Staff augmentation and outsourcing: Are they different processes?

Using external employees to cover temporary requirements is an everyday practice for several companies worldwide. Furthermore, it is a practice that you can perform with two activities: staff augmentation and outsourcing. Indeed, they look substantially similar at first. So, you must be currently asking yourself: Are they different processes?

In this article, we will answer this common question about staff augmentation and outsourcing. Here, you will learn what each process is, how you can use each one of them, and their fundamental differences. Therefore, you can resolve your doubts by reviewing the following topics:

1. What is outsourcing?
2. How can you apply outsourcing in your company?
3. What is staff augmentation?
4. How can you use staff augmentation in your business?
5. Which benefits and drawbacks can your company get from staff augmentation and outsourcing?
6. Which process between staff augmentation and outsourcing is better for your company?
7. Where can you find more information about staff augmentation and outsourcing?

1. What is outsourcing?

Improving productivity in your business often requires seeking the help of other companies. Essentially, they can assist you with activities that your permanent staff has not the time or knowledge to perform. However, your organization can get such help in several ways.

One of the ways you can receive this assistance is by hiring firms that will carry out your short-term projects. Indeed, they will assess your requirements and will provide you with the staff you need for it. In other words, you can use outsourcing.

This way, your company can either expand or deal with seasonal occurrences without needing to increase your permanent staff’s workload. Moreover, you will not need to hire additional full-time employees through a staffing agency either. Undoubtedly, your company can enjoy excellent benefits by outsourcing staff.

Above all, staff outsourcing in Dubai or elsewhere can help you in many sectors of your company. For instance, you can seek the services of outsourced technical staff to assist you in your expansion projects. After the project completion, you can rescind their services without further expenses.

2. How can you apply outsourcing in your company?

Staff augmentation and outsourcing can be complex tasks to perform. When it comes to outsourcing, you should hire firms specializing in staff outsourcing in Dubai and around the world. They will have all the expertise and knowledge you need to apply outsourcing properly in your organization.

However, it implies that you evaluate your company’s operations and future projections to define your requirements adequately. After all, your outsourcing staff firm will not be able to help you without knowing your business’s exact needs. Their job’s success relies heavily on it.

On the other hand, you must also take the time to choose the right outsourcing staff firm for your company. Fortunately, you can find many outsourced services in Dubai and worldwide to choose from. You only need to assess each of your options from financial and operational perspectives.

Furthermore, you can find many processes in your business than can be outsourced. For instance, your company can benefit tremendously from outsourcing its recruitment process. It is a practice that can allow you more efficient and accurate recruitment of candidates for your available roles.

3. What is staff augmentation?

Between staff augmentation and outsourcing, you learned a bit about one of them. Now, it is time you discover what the other one is all about. First, you can discover that they both involve seeking assistance from external staff. Their difference relies on how you define their assignments.

With staff augmentation, you do not think about your required tasks, you think about your required skills. In other words, you will hire specialists that will provide you with their skills during specific times through this practice. It is more about helping your team by adding skilled professionals.

As a result, they will give your workforce the professional advice they need to carry out their projects or activities. Their vast experience in specific fields will be a substantially appreciated assistance for your employees. You can now see how it is different from outsourcing staff.

Moreover, you can cover any of your required skills by using staff augmentation. For example, you can get the help of external sales staff to give your team knowledge about attracting customers successfully. As with outsourcing, you can also rescind their services after your team acquires such knowledge.

4. How can you use staff augmentation in your business?

As its definition suggests, you need to search for skill deficiencies in your company to use staff augmentation. That is to say, you should look for activities where the right word of a skilled professional can be helpful. As a result, you can make such activities deliver more productive results.

Here, companies specializing in staff outsourcing in Dubai or elsewhere will not be able to help you. Indeed, staff augmentation is more the job of a temporary staffing agency. They will know how to search for and recruit the skilled specialists you need for a specific time.

On the other hand, you must consider how each temporary staffing agency deals with problems to choose the right one. To do this properly, you should learn about the top staffing issues your company can face nowadays. Consequently, you will hire an agency that can help you in any scenario.

In short, staff augmentation can help your business in a more specific way than outsourcing does. Hence, you should use it to attack more specific temporary requirements. On the contrary, you should look the other way if your needs are more general.

5. Which benefits and drawbacks can your company get from staff augmentation and outsourcing?

Staff augmentation and outsourcing are two tasks that look similar but are not the same. Logically, they can also benefit and affect your company differently. To compare them adequately, you may find it helpful to analyze them from the same vantage points.

Therefore, you must know which benefits and drawbacks your company can get from each process. It will be a proper assessment that will allow you to choose which process you need the most. Indeed, you can even end up requiring both in your organization.

