Offshore Staff Augmentation: The Ultimate Guide
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Staff AugmentationAre you looking for an efficient way to source top development talent without having to jump through all the traditional (and tedious!) hiring hoops? Are you seeking a cost-effective and flexible way to increase your software development capabilities? If the answer is yes to either – or both! – of these questions, then staff augmentation is your definitive answer.
Offshore staff augmentation gives startups and tech companies access to a much larger pool of skilled software engineers that can help increase productivity and enhance quality control. Plus, the increased flexibility of this model makes it easy for companies to scale their development teams quickly with zero hassle – what more could you ask for?!
Not surprisingly, the staff augmentation market is estimated to be almost $82 billion by 2025, according to research by SpendEdge. Clearly lots of companies are seeing the value!!
With offshore staff augmentation, you can hire developers that are as equally productive as developers in the United States or Western Europe but at significantly less cost. But make sure the offshore partner you choose to help you recruit and retain these offshore developers (like TurnKey!) has a sterling reputation. Who you work with matters as much as who you hire.
Ready to turn up the heat on offshore staff augmentation? Let’s explore what it can offer you – and how you can make leveraging all this extra brain power a breeze!
List of Content
- What is Offshore Staff Augmentation for Software Development?
- What are the Major Benefits of Offshore Staff Augmentation Versus Your In-House Team?
- Pros and Cons of Offshoring Staff Augmentation for Software Development
- Offshore Staff Augmentation: Working Models
- How to Select a Reliable Offshore Staff Augmentation Partner?
- So Why is Offshore Staff Augmentation a Great Choice for Startups and Tech Companies?
- Why is TurnKey the Best Partner for Offshore Staff Augmentation?
- FAQ
What is Offshore Staff Augmentation for Software Development?
Well, what does staff augmentation mean? Staff augmentation is a process commonly used in the software development industry to increase capabilities and expertise. It involves hiring third-party, offshore programmers who work alongside an organization’s existing personnel with the goal of helping create or manage company software. By leveraging these additional resources, teams can handle more initiatives while also gaining access to better skillsets if needed.
With software development staff augmentation, you don’t need to painstakingly craft every system component on your own. Think of it as the modern-day equivalent of “just add water” for instant software development success.
Staff augmentation teams are easily integrated into a startup or tech company’s existing development organization and come in varying sizes depending on the software development needs.
Staff augmentation is popular because it delivers maximum value through increased efficiency and productivity at a lower cost.
What are the Major Benefits of Offshore Staff Augmentation Versus Your In-House Team?
Development teams don’t need to settle for conventional hiring methods; staff augmentation offers several superior alternatives. Here’s why: it can streamline the recruitment process, give access to a wide range of skills and expertise, and provide flexibility that traditional hires may not offer – all at an affordable cost!
Offshoring staff augmentation has gained popularity for its major advantages over hiring an in-house team. It is significantly less expensive to hire talented software developers from abroad than hiring in-house, as the local talent pool is smaller locally and hourly rates tend to be much higher (especially in the U.S. and Western Europe).
Using offshore staff augmentation also means a much faster recruitment process, enabling startups and tech companies to accelerate their speed to market.
Moreover, offshoring is highly flexible, making it easier to change your mind on a project or cut off the workforce used since there is no need to fire employees that were hired internally – something which can prove particularly costly with an in-house team. Discovering these key benefits about offshoring staff augmentation may just leave you wondering why you haven’t adopted it sooner!
Pros and Cons of Offshoring Staff Augmentation for Software Development
Staff augmentation for your software development must be considered thoughtfully. As startups grapple with the pros and cons of cross-border collaborations, offshoring offers both advantages and challenges. It’s important to understand the implications of offshoring on items such as timelines, cost optimization, and team dynamics so that you can decide if offshoring is a good option for your software development goals.
In this section, we’ll examine the benefits and drawbacks of offshoring staff augmentation in order to help you make an informed decision about how best to use it for software development.
Advantages of Offshore Staff Augmentation
#1. Highly Cost Effective
Offshoring staff augmentation can be a great way for startups and tech companies to increase their software development capabilities quickly, without needing to invest heavily into hiring and onboarding employees. The expenses associated with salaries, benefits, office space and equipment are greatly reduced.
Additionally, offshoring minimizes risks that come with expansion, since you’re able to decide how big or small your offshore team should be based on the current level of work. In essence offshoring offers to startups and tech companies an efficient and cost-effective way to build their software development team without sacrificing quality or speed of execution.
#2. More Flexibility
Startups and tech companies can leverage offshore software development to tap into larger development talent pools, expand their global footprints and gain a competitive edge; however, this all falters if teams are unable to move from one prototyping stage to another due to inflexible working strategies.
Working off of flexible strategies allow dev teams to adjust their approach in light of unexpected product feedback or corporate strategy changes, ultimately creating more agile and effective product cycles. In contrast, too much rigidity can lead to pipeline disruptions or runaway development costs that cripple your budget.
