Is Staff Augmentation better than outsourcing and freelancing?
January 28, 2023
Staff augmentation is a smart hiring model that allows companies to hire IT specialists quickly. Emerging tech continues to grow with the vast shifts in the digital landscape; with a global budget for IT expected to reach $3.92 trillion this year.
Statistics made available by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that computer and IT occupations will continue to grow at 15% until 2031. That means that in the decade starting 2021; the industry will create 681;800 new jobs. In addition; replacement needs for retirees and growth are estimated at 418;500 employees annually; ensuring faster growth than all the average occupations.
However; these growth rates require many IT specialists and a cleverly distributed workforce to meet the demands of the industry. As a result; staff augmentation is increasingly the solution preferred by companies; but many may ask; is it more profitable than outsourcing and freelancing?
Staff Augmentation Benefits as Opposed to Outsourcing and Freelancing
Global Triangles CEO Garry Lea explains; “Staff augmentation has several staffing solution benefits. Besides flexibility; reduced cost; and access to talent; companies maintain control with full management over their company operations. They also don’t need to spend time on a recruiting process.”
With staff augmentation; a company can expand its missing IT specialist workforce in-house temporarily with external contract workers. They work with the employees for the time required.
Companies save time because they don’t need to go through the search; interview; and onboarding process required with traditional recruiting. With Global Triangles; a company chooses the required candidates without having any hiring or training expenses.
Organizations gain flexibility and can avoid losses from a wrong internal hire. Global Triangles manages the responsibilities related to the employment; and through the Staff Augmentation model; developers get contracted to the company requiring them.
With both staff augmentation and outsourcing; the vendor may or may not have office expenses and other expenses. It always depends on how the company operates and whether they make staff work in an office or remotely. The client saves on training; software licenses; hardware expenses; and in some cases; where people work remotely; on office space. However; the client will need to cover the cost of adding augmented or outsourced staff to collaboration and management tools like Slack and Jira. Additionally; the company is responsible for paying for any special licenses for the augmented or outsourced staff to use special company-owned hardware for security reasons.
Hiring freelancers from platforms like Upwork; Independent Freelancers; and Fiverr remains a popular option. Unfortunately; companies can’t know the quality of the work unless they have worked with the person before; and even though they charge less; the company may end up with higher costs if the level of the work is not up to standard.
When Staff Augmentations is Ideal for Solving Personnel Shortages
Staff augmentation works best for companies that already have in-house teams and need IT specialists with high skill levels. It helps save the time required to find the right professional and train them; allowing the company to expand its team much faster.
With a trusted partner; it becomes easier to meet the staffing solutions of a company. Global Triangles have helped companies reduce their costs when reorganizing their staffing needs. For example; one company made a 30% cost cut with just a 10% headcount reduction instead of the 30% head reduction recommended by a competitor.
Therefore; staff augmentation with Global Triangles can help adapt to a company’s needs; thanks to its solutions and the lower costs of some of its competitors. They also maintain the ethical standards required by the North American market.
Augmented staff services are ideal if the client maintains control of the project; meaning that the team reports to the CTO or project manager. Most importantly; staff augmentation is highly cost-efficient for short-term and long-term projects.
“At Global Triangles; we focus on providing adaptability and flexibility in a collaborative partnership where our clients always have the final say;” says Garry Lea. “Our senior recruiters carefully vet our developers; always matching the right one to the job. Our principle is to care for our developers so they can care about our clients. Our clients retain 96% of our developers for at least a year.”
Final Take
Compared with outsourcing and freelancing; staff augmentation provides the services of a responsible team of specialists in a fast; flexible; and cost-effective way. Ultimately; the hiring required depends on an organization’s needs and projects. However; using the services of a company like Global Triangles and its proven track record delivers robust hiring solutions during this period of growing IT demand.
