Staff Augmentation

Staff Augmentation is a solution designed to help companies quickly and cost-effectively build or upskill their Salesforce teams while maintaining high technical quality. By hiring skilled contractors for 40 hours a week, businesses can accomplish critical tasks without the lengthy hiring process, onboarding delays, or higher costs associated with full-time employees.

This model allows you to scale your Salesforce team efficiently, avoiding the complexities and administrative overhead of traditional hiring processes.

While still relatively unfamiliar to many executives and hiring managers, Staff Augmentation is gaining popularity. It enables businesses to create an agile, flexible, and budget-friendly Salesforce team based on their specific needs.

Staff Augmentation often involves hiring offshore talent, typically facilitated through a reliable partner with expertise in this area and the knowledge of the local market. With this model, you can have a fully operational “in-house” team within days, significantly reducing costs and timelines compared to traditional hiring methods.

 

Who Should Use Salesforce Staff Augmentation?

Staff Augmentation, once popular with large enterprises, is now gaining traction among mid-sized businesses and startups due to the rise of remote work. It’s ideal for companies that want to handle Salesforce strategy in-house but need external expertise for execution and maintenance.

Common roles sourced through Staff Augmentation include Salesforce Engineers, Developers, Admins, Technical Architects, and Solution Architects. This model works well for tasks like managing day-to-day Salesforce operations, where minimal strategy is needed.

Unlike Managed Services, which are suited for businesses looking to outsource everything, Staff Augmentation is for those who know what they need done and just need the right talent to execute it.

Benefits of Salesforce staff augmentation

Salesforce staff augmentation provides businesses the opportunity to customize their engagements to fit client and stakeholder needs.

  • Budget flexibility

Hiring a full-time employee isn’t always in the cards when it comes to staying within budget boundaries. Full-time employees require the added cost of benefits like insurance, PTO, training, and more. Many companies circumnavigate those requirements by hiring contractors from staffing firms that cover those administrative needs, thereby increasing headcount without officially hitting defined resource restraints. 

  • Continuity

Team managers or Salesforce admins can focus on the work at hand as they oversee the project responsibilities and collaboration of an extended team, without the hassle of coordinating administrative duties and employment agreements as their team size ebbs and flows to meet project needs.

  • Autonomy

You get to choose the candidates that best meet your needs, criteria, and timeframe. And you still manage the contractors with the methods your business prefers. There is no need to differentiate management styles between contractors and full-time employees. When the skills of one contractor are no longer needed, you can source a new contract with the next skills required for project completion.

But what about the long-term?

Staff augmentation is no longer just a solution to budget constraints or short-term needs. With the rise of cloud technology, remote work, and widespread acceptance of flexible work locations, businesses now have the flexibility to extend contracts for longer durations at a lower cost. As business systems evolve and are maintained over time, the knowledge about these systems and associated processes is often managed by augmented staff. Transitioning this knowledge to a full-time employee can require additional investment.

Furthermore, businesses face the challenge of managing attrition among these specialized staff members. These issues often result in companies relying on long-term contractors at high costs. The real challenge then becomes: How can a business maintain and enhance its existing systems, while also expanding its capabilities and integrating new technologies, all within an acceptable budget?

Common Challenges (And How to Overcome Them)

Staff Augmentation can seem daunting for many organizations, especially when it comes to integrating offshore talent. The two main concerns are time zone differences and hiring in unfamiliar markets. Here’s how to address them:

  • Time Zone Challenges
    Companies often worry about delays in communication when hiring offshore talent in different time zones, such as Salesforce developers in India. However, reputable agencies ensure their contractors are available during at least part of the client’s business hours. Clear communication expectations should be set from the start regarding availability and response times.

Hiring in Unfamiliar Markets
Recruiting offshore can be risky and time-consuming, especially without local knowledge. To mitigate this, partner with an agency that understands the local labor market and has established networks. Agencies like FoundHQ, with strong local connections and referral networks, can help ensure you hire the right talent with minimal risk.

