How Tech Team Augmentation Can Save Your Project and Budget
When your project hits a critical phase, deadlines are approaching, and your tech team is suddenly understaffed, you’re faced with a decision: How do you keep everything on track? Tech team augmentation could be the right solution, but how do you ensure it will work out for you?
As someone who’s worked with team augmentation for years, I’ll do my best to explain the ins and outs of augmenting your tech teams. I hope it will help you determine whether it’s the right fit for your project and how to make the most of it.
1. What Is Tech Team Augmentation?
Tech team augmentation is a strategy that allows you to bring in external experts to join your existing team temporarily. Whether you’re facing a sudden skill gap or need extra hands on deck for a big push, this approach gives you the flexibility to scale your team quickly without the hassle of traditional hiring.
The process of augmenting your tech team typically looks like this:
You identify the specific skills or expertise you’re missing.
You get in touch with a team augmentation service provider and inquire for the required talent.
The team augmentation service provider sends you a candidate list.
You choose the talent you like, agree on terms, and sign the contract (usually based on T&M model).
The team augmentation service provider assigns their professionals to your team(s), and the augmented team members get to work, helping you hit your project goals on time and within budget.
2. When to Consider Tech Team Augmentation
You have immediate skill gaps
If you’re missing specific expertise—whether it’s a programming language, ML engineering, or data analysis—team augmentation can fill these gaps quickly. This is particularly useful in industries where technology needs might change suddenly.
Your deadlines are tight
When project deadlines are tight and there’s no time to recruit and onboard new employees, team augmentation provides a great solution. You can bring in experts who are ready to contribute immediately, helping you meet your deadlines without sacrificing quality.
You operate on a project-by-project basis
For projects with a defined start and end date, team augmentation is an ideal match. You bring in the necessary expertise for the duration of the project, and once it’s completed, the augmented team members move on. This is particularly beneficial for companies that operate on a project-by-project basis.
You must retain control over your project
If you need to maintain control over your project but need extra resources, team augmentation is the way to go. You direct the augmented team members as you see fit, ensuring that the project aligns with your vision and objectives.
3. Challenges of Tech Team Augmentation (and How to Overcome Them)
While team augmentation offers numerous benefits, it’s not without its challenges. Here’s how to navigate them:
Integration issues
One of the common challenges with team augmentation is ensuring that the new team members integrate smoothly with your existing staff. Miscommunication, differing work styles, and lack of cohesion can all pose risks.
How to overcome: Start by setting clear expectations and providing a thorough onboarding process for the augmented staff. Regular communication and collaboration tools will help bridge any gaps. Make sure to involve your existing team in the onboarding process so that everyone is on the same page from day one.
Cultural fit difficulty
Cultural differences between your in-house team and the augmented staff can lead to friction and misunderstandings. This, of course, spells more project delays.
How to overcome: Choose an augmentation partner that emphasizes cultural alignment. Since time is critical when augmenting your team, the talent you integrate must already possess strong soft skills to avoid the need for extensive cultural orientation and team-building efforts. Take Softeta, for example: we ensure our developers are trained in soft skills and group dynamics, allowing them to integrate with our client teams from the get-go smoothly.
Overdependence on external talent
Relying too heavily on augmented staff often results in overdependence on external expertise. This becomes problematic when those temporary team members leave.
How to overcome: Use team augmentation to complement your in-house team, not replace it. Choose a partner that prioritizes knowledge transfer and thorough documentation. At Softeta, we ensure our augmented staff not only fill immediate gaps but also work closely with your internal team to share expertise, leaving your team stronger and more self-sufficient in the long run.
4. How Team Augmentation Has Helped Our Clients
Let me share a few real-world examples from Softeta’s work. These success stories show how quickly and efficiently team augmentation can solve immediate skill gaps in different scenarios.
#1: Augmenting Front-End and Back-End Teams for a Leading Cybersecurity Company
NordSecurity, a leading global cybersecurity solutions provider, needed to scale both their front-end and back-end teams quickly. They lacked enough developers to keep up with their immense pace of business growth. With tight deadlines and no time to hire required full-time talent, the company turned to Softeta.
In just a few weeks we managed to assemble and smoothly integrate our experts into several NordSecurity’s teams, allowing our client to stay ahead of their competition in an extremely competitive global VPN market.
#2: Boosting Back-End Delivery Throughput for a Digital Advertising Powerhouse
AdForm, a digital media giant, faced a significant surge in demand during a critical season and needed to quickly improve their backend capacity. They were short on experienced .NET developers, which threatened their ability to manage the increased workload.
As a result, they turned to Softeta for our team augmentation services. In less than two weeks, we provided the skilled back-end developers, seamlessly adding them into AdForm’s team. Softeta’s team augmentation allowed AdForm to handle the increased workload and hit their business growth targets during this crucial period.
#3: Accelerating Project Delivery for a CRM Platform
PortalPro, a mid-sized company in the CRM and order management space, needed to rapidly scale their front-end and back-end systems to meet a tight deadline. Facing challenges with their existing infrastructure and skill gaps, they turned to Softeta for help.
We augmented their team with experienced developers to overhaul their platform, transitioning it to a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and integrating features like Google Maps for geolocation. This allowed PortalPro to launch their enhanced platform on time, significantly improving performance and user experience.
5. How to Make the Most of Team Augmentation
Over the years, while providing team augmentation services to Softeta’s clients, I’ve learned a few key lessons that make the process more successful. Here are some best practices to consider:
Define clear goals
Before bringing in augmented staff, be clear about what you want to achieve. Are you looking to fill a specific skill gap, speed up development, or bring in outside expertise to manage the project more efficiently? Ensure that these goals are communicated clearly to both your internal team and the augmented staff.
Choose the right partner
Not all augmentation services are created equal. It’s crucial to choose a partner who understands your business objectives, has extensive experience, and provides talent that’s both skilled and can seamlessly join your team. For example, at Softeta, we only offer pre-vetted talent who not only possess top-tier skills but also have a proven track record of working effectively as integrated team members.
Maintain control
While the augmented staff should bring in the expertise and additional capacity you need, it’s important to maintain control over the project. Set clear expectations, hold regular check-ins, and keep your internal team engaged. This ensures the project stays in line with your goals and allows for adjustments when needed.
Focus on knowledge transfer
Given that augmented teams are temporary, ensure that knowledge transfer is a priority. This will help your in-house team maintain momentum after the external talent departs. Make use of the added talent while working with them: collect documentation, hold training sessions for your in-house teams, and make sure that any critical knowledge is shared across the team.
6. Is Tech Team Augmentation Right for You?
Tech team augmentation is a game-changer when you need specialized skills, face tight deadlines, or have to manage budget constraints. It’s a flexible, cost-effective way to keep your projects on track without the hassle of hiring full-time staff.
If you’re dealing with a critical project and need quick access to expertise, Softeta’s team augmentation could be exactly what you’re looking for.
We pride ourselves on delivering top-tier talent that’s not only skilled but also a perfect fit for your company culture. Whether you need to fill a specific skill gap or rapidly scale your team, we’re here to help you succeed.