The core strength of any organization lies in the quality of its workforce. A talented workforce drives innovation and contributes to business growth. Besides, employees’ skills play a key role in improving operational efficiency and increasing profitability.
However, finding the best talent with the right expertise is not easy. Employers seek different options to expand their teams. Two options are currently popular in this regard: Staff augmentation and consulting.
Staff augmentation refers to the process of recruiting qualified resources on a short or long-term basis. Consulting, on the other hand, is an activity where experts share their valuable advice to help companies meet their desired corporate goals. Both models are very effective; nevertheless, the choice depends on project requirements, industry, budget, etc.
Let’s conduct a detailed comparison between staff augmentation vs consulting to identify their key differences and discuss their importance for businesses.
What is Staff Augmentation?
Staff augmentation is an agile approach to expanding teams by hiring resources from third parties. The augmented resources collaborate with the in-house team to achieve project goals.
The model allows companies to fill their skill gaps or increase their workforce in specific projects. Besides, employers don’t require long-term commitments or bear the liabilities of full-time permanent employees. As a result, they can reduce their operational expenses and accelerate time-to-market.
Staff augmentation is normally used by IT companies to scale up technical capabilities in a short period. Businesses can hire experienced IT staff augmentation professionals and access the global talent pool. Such a model will be useful in delivering projects with short-term needs.
Advantages of Staff Augmentation
Here are a few benefits of the staff augmentation model:
- Access to Specialized Skillset: Probably the greatest benefit to be gained from staff augmentation is access to highly specialized skills. IT companies can access very specific, niche expertise in any domain, from cloud computing and cybersecurity to data science, without necessarily hiring a full-time specialist.
- Cost-Effective: Staff augmentation is more cost-effective than traditional hiring when it comes to meeting short-term staffing needs. Employers need not bear the costs associated with staff recruitment, training, and salaries. Instead, they pay for time and skills utilized on a particular project only.
- Flexibility: This model gives businesses the flexibility to scale their workforce up or down based on the needs and project requirements. It’s a perfect way to manage your work with fluctuating loads.
- Reduced Time to Hire: Since staff augmentation agencies have a pool of pre-vetted professionals, the time to hire is reduced significantly. Hence, an IT company can start working on projects as early as possible.
- Project Control: Contrary to full-project outsourcing, the company manages to retain control over its projects through staff augmentation. Augmented staff works under the supervision of the company and thus complies with the internal processes and standards.
When to Use Staff Augmentation?
Staff augmentation would be an ideal solution in cases where a company needs to rapidly scale up a team and meet project needs. It is a short-term strategy used for very specific projects or applications.
When the in-house team lacks the required skills or the project has a tight deadline, the company cannot afford to engage in a long-winded recruitment process. Similarly, those companies should use this option that wants to retain full control of project implementation along with team expansion.
What is Consulting?
Consulting refers to onboarding third-party experts or consultancy firms. They provide advice and solutions for complex business problems. The consulting services are applied mainly in strategic planning, process improvement, technology implementation, and system integration.
Unlike staff augmentation, which adds more team members, consulting is focused on guiding the resolution of specific business problems. Consultants come with valuable experience and industry expertise. They are instrumental to companies trying to resolve issues, achieve process efficiency, and reinforce best practices.
Most IT consulting firms provide this service on a continuum from high-level strategic staffing.
Benefits of Consulting
IT consultants have such in-depth industry expertise. They know how to guide companies through complex situations and make strategic decisions. Key benefits of this approach include:
- Objective Assessment: A consultant provides an objective assessment of the current state of processes and systems within a company. They pinpoint those inefficiencies and gaps impartially and discover new opportunities for improvement.
- Best Practices Access: IT Consultants work with clients from all industries. This exposure gives them the ability to adopt best practices and tried-and-tested methodologies that a business needs to remain competitive.
- Focus on the Core Business: Companies can pass on complex IT challenges to consultants and focus on core business activities. This approach lets the internal teams invest their time in what they are good at. Consultants, on the other hand, can deal with the technical complexities.
- Long-Term Partnerships: These engagements of consulting grow into long-term partnerships. Businesses can avail of continued support and guidance during growth and evolution. The relationship could eventually lead to a better alignment and a more successful outcome.
- Risk Mitigation: IT consultants can mitigate the risks associated with new technology implementations and cybersecurity. Their expertise ensures the identification of possible problems and fixing them on time.
When to Use Consulting?
IT Consulting is valuable in situations where companies need professional advice and strategic guidance. These can be long-term projects involving major changes, such as digital transformation, system integration, etc.
Similarly, they can also help organizations develop enterprise-wide IT strategies. The model is valuable for gaining the objectivity needed to assess situations outside the expertise of the in-house team.
Staff Augmentation vs Consulting: Key Differences
Major differences between staff augmentation and consulting are:
- Control and Management: In staff augmentation, the company has full control over the augmented staff who works under the employer’s supervision. in the case of consultants, however, they are relatively independent and open to suggestions. Employers have very minimal control or direct influence from the company’s side.
- Time and Duration: Staff augmentation is a short-term engagement nature. It can address temporary gaps in competencies or provide additional resources for certain projects. Nevertheless, consulting engagements are long-term in nature. Hence, they deal with strategic areas that require sustained support and expertise.
- Cost Structure: In most cases, the cost structure of staff augmentation is pretty straightforward. It typically depends on the hourly or project-based rates charged by the augmented staff. The consulting fees are a bit complicated since they have an element of retainers or fixed project costs and performance-related benefits.
- Level of Expertise: Staff augmentation offers skilled professionals who work on a particular job. Consulting, on the other hand, brings in proven expertise in strategic planning and problem-solving. Having experience across industries makes consultants so important when handling complex challenges.
- Outcome Focus: Staff augmentation is focused more towards the completion of tasks and finishing projects. Its success can be measured through timely delivery. Consulting, however, enshrines focus on the outcome. The success would be based on strategic objective achievements or business improvements.
- Team Integration: Augmented staff normally integrates directly into existing teams who work with other internal employees. Consultants typically operate fairly independently and only work closely with executives and other stakeholders driving strategic efforts.
Final Verdict
Staff augmentation and consulting are both useful staffing solutions for IT companies. Their applicability depends on the nature of the business and project needs.
Staff augmentation is perfect for scaling teams swiftly, covering skills gaps, or just filling up the resource gap in a short-term project need. Conversely, consulting works best in the most complex business situations that need expert advice and strategic direction.
Business executives should understand the major differences between staff augmentation vs consulting to effectively manage their staffing needs. From augmenting your workforce with specialized skills to expert consulting services, making the right choice contributes to long-term success.