How Staff Augmentation is Conducted by a Project Management Company

Staff augmentation, when conducted by a project management company, follows a systematic process to ensure businesses gain the right expertise, seamlessly integrate new talent, and achieve project goals efficiently. Here’s a breakdown of how a project management company typically handles staff augmentation:

  1. Understanding Client Needs: The first step involves thoroughly understanding the client’s requirements, business objectives, and the scope of the project. This helps the project management company identify the specific skills, roles, and expertise needed to complement the existing team.
  2. Skill Mapping and Resource Selection: Based on the client’s needs, the project management company then identifies the right resources (e.g., developers, designers, project managers) from its talent pool or external partners. They match candidates to the required roles based on technical skills, experience, and domain expertise.
  3. Recruitment and Onboarding: Once the appropriate candidates are selected, the project management company manages the recruitment process, including vetting, interviews, and negotiations. After hiring, they handle the onboarding process, ensuring new staff are familiar with the client’s workflows, culture, tools, and objectives.
  4. Integration with Existing Teams: A key component of staff augmentation is smooth integration. The project management company ensures that augmented staff members are effectively integrated into the client’s team. This involves defining communication protocols, setting expectations, and ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned in terms of objectives, roles, and timelines.
  5. Ongoing Support and Monitoring: After the augmented staff is onboarded, the project management company continues to monitor the progress of the project. They provide ongoing support, conduct performance reviews, and facilitate communication between the augmented team and the client to ensure the work is on track and meets quality standards.
  6. Adjustments and Scaling: If necessary, the project management company can adjust staffing levels or skill sets based on evolving project needs. This may involve adding more personnel or shifting responsibilities to ensure the project is progressing smoothly and meeting deadlines.

In summary, a project management company ensures the entire staff augmentation process is aligned with the client’s goals, from identifying needs and recruiting the right talent to integrating new resources into the team and providing continuous support. This approach allows businesses to scale their workforce flexibly, without long-term commitments, and optimize project delivery.

Team Augmentation vs. Resource Augmentation

  • Team Augmentation involves expanding your existing team by adding skilled professionals to work alongside your current employees. This model allows businesses to scale their capabilities quickly without the commitment of hiring full-time employees. It is particularly useful when a project requires specialized knowledge or when a company needs to increase workforce capacity temporarily. Team augmentation integrates contractors or freelancers seamlessly into the team structure, maintaining collaboration and continuity.
  • Resource Augmentation, on the other hand, focuses on adding specific resources or expertise to address a particular need within the organization. This model is typically used when a company needs to supplement its existing resources in areas such as Salesforce development, IT infrastructure, or specific technical skills. Resource augmentation may involve bringing in individual professionals or specialized skill sets for a defined period or project, often with a focus on completing tasks that require specific expertise.

Both models offer flexibility and cost-effectiveness but differ in scope. Team augmentation is more about expanding team dynamics, while resource augmentation focuses on fulfilling specific roles or needs.

Staff Augmentation is a solution designed to help companies quickly and cost-effectively build or upskill their Salesforce teams while maintaining high technical quality. By hiring skilled contractors for 40 hours a week, businesses can accomplish critical tasks without the long hiring process, onboarding delays, or higher costs associated with full-time employees.

This model allows you to scale your Salesforce team efficiently, avoiding the complexities and administrative overhead of traditional hiring processes.

While still relatively unfamiliar to many executives and hiring managers, Staff Augmentation is gaining popularity. It enables businesses to create an agile, flexible, and budget-friendly Salesforce team based on their specific needs.

Staff Augmentation often involves hiring offshore talent, typically facilitated through a reliable partner with expertise in this area and knowledge of the local market. With this model, you can have a fully operational “in-house” team within days, significantly reducing costs and timelines compared to traditional hiring methods.

 

Who Should Use Salesforce Staff Augmentation?

Staff Augmentation, once popular with large enterprises, is now gaining traction among mid-sized businesses and startups due to the rise of remote work. It’s ideal for companies that want to handle Salesforce strategy in-house but need external expertise for execution and maintenance.

Common roles sourced through Staff Augmentation include Salesforce Engineers, Developers, Admins, Technical Architects, and Solution Architects. This model works well for tasks like managing day-to-day Salesforce operations, where minimal strategy is needed.

Unlike Managed Services, which are suited for businesses looking to outsource everything, Staff Augmentation is for those who know what they need done and just need the right talent to execute it.

Benefits of Salesforce staff augmentation

Salesforce staff augmentation provides businesses the opportunity to customize their engagements to fit client and stakeholder needs.

  • Budget flexibility
    Hiring a full-time employee isn’t always in the cards when it comes to staying within budget boundaries. Full-time employees require the added cost of benefits like insurance, PTO, training, and more. Many companies circumnavigate those requirements by hiring contractors from staffing firms that cover those administrative needs, thereby increasing headcount without officially hitting defined resource restraints. 

  • Continuity
    Team managers or Salesforce admins can focus on the work at hand as they oversee the project responsibilities and collaboration of an extended team, without the hassle of coordinating administrative duties and employment agreements as their team size ebbs and flows to meet project needs.