In this sense, we prepared information about three features where your company can be beneficiated or affected by staff augmentation and outsourcing. They will allow you to take a closer look at their differences and how your business will react to them.

Similarly, you can find benefits and drawbacks from several activities in the business world of today. For instance, you may find it interesting to know the advantages and disadvantages of working for temporary staffing firms.

Let us show you the benefits and drawbacks your company can get from staff augmentation and outsourcing:

5.1 Costs and responsibilities

Your external employees’ level of responsibility and the expenses they imply are tremendously different from staff augmentation and outsourcing. Essentially, it is because their goals are also substantially different. Thus, your financial status and way of operations will define your selection between both processes.

When it comes to staff augmentation, their responsibility is low because they do not directly intervene in your company’s activities. Their role only implies assisting your staff with their skills. On the contrary, when you use outsourcing staff, their responsibility is indeed higher.

In terms of costs, both processes are incredibly similar. External firms will charge you almost the same for their services because they are providing you with temporary staff. That is to say, both your outsourcing staff firm and your temporary staffing agency work by performing recruitment processes.

Nevertheless, the cost that implies staff augmentation and outsourcing for your company vary depending on the required knowledge and skills. For instance, it will cost you more to get outsourced IT support staff than to hire temporary receptionists. It is because IT expertise is more expensive.

5.2 Organizational culture

Staff augmentation and outsourcing interact incredibly differently with your organizational culture. In other words, the level of bonding between your full-time workers and your external staff change with every methodology. It can affect your company in both positive and negative ways.

First, your external employees provided by outsourcing services in Dubai will spend a lot of time in your workplace. Above all, it will develop an environment of knowledge exchange and cooperation. Consequently, you will end up with a great atmosphere and team spirit in your organization.

On the contrary, your employees hired by your staff augmentation model will often not identify with your business. After all, they know they sooner or later will be changed to another project or another company. As a result, they commonly have to deal with demotivation.

Of the two of them, you will most probably find some potential full-time employees by using outsourcing staff. Indeed, it is a way your company can benefit from utilizing contract-to-hire employees.

5.3 Insights and knowledge

One major disadvantage staff augmentation has regarding outsourcing is their level of knowledge about your business. Their roles involve using their skills to help your team in specific tasks. Therefore, they do not need to learn about your company and how it operates.

On the other hand, your external staff needs information about your business when you use staff outsourcing in Dubai. It will allow them to handle your needs in a personalized way, giving you exactly what you require. Logically, it is an essential part of their provided services.

Let us show you an example of this feature. Imagine that your permanent staff wants to carry out an events schedule. With staff augmentation, you will only need external employees for specific parts, such as sound or entrance control. They do not need to know what the events are for.

Now, with the use of outsourcing services in Dubai, you will hire an entire team for carrying out the events. It involves getting the assistance of outsourced event staffing for your schedule. Hence, they need to know everything about your business and the goals of the events.

6. Which process between staff augmentation and outsourcing is better for your company?

The answer to such a question is simple but also complex: It is up to you to know it. In essence, you need to evaluate your company’s requirements properly to figure out if you need staff augmentation or outsourcing.

Most importantly, you must ask yourself: Can my staff do it with help? Do I need to outsource their duties?

Furthermore, you should also have defined what you want for your company in the future. Do you want to improve its growth? You need to use outsourcing staff. On the contrary, do you need to upgrade your full-time workers’ productivity? Then, staff augmentation is what you are looking for.

You are also free to use both in your organization at the same time and even for the same projects. There is no limit on where you can use staff augmentation and outsourcing in your company.

7. Where can you find more information about staff augmentation and outsourcing?

Seeking competitive advantages against your competitors involves using all the tools you have available for it. When it comes to external help, you can use it for specific skills you need or for executing big projects. In other words, you can apply two different models: staff augmentation and outsourcing.

As we stated earlier, using outsourcing implies hiring outsourcing staff firms, and using staff augmentation requires temporary staffing agencies. Fortunately, you can hire a company that can help you with both models: Connect Staff. For us, the success and growth of your company is our most important mission.

You can know everything about staff augmentation and outsourcing by letting us show you how to do both. So, take a minute to contact us and see how our services can help your company. Get in touch with us with a call at +971 43 316 688 or with an email at contact@connectstaff.ae.

You do not need staff augmentation and outsourcing to know how amazing our job offers at The Talent Point are. Thus, apply for one by sending us your CV. Go to thetalentpoint.com and start improving your professional career. Remember, any CV you send to contact@thetalentpoint.com is in safe hands.