The IT Staff Augmentation Guide for SMBs & Top 8 Challenges to Overcome

What is IT Staff Augmentation? In short: “Staff augmentation” or “staff extension” refers to hiring temporary personnel from outside your organization to increase your capacity and add new expertise.

Read on if you’d like to learn more about the different types of staff augmentation, their pros and cons, and the top 8 challenges we’ve identified. 

At Euvic, Inc., we focus on helping our clients and partners succeed by providing our highly talented engineers, consultants, and project managers in managed teams. Learn more about Poland and why it’s the leading destination for software development outsourcing. Our +5000 A-Player developers and +100 managed expert teams are the backbone of our success. 

These teams come into play when industry-specific knowledge and experience is required to execute your project successfully. Staff augmentation is a slightly different engagement model we use to support our clients’ needs flexibly. Lately, there has been a high demand for external engineers in AI and machine learning for software development projects to help innovate existing solutions or new products.

The Difference Between IT Project Outsourcing and IT Staff Augmentation

The main difference between IT staff augmentation and project-based IT outsourcing lies in how our IT experts are selected and deployed for the project. In the latter, we select and fully manage the appropriate teams for your needs to help run your project from start to finish.

On the other hand, a typical staff augmentation scenario involves adding single experts or expert teams to your existing workforce to strengthen your resources or add specific skills and expertise.

Some of the IT staff augmentation services we offer are:

• Technical Consulting
• System Architecture
• Project Management
• UX/UI Designers
• Front and Back-End Software Development
• Infrastructure Development (Multi-Cloud or Hybrid)
• QA & Testing
• Business Analysts
• DevOps 
• AI/ML Data scientists

When Should You Choose IT Staff Augmentation Over Project-Based IT Outsourcing?

The main difference between augmentation and outsourcing is how teams are created and managed based on specific requirements.

Project-Based IT Outsourcing Is The Right Choice When:

• A high level of contextual industry experience is required.
• You prefer not to handle the management of in-house teams.
• You focus on completing your projects quickly, reliably, professionally, and cost-effectively without needing to spend time recruiting, screening, training, onboarding, and retaining talent with the hopes that they can deliver.
• You are looking for a reliable partner to handle your software development needs, whether to stay ahead of the competition or launch a new product.
• You would like to outsource specific projects or development work to a partner so that your in-house team can focus on their core competencies.

IT Staff Augmentation Is The Right Choice When:

• You have a specific requirement for resources to address a gap in your organization.
• Your teams lack a specific set of skills or expertise, such as knowledge in the field of AI.
• You want to speed up the execution of an existing project without incurring any additional overhead costs.
• Hiring in-house is too slow, and you need a faster solution.

The Different Types of IT Staff Augmentation Companies 

We’ve identified different types of IT staff augmentation companies, which can sometimes be difficult to tell apart from the outside. At first glance, they all provide a large pool of IT talent available to be placed in your organization, but there are significant differences.

Regular IT Staffing Companies 

Regular staffing or IT staff augmentation companies hire engineers based on their resume descriptions. Some go further and background check their engineers. This is a popular approach to achieving higher consistency in talent and experience. 

The more advanced staff augmentation companies also have a process of picking the right combination of candidates for your needs and helping you integrate them within your business.

In these cases, you often have various engineers with general expertise and knowledge in the chosen technologies. Industry knowledge and abilities to communicate on a team and to operate on a particular standardized level are not part of this qualification.

Software-Development-First Companies

At Euvic, we categorize ourselves in the second option: We’re a software-development-first company. Much like soccer players, to bring up an analogy, our teams are out on the field playing the game to win – every day. They know how to communicate and how to get results.

Our engineers bring industry-specific knowledge and are constantly trained and educated. They work on leading systems and technologies like Generative AI and follow best practices. We pick talented players for you and place them in your company to take over or support your teams with your software development needs or other IT experience. 

We carefully select the best engineer for each project, either from our in-house team or by screening external candidates. We prioritize due diligence to ensure that each candidate is the right fit for the client’s needs and culture, and possesses the necessary skills and expertise. Poland and Ukraine have a vast pool of talented IT professionals, and Euvic has a strong brand to attract and retain them. By selecting the right candidate, we avoid churn, which can be costly for companies.

Another way we distinguish ourselves is by thoroughly screening candidates for both technical hard skills and soft skills.

This is a crucial step that many companies overlook, often resulting in an inundation of unqualified candidates in the hiring manager’s inbox. By taking the time to vet candidates properly, we can spare hiring managers the burden of conducting extensive interviews.

Top 8 Challenges, Reasons, and Benefits of IT Staff Augmentation 

Our experienced software development consultants have identified eight challenges, reasons, and benefits to consider when considering staff augmentation for your business.

1. Challenge: Filling Niche Positions

One of the most popular reasons for staff augmentation in the IT industry is the rapid growth of new technologies, niches, and industries. Most companies can’t keep up with the ever-changing requirements and the need for new technologies. Current examples are experts and engineers in the machine learning and AI space.

On the other end of the spectrum are legacy systems and older technologies that aren’t popular anymore. Finding natives in these technologies has become a real challenge. Staff augmentation or IT outsourcing are the easiest solutions to cover this demand. This is one of the most common challenges our clients are faced with, and we can help them solve it.

2. Challenge: Avoiding Inaccurate Candidate Applications

Software development is an in-demand skill, and there is a broad availability of IT talent searching for jobs in the US and worldwide. There are usually sufficient numbers of applicants for developer positions, which is usually a good thing. 

