructed properly
Q.2. What is the process of staff augmentation?
Ans. In general, the process of staff augmentation involves:
- Define and document your project requirements
- Engagement model selection
- Roles and responsibilities
- Communication and collaboration with the team
- Quality Assurance and Deliverable