Should you take on an ambitious IT project if you don’t have adequate staffing resources on hand? Don’t let this common problem hold your company back. There are ways to get around a lack of staffing. The three most popular tactics are Staff Augmentation, Project Outsourcing, and the Hybrid Approach.
Staff augmentation refers to the practice of adding contract workers to your staff for the duration of a project. This can be an ideal solution if the scope of the work is something you can manage inside your building, but you need some additional hands to accomplish the tasks. It is also helpful if there is a lack of a particular skill set on your staff that can be filled with a temporary worker.
Benefits of this method include:
Staff Augmentation is a beneficial resource, but it does have some drawbacks as well, such as:
From “Project Outsourcing vs Staff Augmentation,” TDK Technologies, 2020 (https://www.tdktech.com/tech-talks/project-outsourcing-vs-staff-augmentaton)
If you have a big project that you know is not within the means of your company to complete, even with some staff augmentation, you may wish to outsource the entire project. This approach has many benefits, chief among them less risk to you. When a project is performed internally, any project failures or liabilities are that company’s responsibility. When a project is outsourced, contracts are usually structured so that the outsourcer takes on the risk.
This method has many benefits, including:
It’s easy to see why outsourcing has become so popular. The benefits are outstanding. Like any other solution, though, it’s not perfect. Some facets of this strategy are problematic, such as:
It’s reason for pause. We all want our projects to be high-quality and to live up to our standards. And it’s easy to see why staffers may feel uncertain about their job security with big projects being totally outsourced.
The third approach is a mixture of the first two. With the hybrid approach, you partner with an outsourcing provider to build your own dedicated product development team using the provider’s resources. The outsourcing partner takes care of candidate selection and screening, IT hiring, project management, and deliverables. You retain as much project control as possible.
This method is used mainly for software development outsourcing where there may be a lack of local talent, but the company wants to have their own team work on the software to ensure a quality product. It offers more control in some areas, but you still don’t have responsibility for human resources and administrative functions regarding the employees.
The Hybrid Approach definitely has an upside. Positives include:
You’ll need to visit your offsite team often. Face-to-face communication and knowledge sharing are vital to this process to get the best results.
Take the time to choose a reputable vendor who not only meets deadlines, but delivers a quality final product. Making a bad choice can doom your project from the beginning.
You might want to choose a vendor who can help with both Staff Augmentation and Project Outsourcing. This allows you to use the same, trusted vendor for varying projects.
This is a big decision. You may want to do an in-depth cost-benefit analysis. You can do this internally, or with a consulting firm.
Consider your budget, the scope of your project, and its goals, in order to choose the method that best fits your situation.