  • Autonomy
    You get to choose the candidates that best meet your needs, criteria, and timeframe. And you still manage the contractors with the methods your business prefers. There is no need to differentiate management styles between contractors and full-time employees. When the skills of one contractor are no longer needed, you can source a new contractor with the next skills required for project completion.

But what about the long-term?

Staff augmentation is no longer just a solution for budget constraints or short-term needs. With the rise of cloud technology, remote work, and widespread acceptance of flexible work locations, businesses now have the flexibility to extend contracts for longer durations at a lower cost. As business systems evolve and are maintained over time, the knowledge about these systems and associated processes is often managed by augmented staff. Transitioning this knowledge to a full-time employee can require additional investment.

Furthermore, businesses face the challenge of managing attrition among these specialized staff members. These issues often result in companies relying on long-term contractors at high costs. The real challenge then becomes: How can a business maintain and enhance its existing systems, while also expanding its capabilities and integrating new technologies, all within an acceptable budget?

Common Challenges (And How to Overcome Them)

Staff Augmentation can seem daunting for many organizations, especially when it comes to integrating offshore talent. The two main concerns are time zone differences and hiring in unfamiliar markets. Here’s how to address them:

  • Time Zone Challenges
    Companies often worry about delays in communication when hiring offshore talent in different time zones, such as Salesforce developers in India. However, reputable agencies ensure their contractors are available during at least part of the client’s business hours. Clear communication expectations should be set from the start regarding availability and response times.

  • Hiring in Unfamiliar Markets 
    Recruiting offshore can be risky and time-consuming, especially without local knowledge. To mitigate this, partner with an agency that understands the local labor market and has established networks. Agencies like FoundHQ, with strong local connections and referral networks, can help ensure you hire the right talent with minimal risk.

Team Augmentation vs. Resource Augmentation

  • Team Augmentation involves expanding your existing team by adding skilled professionals to work alongside your current employees. This model allows businesses to scale their capabilities quickly without the commitment of hiring full-time employees. It is particularly useful when a project requires specialized knowledge or when a company needs to increase workforce capacity temporarily. Team augmentation integrates contractors or freelancers seamlessly into the team structure, maintaining collaboration and continuity.

  • Resource Augmentation, on the other hand, focuses on adding specific resources or expertise to address a particular need within the organization. This model is typically used when a company needs to supplement its existing resources in areas such as Salesforce development, IT infrastructure, or specific technical skills. Resource augmentation may involve bringing in individual professionals or specialized skill sets for a defined period or project, often with a focus on completing tasks that require specific expertise.

Both models offer flexibility and cost-effectiveness but differ in scope. Team augmentation is more about expanding team dynamics, while resource augmentation focuses on fulfilling specific roles or needs.

How Staff Augmentation is Conducted by a Project Management Company

Staff augmentation, when conducted by a project management company, follows a systematic process to ensure businesses gain the right expertise, seamlessly integrate new talent, and achieve project goals efficiently. Here’s a breakdown of how a project management company typically handles staff augmentation:

  1. Understanding Client Needs: The first step involves thoroughly understanding the client’s requirements, business objectives, and the scope of the project. This helps the project management company identify the specific skills, roles, and expertise needed to complement the existing team.

  2. Skill Mapping and Resource Selection: Based on the client’s needs, the project management company then identifies the right resources (e.g., developers, designers, project managers) from its talent pool or external partners. They match candidates to the required roles based on technical skills, experience, and domain expertise.

  3. Recruitment and Onboarding: Once the appropriate candidates are selected, the project management company manages the recruitment process, including vetting, interviews, and negotiations. After hiring, they handle the onboarding process, ensuring new staff are familiar with the client’s workflows, culture, tools, and objectives.

  4. Integration with Existing Teams: A key component of staff augmentation is smooth integration. The project management company ensures that augmented staff members are effectively integrated into the client’s team. This involves defining communication protocols, setting expectations, and ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned in terms of objectives, roles, and timelines.

  5. Ongoing Support and Monitoring: After the augmented staff is onboarded, the project management company continues to monitor the progress of the project. They provide ongoing support, conduct performance reviews, and facilitate communication between the augmented team and the client to ensure the work is on track and meets quality standards.

  6. Adjustments and Scaling: If necessary, the project management company can adjust staffing levels or skill sets based on evolving project needs. This may involve adding more personnel or shifting responsibilities to ensure the project is progressing smoothly and meeting deadlines.

In summary, a project management company ensures the entire staff augmentation process is aligned with the client’s goals, from identifying needs and recruiting the right talent to integrating new resources into the team and providing continuous support. This approach allows businesses to scale their workforce flexibly, without long-term commitments, and optimize project delivery.