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6 Common Staff Augmentation Mistakes

Staff augmentation has the potential to save time and resources when a company is in temporary need of more workers. However, it must be done right because staff augmentation mistakes have the potential to interfere in the company hierarchy and waste more resources than it saves.

Staff Augmentation Mistakes

Staff augmentation is a fantastic way to fill a temporary need in a company with skilled workers. As the name implies, it is the augmentation of a company’s staff, generally through the use of staff augmentation services.

These services help a company get the expertise they need, without the onboarding or offboarding process getting bogged down in paperwork or inefficiency.

That said, there are some common staff augmentation mistakes to watch out for to make augmentation work best for you:

Mistake #1: Delaying Needed Help

It’s understandable that some companies are reluctant to use the services of staff augmentation companies. It’s an extra expense and many hope they can fill in the gap themselves.

However, the truth is that many companies are understaffed and don’t have the expertise internally to do certain jobs right. This, in turn, can really hurt employees if they’re still pushed into roles they’re not really equipped for.

If employees burn out and leave, that’s going to make the situation worse and more expensive in the long run. That’s not to mention the cost mistakes in something like IT have the potential for.

Mistake #2: Choosing the Wrong Company

When it comes to choosing IT staff augmentation services (our specialty), there are quite a few options. The internet is full of companies promising expert help with IT. Unfortunately, not all can deliver.

The good news is that there are a few ways to check to make sure a company is equipped to meet your needs. A good place to start is with how many years of experience the company has under its belt.

You can also look for reviews of the company, as well as any complaints. That’s not to mention you can talk to the company directly; while it will obviously be biased, it can give you an idea of what exactly they can do for you.

Mistake #3: Underestimating Your Need

It’s easy to assume a company is doing well if you’re not in touch with employees on the ground level. Oftentimes, employees are reluctant to bring up concerns with management for fear of sounding needy or annoying.

A business owner would do well to watch for signs employees are overworked when deciding whether they need augmentation services and to what degree. Oftentimes, employees won’t just come out and admit help is needed.

If employees seem stressed and have to work overtime to get necessary tasks done, something needs to change. A business owner needs to pay attention to a company’s real need, not necessarily what employees claim.

Mistake #4: Committing More Than Necessary

While we can’t pretend we aren’t a little biased, we believe staff augmentation services should have no minimums on developers or long-term commitments. You should hire who you need and that’s it.

Not every service is going to offer that. Some may require you to enter into contracts where you receive more help than you need at a greater cost.

One way to help avoid this is to figure out, roughly, how much help your company needs and for how long. While an augmentation service company can help you do more specific calculations, it will give you a vague idea of what to expect.

If what a company tells you is outside your expectation, discuss why with them. It’s perfectly possible they see something you don’t but their answer should be better than “that’s the minimum you can hire.”

Mistake #5: Mismatching Time Zones

If you’re not used to working with companies overseas, it’s easy to forget how much time zones can impact availability. Hiring on an IT staff augmentation service won’t do much good if they operate while you’re asleep.

Ideally, you want what we call “all-day collaboration,” meaning the ability to work with your temporary staff all hours in which your company is operating.

This is why our company does its best to ensure time zone similarity with temporary staff, so they can always be contacted. However, not every service can say the same.

Mistake #6: Tolerating Huge Delays

Our company promises a two-week timeline to recruit, qualify, and recommend senior-level developers for our clients. You shouldn’t have to tolerate a delay much longer than that when choosing to augment staff.

In business, time is money. Once you’ve identified a need for temporary staff, one would presume you’d like to fill that need as fast as possible.

There isn’t much point in using an augmentation company if help comes after weeks or even months. That’s a massive delay in the business world, especially when it comes to IT.

IT helps with cybersecurity and data recovery, among many other critical services. Whatever your need, it could be something of a disaster if you need IT yet need to wait weeks before filling a given role.

Use number8s Staff Augmentation Services Today

That covers some of the most common staff augmentation mistakes a company has to watch out for. Staff augmentation should be hassle-free, fast, and efficient. If it isn’t, you may want to work with a new company.

At number8, we pride ourselves in our ability to help companies augment their staff as needed and are cognizant of how important filling those roles is. If you’re interested in how we can help you, we hope you’ll contact us!

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