Staff Augmentation Myths: The Unfiltered Truth About Flexibility, Culture, and Control

Staff Augmentation has become the best alternative to traditional hiring options, yet it remains shrouded by the myths asking organizations for a second thought whether to consider it or not. While the most common discussions are around what is staff augmentation, and how it works, the real barrier to its adaptations is the myths that even seasoned professionals believe. 

This blog will debunk the common staff augmentation myths, helping you to make an informed decision. 

So, let’s get started.

Staff Augmentation Myths: You Should Be Aware 

1. Does Staff augmentation mean losing control over the team and project?

No, staff augmentation acts as the extended team with benefits similar to the in-house team. You have complete control over the team structure, time zone, and other daily activities of augmented talent. 

For example, an organization is working on a Salesforce implementation project with a tight deadline. The organization realized that they needed additional expertise to complete the project on time. They augmented the internal team with two Salesforce experts who will work directly under the supervision of the organization’s project manager. 

The augmented staff will:

•  Follow the existing workflow of the organization.
• Use the same project management tools as your in-house team.
• Attend daily sprints. 
• Tasks and deadlines are assigned by the project manager just like in-house employees. 
• Provide regular progress reports. 

2. Staff augmentation is more expensive than traditional hiring.

No, staff augmentation is a cost-effective option compared to traditional hiring. Traditional hiring is a multi-step process that begins by creating a job description, sourcing candidates, screening, and onboarding new candidates. Beyond time, this process requires a hefty investment to get completed. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average cost to hire an employee in 2024 is  $4,683. This is just an estimated cost, the amount can go much higher when hiring tech professionals with specialized skills. 

When considering staff augmentation, you can hire the talent with the required expertise, and experience with no upfront cost.

3. Staff augmentation is only for low-skill or repetitive tasks.

Staff augmentation is not just limited to low skills or repetitive tasks. Many organizations are turning to resource augmentation for roles that demand specialized skills like AI specialists, cyber security experts, or Salesforce developers. 

4. It takes too long to onboard augmented staff effectively.

No, augmented staff augmentation onboarding time varies from one staffing agency to another. On average, the onboarding process takes around 1-2 weeks of the time. Some of the best staff augmentation companies like Smart IT Staff help you to onboard the IT professionals within 0-2 days. 

5. You’ll compromise data security with external hires.

Your concern about data security is valid and common among businesses when working with augmented talent. While there are potential risks involved, they can be mitigated with your selection of the right IT staffing company.  Ensure the staffing company has pre-vetted talent verified beyond their talent expertise to maintain data security. 

You can draft NDA & other legal documents that clearly outline the security responsibilities of each party, and breach penalties. Additionally, you can implement the principle of least privilege role-based control to ensure the external talent has access to only the necessary information required for their tasks. These practices can help you manage data security, allowing you to work confidently with the augmented staff. 

6. It’s impossible to measure the ROI of staff augmentation.

Measuring the ROI of augmented staff can be challenging, but not impossible to measure its impact. You can track metrics like cost-saving, productivity improvements, project completion time, and more. Compare these metrics with full-time employees or outsourcing to have an informed understanding of the impact. 

For example, if the cost of hiring 3 augmented Salesforce developers for 2 months is $10,000, while the estimated cost of hiring 3 full-time employees is $20,000. Therefore the total cost saving is $10,000.  Similar to this you can calculate the other metrics that matter to you. 

7. Language barriers and time zones make global talent impractical.

No, that’s not true. When talent augmentation is considered, you have different options, onshore, nearshore, and offshore, making it easier for you to hire a talent that is adaptable to your time zone and has proficiency in a language you’re comfortable with.

Language barriers and time zones are challenging aspects to manage when you’re working with an offshore staffing company. However, these challenges can be easily mitigated with strategic planning. 

For example, you can mitigate language barriers by vetting the candidate for their language proficiency during the hiring process. Additionally, you can use clear, and simple language avoiding idioms when writing or having conversations with the global talent you’re working with. 

Time zone challenges can be mitigated by identifying the overlapping working hours between internal, and external teams. For example, between India, and the USA there are 2 hours of total overlap ( 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM IST (9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EST)), therefore you can schedule meetings during these hours to ensure both internal and external team members are available. 

8. You’ll face legal risks with contract workers.

Yeah, you might face several legal issues, if not addressed appropriately. You should maintain clear documentation that outlines intellectual property rights (IP), data privacy, and security.  You should ensure that the vendor you’re working with complies with the local labor laws, and clearly outline their ownership in case of violations. 

Having clear documentation is the best practice for mitigating potential legal challenges while leveraging the benefits of augmented staff. 

9. It’s a temporary solution for short-term gaps, not long-term growth.

There is a commonly believed misconception that staff augmentation is a temporary arrangement that can’t drive long-term growth. In contrast, maintaining a flexible workforce that allows you to adapt to the highly volatile market and technology landscape can make a foundation for long-term growth. You will have the right team of the right people at the time you need, with no additional expenses. 

10. Staff augmentation prevents knowledge retention—once they leave, expertise disappears.

Knowledge retention can be effectively managed with staff augmentation engagement to ensure long-term benefits. To ensure knowledge transfer, you can work on a structured knowledge transfer process, collaborative work structure, documentation requirements, and phased transition planning. 

Knowledge retention is not a distinct activity, but an integral part of the staff augmentation process. 

Final Take

These myths hold organizations from leveraging the benefits of the staff augmentation. The best practice is to discuss with a staff augmentation firm to understand how they can help you manage your priorities of data security, time zone alignment, language barrier, and more. 

Smart IT Staff is a staff augmentation services provider with a team of more than 400+ IT experts. Our expertise spans multiple platforms but is not limited to Salesforce, ServiceNow, AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Nintex. Prioritizing transparent communication, and accountability we help organizations to hire a team of professionals with the skill level and expertise they need.