IT staff augmentation explained in questions

Are you looking to expand your IT team? without the hassle of a lengthy recruitment process? IT staff augmentation might just be the solution you need. We’ll answer common questions about IT staff augmentation to help you understand how it can benefit your organization.

From the basics of what IT staff augmentation is, to the benefits and risks involved. Moreover, we’ll cover everything you need to know. So whether you’re a business owner looking to scale your IT team, or an IT professional interested in the industry, read on to discover how IT staff augmentation can help your organization thrive.

What is IT staff augmentation?

Employee augmentation is the cooperative method in which the company increases the number of personnel by hiring temporary developers to join their in-house team. These temporary coders will work with your internal team for a brief period of time. This hiring model’s primary goal is to fill the skill gap on your team and help you complete your project.

How can I find reputable IT staff augmentation services?

Well, the first thing you want to do in order to find a 👉 reputable IT staff augmentation company 👈 is to do a thorough Google search. You can read the reviews on Google and on various vendor pages to get a better idea of what to expect.

Once you find staff augmentation companies that fit your profile, contact them for a free chat. Find out more information about how your cooperation would work. Moreover, do they have clients that match your software development company’s description? Perhaps they have a portfolio of previous clients that they can show you. Or they can connect you with one of their customers. Also, during this time find out what their process looks like in terms of lending developers.

What are the various types of IT staff augmentation?

There are about six different 👉 types of IT staff augmentation 👈. Each one is slightly different and depending on what you are looking for, one may be a better fit than the other.

The first type of IT staff augmentation is Traditional staff providers. These staffing providers offer short-term, temporary employees to meet business needs. Typically, they will take care of the entire recruitment process from recruiting, screening, interviewing, and placement of qualified programmers. An example of a traditional staff provider is 👉Swyply 👈.

The next type of IT staff augmentation is master vendor staff provider. They will provide staff and also manage the augmented team they lend out to you. Another type of staff augmentation service is specialized/boutique agencies. They provide staff for a niche aspect of a business. For example, they may only lend out developers that specialize in mobile app development.

Some other forms of IT staff augmentation include gig platforms and on-demand talent platforms. These two types are similar to each other as they are usually based online. Moreover, they offer experts from various industries. Additionally, these experts usually advertise themselves. Lastly, these experts usually take on short-term tasks and either have an hourly rate or a fixed price. Some popular platforms include Fivver and Upwork.

The last type of IT staff augmentation is hiring freelance developers. These are independent contracts that you hire on a contract basis. These experienced software engineers usually work remotely and are not a permanent part of your payroll. Moreover, they usually are not exclusively working for you but rather have many different projects.

What are the advantages of using IT staff augmentation?

There are numerous benefits that come along with using IT staff augmentation services. The first 👉 benefit of staff augmentation services 👈 is being able to fill your skill gap in a very short period of time. Typically you can hire an augmented team or a software developer in as little as one week with staff augmentation. Whereas with in-house recruitment this is almost possible. Traditional recruitment usually enables you to hire someone in 3 to 6 weeks.

Some other benefits of IT staff augmentation include:

• being able to complete projects faster due to having more working hands
• you are able to retain control over the project and your project managers are in control of the augmented developers
• the hiring contract is flexible, you have the ability to hire someone for the time period or project you need
• you are no longer limited to your local market to hire developers, instead, you can look globally.

And there are so many other benefits of this hiring model that make it worth it.

What are some must-haves I need to have in place to be able to use IT staff augmentation services?

There are a few things that you need to have in place in order to make the most out of an 👉 IT staff augmentation project 👈.

Firstly, you need an in-house team. This team should consist of developers, QA testers, project management, etc. Your project managers need to onboard, integrate, and manage additional developers. Moreover, the augmented team will supplement and support your other developers along with the QA tester.

Secondly, you need to know what tech specialists you are missing on your team. You need to be able to provide the IT staff augmentation company information with on what skills you are missing. Do you need a 👉 front-end developer 👈? Or a 👉 back-end developer 👈? Or perhaps a 👉 mobile app developer👈? By knowing this information the service provider can help you find the skills that you need.

Lastly, you need to have in-house processes and procedures. You will need to onboard the new developer plus you need to introduce him or her to the team. Moreover, you need to explain how projects are managed at your company. Additionally, who should they report to, and what their role is within your development team?

When is the best time to use IT staff augmentation?

