Today, as businesses constantly seek ways to stay current and ahead of innovation, every business owner also looks for ways to cut operational costs. Luckily, there’s a wide range of cost-effective solutions to achieve both.
Team augmentation is one of them.
The team augmentation model isn’t just an opportunity to fill talent gaps at a reasonable cost but also a successful software development strategy.
But cost savings isn’t the only reason. When to choose team augmentation over a full in-house team?
Challenges of Full In-house Software Development Teams
Hiring and operating a full in-house development team is challenging, no doubt.
Of course, there are challenges like the recruitment process alone with all the cost, time, and effort spent on the whole hiring and onboarding process, not to mention the competitive job market and the difficulty of finding top talents.
And then it’s also about maintaining the entire team, which requires long-term commitment and resource management.
However, there are challenges that clearly set apart an in-house team from an augmented one, often giving the augmented team the advantage.
Difficulty in scaling and maintaining flexibility
The difficulties don’t stop after the hiring and onboarding steps, because there is also scaling. Scaling as both up and down.
As for scaling up, adding new team members is all about repeating the hiring process all over again, but also with an extra challenge to find a great fit not only for the requirements but also for the rest of the team. Moreover, all the training can negatively affect the project timelines.
Also, in-house staff requires extensive internal management, including direct control over performance monitoring, which can be time-consuming.
Scaling down, on the other hand, isn’t just about letting go of the internal team’s members, but also dealing with the financial and operational inefficiencies that might occur after.
Talking about flexibility, there isn’t just a high level of commitment, but the team is often built around the specific project requirements, usually long-term ones. This makes it harder for them to adapt to the arising needs. Again, the skill gap plays a role in the flexibility of the team.
Resource limitations in terms of niche skills
Not to take it far: gaps in skills.
Hiring an internal team often means establishing skill sets. While this stability allows the project scope to be properly planned and resources to be allocated according to the specialized skills of the current team, it also limits resources.
It’s not just about additional talent, but about accessing niche skills that sometimes may be needed unexpectedly and only for short periods of time, rather than the duration of an entire project.
Time and effort needed for team training and development
Another challenge that follows all the previous ones is the time and effort required.
The already mentioned hiring process and onboarding of every new member not only takes time but also affects the team’s ability to finish the project on time, causing some additional costs as a result.
Also, the in-house staff requires extensive internal management, including direct control over performance monitoring, which takes a lot of effort.
Moreover, it isn’t just about the initial training but also about keeping the team up-to-date with their technical expertise. As new technologies emerge, it is crucial for the in-house developers to sharpen and update their technical skills. This is a process that requires careful planning and additional budget.
Challenges don’t end here, but they make it harder for businesses to adapt quickly and stay competitive. That’s why IT augmentation is often a more efficient alternative.
When to choose team augmentation?
There are clear “signs” that can help to make a choice between the two collaboration models. Here’s when you should definitely choose the staff augmentation model for your project.
Short-Term or Project-Based Needs
First of all, the duration of the project.
It’s clear that for short-term projects, there is no need to spend all the time and effort hiring a full in-house team. Specifically, the team augmentation is useful when the project timeline and deadlines are tight.
Team extension services are an ideal solution for project-based needs. The flexibility allows the level of control to scale a team according to specific and unique project needs.
Lack of Specific Expertise
Another case is the lack of specialized expertise.
Even if you already have a full team of skilled professionals, there will be times when your project scope requires a niche skill. That’s when team augmentation comes into the frame.
External talent can be easily added to the core team of experts to fill in the gap with the additional skills needed. This allows them to get the needed expertise by hiring temporary stuff for reasonable cost.
Tight Project Deadlines
If it’s not about overall project duration, then it’s about timelines.
When deadlines are tight, development team augmentation provides extra hands to fill not only skill but resource gaps. It’s the fastest way to get additional developers to your team on-demand without the overhead costs.
Also, it is a way to meet the deadlines without causing any quality issues.
Limited Resources or Budget
A major benefit of staff augmentation services is reduced cost, but there’s more to it.
This outsourcing model works well with limited resources overall. When both the budget and resources are tight, team augmentation allows you to access the specialized skills you need without overstepping the budget.
This is a flexible approach that offers both addressing project requirements and optimizing costs.
If these signs sound familiar, team augmentation is the choice for you. Still not sure? Here’s how to decide.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Between Team Augmentation and Full In-House Teams
If you still have doubts, here’s how to choose between the two collaboration models.
Project Size and Complexity
First things first, the choice depends on the project itself. The scope of your project plays the main role in defining who to hire.
Large-scale and complex projects always require a complete team with long-term commitment and dedication, so an in-house team is a suitable model in the majority of such cases. But, there is also a higher likelihood that a project of such complexity may require exact skills the hired team might not possess. In this case, software development team augmentation might come to help by adding a specialist to fill the gap.
As for smaller and less complex projects, clearly, hiring, training and maintaining a full team is not as efficient as hiring a remote team to complete a project in a short time.
However, there’s also an opinion that development team augmentation is better suited for complex projects because of the specialized expertise and resources that an in-house team might not offer. In that case, the following points will help make the decision.
Timeline and Speed
Not only the size, not even the duration, but the timeline and deadlines matter.
If the scope of a project is aligned with the right amount of time needed for the development process to run smoothly and with no unexpected issues, then an in-house team is a reliable choice.
That said, if you’re working against the clock, an augmented team is a quick solution to strengthen your workforce and avoid any project delays while ensuring no quality issues.
IT team augmentation also works when the deadlines are shifted or the unexpected changes happen and you need extra resources on the demand.
Budget and Cost Constraints
This is the first ever reason to consider team augmentation.
While an in-house team is a reliable option with fixed upfront costs, it isn’t just a more expensive choice, but there are often additional costs that don’t always fit in the budget.
With an augmented team, on the other hand, you get a cost-effective solution for either large and complex or smaller and easier projects. This approach is more flexible in terms of both resources and budget.
Team Compatibility
Last but not least.
While focusing on all the challenges and benefits, it is crucial not to forget about team compatibility.
An in-house team is often assumed to naturally fit with the company culture by default, but that’s not always the case. At the same time, team augmentation can either align well with your company’s values, work ethics, and overall environment, or it might not be a good fit for your existing team.
The key here is choosing the team that aligns with the company values so they can integrate smoothly and contribute to the project’s success.
With all the collaboration options available today, it is not always easy to choose the one that meets all your needs and requirements. The right choice depends on a number of factors, and understanding these will help you make your decision.