Staff augmentation is one of the methods used by many modern businesses to extend their teams on a short-term basis. Especially when it comes to situations where a permanent hire may not be the right option.

There are a number of scenarios in which companies leverage the staff augmentation method, including the NEED FOR SPECIALIZED SKILLS which may be required on a short-term basis.
A few examples:

• Initial infrastructure set up - Organizations may require a specialized resource to set up networks, configure servers, ACLs etc.
• QA staff - Having a dedicated QA team that can handle multiple projects may not be practical for all businesses encompassing the requirement of temp staff.
• Analytics setup - Configure an application for gathering data for analytics, setting up reports etc.
• Increase in capacity - Organizations may have to increase staff temporarily in order to fulfill a particular demand due to project deadline or project size.
• Gap hire – At times, businesses may have to fill in a position temporarily in the event that their staff require extended leave due to disability/maternity/sickness etc.

Types of staff augmentation models

• Commodity - When your organization requires highly commoditized labor where low cost and volume is priority.
• Skill based - When there is a need for task based commoditized labor with specific skills, but specialization of the skill is not a priority.
• Highly skilled – When you require Highly skilled talent and their level of expertise is critical.

Choosing a hiring method

GIG Platform- If You are looking to hire Commodity and/or Skill-based staff, a gig plat form such as freelancer, fiver or up-work may be a good option.
Pros

• Fast: Typically, the response time is very short when you advertise a vacancy on a gig platform.
• Cost effective: This is a highly competitive marketplace, so likelihood of you getting a good price is high.
• Flexible: The gig platforms typically work on per task/hour basis so there are no long terms contracts to deal with.

Challenges

• High Risk: Your codebase becomes potentially vulnerable due to exposure, additionally it is difficult to guard against IP violations.
• Leadership requirements: More technical leadership time needs to be spent in order to ensure quality and standards are maintained.
• Small projects: This method is suited for well-defined small projects/tasks that requires little or no interaction with your core applications during the development process.
• Potential for team disruption: This method is not particularly conducive to a team environment. Careful consideration is required before introducing a gig platform resource in to your team.

Traditional staffing agencies - Well suited for non-mission critical projects that do not require a high degree of expertise.
Pros

• Flexible: Traditional staffing agencies tend to provide customized solutions.

Challenges

• Difficult: Finding skilled labor can be extremely difficult.
• Vetting: Traditional staffing agencies may not have the specialized skills required to screen candidates for technical positions.

Specialized staffing and consulting firms - This is a good option when you need specialized skills and highly talented personnel.
Pros

• Likelihood of success: Your project will have a relatively high chance of success.
• Quality: Consulting firms generally have the skill sets to screen and match staff to specific projects.

Challenges

• Difficult: Finding a consulting firm can be difficult.
• Cost: Relatively more expensive than traditional staffing agencies.

Other Considerations

• Security: Security becomes an issue when you work with a resource outside of your organization. Ensure that your IP is protected using all available methods.
• Ethics: Google the consulting firm you want to work with. For example, the company should not have issues like unethical hiring practices etc.
• Transparency: Ensure that there is high level of visibility from start to finish of the project. If the company commits to 10 QA resources, 10 QAs must be working on the project.
• Culture: If you are bringing in temporary resources from outside, your corporate culture may be negatively impacted.
• Value: Ask the question, what value does the consulting firm bring to the table? are they charging a premium just because of the name recognition?

Why choose us?

• We strongly believe in a transparent and collaborative approach, so that our clients and consultants have the same objectives.
• Highly competitive pricing. We believe in creating a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
• We use highly sophisticated internal processes to match your organization with the required talent and skill sets.
  • Conduct a thorough assessment of the needs: We gather as much information as possible in order to find the right candidate.
  • Altamira will try to find a suitable candidate for the assignment from within our organization. If a best match cannot be found for any reason, we will hire external recourses.
  • Each candidate will go through a rigorous technical evaluation conducted by our knowledgeable staff.
  • A suitable list of candidates or a specific candidate (if such a candidate is identified) will be presented to you, so that you can conduct an interview to ensure the right fit.
  • Work out the logistics. Altamira will assess if a candidate needs to be onsite or remote based on your requirements. and arrange the logistics.
  • Start the project!

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