The best time to use IT staff augmentation is when you need to bring in experienced software developers to supplement the existing team. It is a cost-effective method to get the necessary skillsets and expertise for a successful project outcome.

Moreover, it can be used for turnkey software development when you need to quickly get a project off the ground. It can also be used when you need extra help with developing complex projects, or when you need additional resources for short-term projects.

Hiring experienced software developers through IT staff augmentation is an excellent way to ensure that your project goals are met on time and within budget. With the right IT staff augmentation partner, you can make sure that you have successful project outcomes.

What are the various stages of IT staff augmentation?

There are a few key stages of IT staff augmentation. These stages include:

• sourcing
• recruiting
• interviews
• staffing projects

This 👉 talent acquisition procedure 👈 is the most common and needs to be well-considered to have the most favorable outcome.

What information do I need to provide you in order to use staff augmentation?

There are some standard things we ask our customers to ensure that they have success using IT staff augmentation services. The first thing that we ask is what skill set you are looking for. What type of software developer(s) are you looking to hire? The next question we ask is whether you need one programmer or more. And how many if you require more than one.

Another valuable aspect is when you need this software developer or team of coders to join your team. Also for how long do you need them in order to successfully run your software development projects?

Lastly, you may choose to provide us with details about your project, to give us a better idea of what to look for. In many cases, we can find developers who have had experiences with projects similar to yours. This will make them a much better fit than someone who may not.

How long does the recruitment process take for staff augmentation?

So the recruitment process will vary from company to company. But here at Swyply, 👉recruiting a developer via our staff augmentation services 👈 takes only 5 to 7 days. You will be able to expand your team in as little as one week. This is much faster than traditional recruitment, which takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks.

What does the hiring process via IT staff augmentation look like?

The 👉 hiring process via IT staff augmentation 👈 will vary from company to company. But here at Swyply, it is a quick 8 easy steps and it runs a little something like this:

1. Let us know what developers you are looking for and how many you need. Or do you just need one?
2. We search for the developer(s) that you need
3. Check out Blind CVs
4. Interview potential coders
5. Sign the contract & hire expert programmers
6. Software engineers work with your employees
7. We check in with you on a monthly basis to make sure you are happy with our cooperation.
8. A few weeks before our cooperation ends, we will reach out to see if you would like to extend our partnership.

Do I get to interview developers to verify soft skills?

Yes, you are able to interview developers to verify soft skills. You can carry out a simple conversation to see if their personality will match yours and your in-house team.

Can I test the technical abilities of the developer?

Yes, of course, you can test the technical abilities of the developers before hiring them from the staff augmentation provider. You can ask them to do a live coding test or ask them to complete a test assignment at home within a certain time frame.

How do you assure that the developer stays with me for the duration of my project?

So typically developers working on a staff augmentation basis are bound by their contract. And in most scenarios will stick around to see your project through until the end and there is usually little concern about the 👉 retention of that programmer 👈.

But in the rare event, the developer has to leave your project, here at Swyply, we will find someone to replace him or her ASAP. You don’t have to worry about filling that slot yourself. Moreover, we will try to ensure that the exit of one developer and the entry of another overlap, so that you are not inconvenienced. Moreover, this way you can stick to your deadlines.

Is this an option only for short-term projects or maybe only for long-term projects?

The IT staff augmentation strategy is a good option for both short-term and long-term projects. It is a solution for all types of scenarios. Here at Swyply, we can hire our developers for a minimum of 3 months. But we love long-term projects.

You have the ability to hire someone for 12 months, 24 months, and more. It all depends on your company’s needs. Moreover, this does not have to be a one-off solution either. You can hire software developers via IT staff augmentation as often as you want.

For example, you can hire a developer for a year and then not have any augmented staff for 6 months. And then again hire a developer for 9 months and so on. You can have an ongoing partnership with a staff augmentation company for all types of projects.

What does billing look like?

Billing will look different between various staff augmentation companies. However, here at Swyply when you rent a developer you usually pay a daily rate. This daily rate is multiplied by the number of days worked and at the end of the month, you receive an invoice. You will have 14 days to pay that invoice. There are no hidden costs and charges.

Is there any initial charge or set-up fee?

The beauty of IT staff augmentation services is that there is no initial charge or set-up fee. You only start to pay once the software developer joins your team and begins to work on your project.