On the other hand, reviewing many applications with varying skill sets and qualifications can be time-consuming. The worst part about hiring IT talent is verifying skillsets, which leads to high costs, waste of time, and endless cycles of new applications until a position is successfully filled.

We understand that the hiring process can be daunting, from sifting through unqualified resumes to interviewing potential candidates to ensure they are a fit. We aim to alleviate this headache by providing fast and efficient services that include screening and sending only qualified candidates who are ready to deliver.

Staff augmentation is the safest, fastest, and most effective solution for this challenge. Not only can you skip the complicated recruitment process, but it also enables you to get access to a consistent level of talent and expertise. 

We speak your language; we understand your requirements. 

3. Challenge: Speed of Project Progress & Deadlines

A common challenge companies face is meeting deadlines for IT projects. Unexpected issues can always occur, slowing project progress dramatically. 

Typical scenarios include building a new technology for in-house use, launching a new product, or even client work that you need to deliver.

Hiring talent from scratch takes too much time. Using the expertise of an experienced staff augmentation provider like Euvic gives you access to our long-term experience of choosing the right talent for your needs.

4. Challenge: Fluctuations in Market Demand Restricting Growth

The IT sector is famous not only for its changing demand for skills and talent but also for fluctuations in general. As the openness to investing increases, so does the demand and inquiries for software development services and products. 

Often, demand is not directly correlated with the actual economic situation but with the perceived state of the market. Decision-makers like to go all-in when in a positively perceived economic situation due to high demand and pull out of ongoing projects as soon as the fear of an economic downturn increases.

These fluctuations make it risky for companies to hire and maintain larger teams of engineers. Leveraging IT staff augmentation, we can help you meet market demand without long adaption or preparation times. We’re ready when you are. 

We can offer the flexibility to scale up or down as needed to support various business cycles. 

When reducing staff, a company with full-time employees may face restrictions or longer timelines. Additionally, they may have to deal with potential litigation, severance packages, and other payouts. However, when paying for staff augmentation, we take on that risk and burden, so you don’t have to worry about it.

5. Challenge: Recruiting Timelines

HR managers and their teams frequently have trouble meeting timelines for opening and closing new positions for engineers or other IT professionals.

Some positions might be easier to fill, and some deadlines might be tighter than others. An excellent recruitment option is adding a fallback option of IT staff augmentation with a trusted partner. 

This way, you can combine building in-house teams with onboarding external engineers as needed. Never miss your timeline expectations or serious deadlines again. Stay in touch with our staff augmentation experts to stay in control of your teams and keep pace.

6. Challenge: Uncertainty When Building Up a Pipeline

Fluctuations in market demand aren’t the only reason companies are unprepared to take on larger, unexpected projects and lose opportunities. 

In the IT business, project decisions often take a long time, and once agreed on, they need to be executed as quickly as possible. Urgent projects with fast implementation expectations are often the most profitable, making them a lucrative addition to your ongoing projects.

Companies often accept these projects without having the required resources in-house, leaving their customers disappointed or, worse, losing their clients in the middle of a project.

IT staff augmentation is a great solution because it enables you to take on extra projects and offer your customers the flexibility and speed they wish for. With our pool of +5000 Polish A-Player engineers, we have the bandwidth to serve your large projects quickly.

7. Challenge: Uncertainty About The Length Of a Project

Another recruiting dilemma is setting expectations for candidates. Applicants seeking long-term employment will likely be discouraged when hearing about your short-term needs.

This practice may deter highly skilled candidates who have other job opportunities. To avoid this, companies sometimes conceal their intention of hiring for short-term work only, which is unfair to employees.

Staff Augmentation is a flexible option for short-term projects, which at the same time allows companies to retain good talent as per their requirements. 

Our consultants often stay with clients beyond the original project duration because of the high value they bring to the company.

8. Challenge: Negative Opinion and Avoidance of Staffing Companies

The last challenge we’ve identified is staffing companies’ general negative reputation. Many staff augmentation providers focus on finding candidates in an open market and offering them to companies in need. 

Staff augmentation companies often rush to place candidates into their client’s businesses without properly vetting them to ensure they are the right fit for their clients. 

This can result in a lack of teamwork, poor communication skills, and an overall deficiency in value that these hires bring to your business.

These outstaffing businesses have a terrible reputation for good reason, either through the negative experiences they leave their clients with or the experiences reported by colleagues.

As mentioned above, Euvic is a software-development-first company. To repeat the analogy here: We train our players like a soccer team, and they go out to play the game on the field every day. 

Our large pool of 5000 engineers doesn’t mean we just hire engineers. They constantly work closely with our clients, gain industry-specific knowledge, stay up to date on the newest technologies, and know how to operate effectively to get the results you need.

Conclusion: Don’t Try To Reinvent The Wheel. Let Us Do The Magic.

The featured companies are at the forefront of system integration, offering critical services for businesses aiming to unify their IT systems.

Their specialized knowledge and unwavering commitment to innovation are key for organizations looking to leverage advanced technology solutions for improved operational efficiency and to establish a competitive stance in the marketplace.

Considering unifying your business systems for enhanced operational synergy? Check out our list of the best legacy system modernization companies.

We at Euvic, Inc., are your partner for navigating system integration complexities. From the initial assessment to the final implementation, we’re with you at every stage of your journey.

Interested in how we can transform your business? Discover our successful system integration projects.

Get in touch via phone or our contact form to start the conversation.

Our promise: A consultation with our experts will offer you a deeper insight into strategic approaches, tailored solutions, and an estimation of project costs, guaranteed without obligation or hard sales pitches.