#3. Faster Speed to Market
Startups and tech companies need to be incredibly time-sensitive when it comes to development efforts since speed to market can often make or break an entire company. Offshoring staff augmentation for software development allows companies to delegate some of the tasks off their plate while remaining in control of software development, thus allowing the firm to get their product releases out more quickly.
#4. Greater Focus
Offshoring staff augmentation takes pressure off internal development teams since projects and initiatives can be offloaded to these added teams. This then creates greater focus for your core tech leadership team on managing the overall development process rather than being stuck in the weeds for each individual product decision.
#5. Much Larger Pool of Developer Talent
With offshore staff augmentation, startups are more likely to find the right person with the unique combination of skills needed at each stage. Not only will this save time that would be wasted trying to fill roles locally, but it also opens up access to international talent and diverse perspectives that can profoundly improve the project’s performance and product quality overall.
#6. Quicker Adoption of New Technologies
For startups looking to use offshore staff augmentation for software development, having easy adaptation to new technologies is key. Adapting quickly not only helps startups and tech companies achieve the desired results in a short amount of time but also allows them to keep up with the ever changing needs of their customers in today’s fast-paced marketplace. Being able to quickly pivot and access offshoring talent can give a startup a real edge over its competition in efficiency and cost savings.
#7. Streamlined Development Process
Using offshore resources for staff augmentation also creates an opportunity to develop an accountability plan that helps paint a clear picture of employees’ roles and responsibilities.
This plan should also include ways to identify breaches in operating procedures as well as which tools and technologies should be in place to facilitate error free execution of offshored task.
And most of all, this plan creates an effective communication channel between offshoring teams and their internal counterparts, ensuring the development process is as streamlined as possible.
#8. Greater Transparency
Introducing transparency throughout the entire offshoring workflow allows for clearer communication between all parties and lessens the risk of misunderstandings that may result in ineffective collaboration between the stakeholders involved.
Transparency also grants greater visibility into the offshoring operations which can give offshore staff a better understanding of their tasks, allowing them to complete software development more efficiently as well as maintain stable customer relationships along the way.
[Speaking of transparency, we here at TurnKey eat our own dog food. When you partner with us, you always get a complete view into every developer’s salary, benefits and taxes. And all bonuses and equity options go 100% to the developer since they are the ones that deserve the reward. Now that’s what we call transparency!]
TurnKey provides detailed breakdowns of all salaries, fees and expenses so you can rest easy knowing what you are spending on development.
#9. Less Training Required
Through offshore or nearshore staff augmentation, startups get access to dedicated software developers who have expertise in the technologies their company needs most. Not only does staff augmentation speed up time to market for the product but companies don’t have to make long-term investments in costly training programs or retainers.
#10. Easier to Scale
For startups or tech companies looking to quickly scale up without the time and energy of interviewing, recruiting and onboarding new developers, staff augmentation can provide a fast and cost-efficient alternative. Cutting out the need to search and interview candidates opens up more time for focusing on critical business growth strategies while also ensuring they benefit from highly qualified offshore or nearshore software developers with minimal ramp-up time.
#11. Much Less Legal and Administrative Hassle
Startups and tech companies can sometimes feel like they are navigating a minefield of legal and management issues when going offshore. But staff augmentation offers a way to alleviate some of these worries and take the pain out of managing offshore software development teams.
Having someone else deal with the legal and administrative headaches – combined with the communication and logistics infrastructure already in place within these countries – means offshore or nearshore staff augmentation can help startups and tech companies make their software development journey smoother and more efficient from day one.
But when offshoring staff augmentation for software development, startups and tech companies need to make sure they can trust their offshoring partner. By implementing a thorough vetting process, startups can be sure that the offshoring partner is delivering against their promises. [Pro tip: TurnKey always delivers what we promise.]
Disadvantages of Offshore Staff Augmentation
But since nothing in life is perfect, there are also a few disadvantages to this model as well, including:
#1. Not optimized for project-based work
Offshore staff augmentation is a boon to startups and tech companies because it allows them to quickly and cost-effectively hire talented developers who can help scale up the team.
However, if you need developers for just a short period of time, like building an MVP for a product or hitting a certain milestone, then offshore staff augmentation may not be ideal since staff augmentation is designed as a long term development solution (at least if you are doing it right!). Thus, expectations and output may be misaligned.
#2. Additional costs might occur
When considering the benefits of offshore staff augmentation such as increased productivity and improved quality, one should also be aware of the fact that it may bring additional costs.
That is because staff augmentation is usually priced on a time-and-materials model (read more about offshoring models here), meaning you are paying for the number of hours worked, materials used and other add-on services. But it doesn’t have to be that way: when partnering with TurnKey for your offshore staff augmentation needs, these costs are contained as TurnKey operates on a monthly invoicing basis, not on an hourly one.