What if I’m not happy with the developer I’ve chosen to join my in-house team?

So this can happen, you may be unhappy with the developer you rented for various reasons. They may be the wrong fit or your project changes, etc. Here at Swyply, we have a 14-day risk-free guarantee to help in situations like this.

Within our 👉 guarantee period 👈, we give customers two options during the first two weeks of our cooperation. The first option is the ability to switch developers if the one you originally chose is not the right fit. The second option is to end our cooperation and not pay a cent for those first two weeks.

Is staff augmentation a good option at a very early stage of product/company development? Is it a good option for companies of all sizes?

Staff augmentation is a good option for companies that are at a very early stage of product development. Or even if you are at an early stage of company development.

Moreover, the staff augmentation strategy is a good choice for 👉 companies of all sizes 👈. It doesn’t matter if you are a small company, medium, large, or enterprise, this staffing model is the right solution for you.

What about employee perks & other human resource aspects?

When you partner up with Swyply, you don’t have to worry about 👉 employee perks 👈 and other human resource aspects. We cover basic things like health insurance, taxes, sick leave, and vacation time.

Moreover, we cover things like personal development programs, e-learning courses, and language lessons. Furthermore, we offer our experienced developers laptops and cofinancing for home office furniture.

Can a developer work in my office once in a while?

Swyply developers work strictly in a no-office model. Our developers have the comfort of being able to work remotely indefinitely. But you can suggest this option to the developer on an individual basis, to see if he or she is up to visiting your office. But generally, our development teams work remotely only.

What seniority of developers is offered?

Most of our developers are either Med/ Regular or senior level. We require a minimum of 3 years of experience in a given 👉 tech stack 👈. Moreover, if you need a Tech Leader or Team Leader we can provide this type of developer for you as well.

Lastly, if you feel that your project needs a junior developer, we can also provide you with this level of expertise for you as well.

How long is the notice period for cooperation?

Each team augmentation service will have a different notice period if you want to end the cooperation. But here at Swyply, we require one month’s notice period if you want to end our cooperation.

What about if the developer I rented has an extended absence?

So unfortunately this sometimes does happen. A software developer may go on vacation or sick leave. Now if the developer is out for a few days because they have the flu or perhaps they go on vacation for 2 weeks. This is pretty standard and can happen within your in-house team as well. In these short scenarios, there generally isn’t a need to replace the developer, because onboarding a new one will take longer.

But, sometimes if someone is going to be away for a few months due to major surgery and rehabilitation, etc. Then we will replace him or her ASAP so that you are not short-staffed and can complete your project on time.

What does an IT staff augmentation agreement look like?

An IT staff augmentation agreement has several key components, that you should also look for and include. The first essential part of an 👉 IT staff augmentation agreement 👈 is the project scope. The main thing that should be outlined in the project scope is developer responsibilities and roles.

Your IT staff augmentation contract template should also include details about hiring changes. So what needs to take place when your employee needs change? You should have information about how you can switch, add or remove augmented staff in the agreement.

Moreover, you will need to include payment terms and conditions. Along with a disclosure agreement. You may also request that intellectual property rights are transferred to you so that the code that is developed is only yours. Lastly, it should also include a termination clause if you need to end the cooperation.

What are your working hours & what happens in the event of an emergency?

Here at Swyply, our working hours are from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm Polish CEST. Our software developers are not available 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Do all developers speak English?

Here at Swyply, all of our developers can speak and write in English. During our 👉recruitment process 👈, we ensure that your coders have a minimum of B2 English.

TL;DR: Summary of IT staff augmentation is explained in questions and answers

IT staff augmentation is the process of hiring external IT professionals to fill temporary or permanent positions within your organization. This can be done on a project-by-project basis or for ongoing support.

We have broken down everything you need to know about IT staff augmentation in a simple question-and-answer format. From the basics of what IT staff augmentation is, to the benefits it can offer your business, and the key considerations when choosing an IT staff augmentation provider, we’ve covered it all. So, whether you’re a business owner looking to scale up your IT capabilities, or an IT professional looking to understand more about this growing trend. The simple format of this article surely answered all those … questions about staff augmentation.

If you want to learn more about the IT staff augmentation model, 👉 drop us a line 👈, and let’s chat. We can provide you with a free no-obligation consultation about this hiring solution. Who knows maybe you’ll learn that it’s the right choice for your company.