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9 Jan, 2023

Types of Staff Augmentation :
Short term or long term?

Development -Digital Marketing – Staff Augmentation

By Subodh Bhalerao
long term vs short team business plans
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Hiring temporary staff to come in and help with the workload is a good way to ensure that no projects go unfinished while people are on vacation or out sick. Short-term staff augmentation is meant to be a short-term solution for filling in the gaps when your company is understaffed, but long-term staff augmentation goes so far as to hire an employee who will work alongside your team permanently.

So, the question lies: which one suits you? Which model should you go with? Which model will give you the most benefits?

This blog talks about both the short term and long term staff augmentation models and gives you a brief about what to expect from each and shines some light on how each of these models have their own advantages and limitations.

What is Short Term Staff Augmentation?

Short-term staff augmentation is an on-demand staffing solution that enables businesses to work with employees on a contract or project basis. They can be hired for short-term projects or part-time jobs without making any commitments.

Benefits of Short-Term Staff Augmentation?

  • This can be leveraged to curb seasonal peak load situations 
  • To fill a gap in the workforce (e.g., temporary project)
  • Supplement an existing workforce during a busy period 
  • Hiring temporary staff with specific skills to assist on a project, or to take over a job for which the company does not have anyone in-house.

What is long term staff augmentation?

Long term staff augmentation is when an organization hires a contractor for a long period of time and the contract is renewed several times over. While this approach offers considerable benefits, it also has drawbacks such as knowing that you can’t do anything to control the cost.

Long term staff augmentation is also referred to as full time contractor, permanent staff augmentation and long term staffing.

Long term staffing is a viable alternative to full-time hiring. Organizations want to ensure that they have the right staff with the right skill set and they choose long term staffing to ensure that they have the right resources on-hand when needed. Long term staffing is also used as a way to reduce costs for staff augmentation.

Reasons for using long term staffing include:

  • Hiring a specific talent for a projects that’s going to take more than an year
  • Hiring support staff
  • Hiring without the hassle of going through a pile of resumes and the hassle of interviews and selection process

 

Short Term vs Long Term Infographic

When do you use short-term staff augmentation?

The goals of short-term staff augmentation are usually to fill in gaps, to reduce workloads, or to bring in expertise that the company lacks. In this way, it’s a temporary solution that can be scaled up or down as needed.

For example, say you’re a small business that needs to grow but your hiring plan calls for bringing on a new team member every few months. In the meantime, you need to hire someone full time, but hiring a full-time employee means making a long-term commitment. When you need to cover for an employee that is leaving or cover for a temporary increase in the workload, using short-term staff augmentation is an effective way to go.

  • You want to hire someone quick and without the hassle of managing the whole hiring pipeline 
  • You don’t need to nurture or retain a particular talent or employee after a certain period of time and only want the skilled asset for a very specific task
Astronaut image in CTA

When do you use long-term staff augmentation?

We are in an age where the demand for skilled professionals is outstripping the supply. There are several possible approaches to address this, but one of the most important is being able to augment skills in the workforce.

It’s a way of using technology to augment the workforce so that staff can focus on their strengths instead of doing things they don’t want to do or aren’t good at doing. Staff augmentation, in many ways, is about making the enterprise more efficient by removing constraints such as geographical location or skill set of the employee and thereby implementing digital transformation.

A long-term staff augmentation is appropriate when you have a burst of work that requires more resources than your current team can provide. Before deciding on which type of staff augmentation is best for your business, consider the following factors: budgets, timelines, availability, and cultural fit. If you are using staff augmentation to get more done, you do not want to use this method for an extended period of time. It is expensive and the extra work will stress your employees out. You also risk messing with the company culture if more outsiders make up the majority of the team.

Conclusion

You should opt for a staff augmentation model when;

  • The more complex the job, the more the interaction with technology will be able to augment and improve performance 
  • Technology can help us do things we would not otherwise be able to do: automate repetitive tasks and humanize labor where it is necessary
  • When we need to provide guidance or expertise. Technology is beginning to change the way that many industries operate. Doctors, lawyers, and even creative professionals are taking advantage of augmented staff for assistance in their work. As technology advances, the number of people who can take advantage of it will increase.

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