Balancing Permanent and Augmented Team Members

Need for a Augmented Team Members

A scalable workforce is one that grows and shrinks based on business needs. With unpredictable market changes, companies can't afford to rely solely on a permanent workforce. This is where team augmentation comes into play. By incorporating extended teams through workforce augmentation services, companies can quickly fill skill gaps or increase team size for specific projects.
Balancing a scalable workforce allows companies to:

• Adapt quickly to changing workloads
• Optimise costs by expanding only when needed
• Access specialised skills for unique tasks or projects

This approach not only increases flexibility, but also ensures that companies remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment.

Benefits of Balancing Permanent and Augmented Teams

Combining permanent staff with augmented team members offers several benefits.
Cost Efficiency
Maintaining a large permanent team is expensive. Salaries, benefits, and overhead add up quickly. By team augmentation, companies only pay for the additional skills they need, and only when they need them. This approach reduces long-term costs and eliminates the cost of onboarding and training permanent employees for temporary roles.
Access to Specialised Skills
Some projects require highly specialised knowledge that may not be available in-house. Hiring full-time specialists for short-term needs is impractical. Augmented teams offer access to top talent with specific skills, allowing companies to bring in experts on-demand and complete projects faster and more efficiently.
Flexibility and Speed
Business requirements can change at any time. By extending a team, companies can quickly scale up or down their workforce. This flexibility allows them to adapt to market changes, take advantage of new opportunities, or meet project deadlines without overloading their core team.
Improved Focus for Core Teams
Bringing in augmented team members to take on specific tasks or projects allows permanent employees to focus on their core responsibilities. This clear division of roles increases productivity and helps avoid burnout among full-time employees.

Challenges of Balancing Permanent and Augmented Team Members

While there are significant benefits to expanding your team, there are also challenges. Here's what companies should be prepared for.
Integration and Communication
Extended teams often come from different backgrounds and may work remotely. Integrating them with your permanent team can be challenging. Communication barriers, cultural differences, and different work styles can lead to misunderstandings.
Consistency in Quality and Performance
Maintaining the same standard across permanent and extended staff is critical. Companies must ensure that extended team members understand the company's quality standards, processes, and goals. Without a clear onboarding process, extended team members may struggle to achieve their desired results.
Security and Privacy Concerns
When working with external staff, data security becomes a priority. Sharing sensitive information with extended teams can pose risks if not managed properly. Companies need to develop robust data protection policies and ensure that all extended team members are aware of and adhere to security protocols.
Reliance on Augmented Teams
While staff augmentation services provide flexibility, relying too much on external teams can be problematic. Companies risk losing critical knowledge and experience if these enhanced team members leave or if they do not fully integrate with the permanent team.

More in our article: https://instandart.com/blog/team-augmentation/balancing-permanent-and-augmented-team-members/