A surprising 80% of U.S. businesses ramped up their reliance on staff augmentation (otherwise known as “contingent labor” or “temporary staffing”), according to a PwC survey. This statistic speaks volumes about how corporations, when pushed to their limits, not only consider downsizing but also look to more agile and innovative workforce solutions.
Let’s unpack why staff augmentation has become the go-to strategy for businesses seeking workforce agility and expertise. We’ll also explore its numerous benefits, such as cost-effectiveness, access to specialized talent and enhanced flexibility. By the end of this piece, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how staff augmentation is a strategic approach to workforce management and could provide you with a nimble way to get work done on time.
Beyond Traditional Boundaries: The Evolution and Impact of Staff Augmentation
Let’s say you run a corporate learning and development (L&D) department that is gearing up to develop an innovative training module for a key line of business stakeholders. The project is ambitious and requires specialized skills in instructional design that your team lacks. The deadline is tight, and the stakes are high. The solution? You could opt for staff augmentation to swiftly bring in expert instructional designers to fill the skills gap and keep the project on track. This isn’t a rare occurrence but a common trend across various industries that are acting successfully to meet resourcing challenges.
Staff augmentation stands as a flexible outsourcing strategy, enabling businesses to hire talent based on tactical needs and critical timelines. This approach has become a standard in efficiently acquiring specific skills and scaling teams, especially for hard-to-find roles in areas such as instructional design, project management and graphic design.
From its inception as a means to cover short-term vacancies, staff augmentation has transformed into a strategic tool for businesses seeking agility and specialized expertise. This shift reflects the evolving nature of the workforce, where adaptability and specialized knowledge are increasingly valued.
Finding high performing talent is difficult! A 2023 survey by Manpower Group found that 75% of employers worldwide struggle to hire highly skilled candidates. This difficulty in sourcing talent through traditional channels underscores the necessity and effectiveness of engaging a staff augmentation service as a solution to talent shortages in today’s dynamic business environment.
Agility, Economy and Expertise: The Triple Advantage of Staff Augmentation
The rising trend of staff augmentation in corporate sectors is a strategic decision driven by multiple compelling factors. Let’s explore why more and more companies are turning to this model.
Agility: Flexibility and Scalability
One of the key reasons behind staff augmentation’s popularity is the unparalleled flexibility and scalability it offers. The ability to quickly adapt to personnel or market changes or project demands is crucial. Staff augmentation enables companies to scale their workforce up based on current needs, sidestepping the long-term commitments and overheads of traditional hiring. There are times when team augmentation is needed to kick-start a project, even when the approval to hire a full-time employee isn’t in place. This adaptability is crucial, especially for L&D departments facing fluctuating business demands.
Economy: Cost-Effectiveness and Time-to-Hire Benefits
Another significant advantage of staff augmentation is cost-effectiveness. Traditional hiring processes are often lengthy and expensive, involving various costs, from advertising to recruiting to training new employees on everything full-time employees need to know. Missing time-to-market is costly and a key driver in the growing preference for staff augmentation. In most cases, if you need supplementary talent, you need them to get the job done — so time is of the essence. A focused L&D staff augmentation vendor can provide access to ready-to-work professionals faster and without the associated hiring costs. This approach can be more economically viable, especially for short-term projects or when specialized skills are needed only for a specific duration.
Expertise: Access to Specialized Talent Solutions
Staff augmentation also allows companies to source highly specialized skills you lack but need on your team. This access is invaluable in L&D, where specific expertise can make a significant difference in project outcomes.
Staff Augmentation: An Agile Part of Your L&D Workforce Management
From providing unparalleled flexibility and scalability to offering cost-effective solutions and access to specialized talent, staff augmentation addresses the dynamic needs of today’s corporate world. At the core of this trend lies the recognition of its essential value — allowing you to fill a talent gap to accomplish a time-sensitive project that needs to launch.
As we look toward the future, staff augmentation is expected to play an increasingly significant role in shaping workforce strategies. The question is not if staff augmentation will continue to grow, but how will you leverage this nimble resourcing tool and identify the right vendor to partner with for your temporary staffing needs?
SweetRush is a unique staffing vendor in the L&D space because they are L&D experts with an intimate understanding of talent and what it takes to hit the ground running. And they are renowned for a culture of caring and an ability to attract high-performing talent.
You can read more about their talent solutions here.