Ready to build your supercharge your offshore staff augmentation efforts?
Offshore Staff Augmentation: Working Models
Offshore staff augmentation is an effective way of managing resources while ensuring high quality output. It combines the benefits of cutting-edge technology with the benefits of a low-cost workforce.
But there are different ways to structure offshore staff augmentation, including:
Extended team model.
Need to turbocharge your short-term software project? An extended team model can provide you with an experienced, talented development crew and superior scalability that’ll get the job done right. This model works best when you are building for long term and provides you with better scalability and flexibility.
Managed team model.
When looking for a short-term solution, the managed team model is perfect to get your project rolling. This utilizes an offshore team of developers that manages tasks autonomously – it’s an easy way to delegate work and expand with ease and is mostly used for quick projects.
How to Select a Reliable Offshore Staff Augmentation Partner?
Choosing a reliable offshore staff augmentation partner can be a complex process, but preparing and researching carefully beforehand will pay off tremendously. Here’s a checklist to guide you through:
- For starters, take a look at their previous cases and reputation, paying attention to the reviews they’ve received from customers.
- If geography is a factor, you’ll want to find a firm that operates within your desired area.
- Identifying the applicable delivery models becomes essential as it helps narrow down potential candidates even more.
- Relevance and niche expertise should also top your list of criterions – there’s nothing better than genuine know-how for success.
- Gauge how quickly and efficiently the company responds to inquiries and requests for assistance.
- Understand the company’s rates and fees for their staff augmentation services so that you can make an informed decision and get the most bang for your buck.
- Determine if they have the relevant expertise in scaling startups and tech companies (like TurnKey’s personnel have!) and book a 1-1 consultation to make a final decision.
So Why is Offshore Staff Augmentation a Great Choice for Startups and Tech Companies?
If you’re running a software startup or tech company, you know that staying ahead of the curve is essential for success. It can seem daunting to keep up with the newest technologies, manage sudden business demands, and ensure your software development team can scale quickly. Thankfully, the offshore staff augmentation model offers an ideal solution to all these difficulties.
With global access to some of the most skilled specialists in their fields, it’s easy to expand your team whenever needed. It also allows you to streamline your software development process while gaining maximum control and enjoying unparalleled flexibility. Staff augmentation is clearly one of the smartest decisions software startups and tech companies can make.
Why is TurnKey the Best Partner for Offshore Staff Augmentation?
Our mission at TurnKey is to alleviate the stress and hassle that comes with offshore software development staff augmentation–and all while delivering the top 3% of developers in the world.
Not only do we leverage our learnings from past experiences, but our process is built entirely around the needs of the customer. That’s why we call our model ‘Yourshoring’ – because we build staff augmentation teams that are built around YOUR culture, YOUR rules, and YOUR product objectives.
Let TurnKey become your one-stop-awesome-shop for reliable offshore staff augmentation.
Main benefits of working with TurnKey:
- Churn reduction. Our kickass retention program cuts churn by more than 50%.
- One-stop- awesome-shop for full stack teams. We custom recruit the Top 3% of talent across all the key positions you may need as you scale.
- Zero risk. We take the complexity and risk out of building high powered remote teams.
FAQ
Offshore staff augmentation is a great way for companies to gain instant access to expertise in technologies like web and mobile development, DevOps, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and more. Usually an outside offshore partner provides skilled personnel on a short-term or long-term basis where the developers are integrated into existing development teams at the client.
Offshore staff augmentation is a unique and effective solution for software development teams. With it, you can gain access to hard-to-find developers and save time in the recruitment process. It also speeds up development times, thus accelerating your overall speed to market.
Staff augmentation allows companies to add additional resources within their existing team, while outsourcing entails hiring an outside contractor or firm to manage a defined set of activities. With staff augmentation, the control remains with the company as they get access to top talent with specific skills. Conversely, outsourcing involves moving complete responsibility of certain roles and processes to external vendors which can provide more cost-effectiveness in some cases.
Offshore refers to a situation where a company from one country works with partners from another. By contrast, onsite means that both parties are located in the same area, which can make communication simpler and allows easier supervision over development.
Start by outlining your goals, objectives and expectations for an offshore staff augmentation provider. Then research different companies, and look at their previous work and reviews from other customers to ensure they are credible providers of offshore staff augmentation for startups and tech companies. Word-of-mouth recommendations are also useful to get a better idea of what to expect when working with certain companies. Finally, once you've found a few possible options that match all your criteria; check on factors such as their pricing plans to find the best fit for you.
Daria Spizheva
Technology and software development expert and author
I’m a writer with a background in — and passion for — applied linguistics, programming, and technology. I’m a firm believer that the key to explaining detailed technical and business information is to simplify it into concepts that everyone can understand. Hope you enjoy!