In 2022, 70% of businesses worldwide faced a tech talent shortage. So, it’s unsurprising that many companies began looking into nontraditional employment options, such as staff augmentation.
This is a highly beneficial practice that allows businesses to enhance their teams with skilled professionals while maintaining complete control over projects. It’s also a cost-effective solution since you’re expanding your team with experienced members who don’t require costly training and hiring processes.
And, for the most outstanding outcomes, it’s best to ensure you’ve done every step of staff augmentation correctly ― especially the onboarding. This is the stage at which augmented professionals truly become your team members. If you do everything well, they will sync up perfectly, operating like a well-oiled machine and delivering outstanding results.
Why is onboarding important in staff augmentation?
Effective onboarding is a vital component of the staff augmentation process. Just like with the introduction of your permanent team members, the goal is to make collaborators feel welcome and comfortable.
When a company makes an effort to create a great onboarding of staff augmentation teams, that significantly contributes to the project’s success. Augmented professionals will be motivated to commit to their duties and deliver outstanding performance.
Therefore, you should invest your time in learning how to onboard staff augmentation teams or improve this process within your organization.
How to successfully onboard staff augmentation teams
Start onboarding before the project starts
Welcoming your augmented team members should start before their first day. You can use this “pre-boarding” period to send information about your company or provide useful links regarding the project they’ll be working on.
Communicating meeting times and other scheduling details is also a good practice. This way, your augmented teams will know exactly what to expect from the collaboration. As a result, they’ll be prepared and have a seamless and stress-free start.
Prep the current team members
Imagine entering a new group of people without anyone knowing that you’re joining them in the first place. Awkward, right? Although augmented collaborators typically work remotely, it’s still crucial to adequately prepare your current teams.
As soon as you start looking for augmented professionals, inform the team. Also, explain why there’s a need for a new team member. This kind of transparency will eliminate people’s concerns regarding the security of their positions and motivate them to welcome and accept augmented teams.
Establish a culture of openness and communication
Hold the introduction meeting to assist augmented teams in understanding better the goals you seek to achieve. Clarify your company’s principles, introduce all team members, and ensure everyone’s roles and expectations are clear.
Furthermore, clearly define communication tools and terms. It’s best to set up augmented teams’ communication channel accounts and schedule meetings and deadlines in advance. This is especially critical when collaborating with extended teams in different time zones since you must verify that working days and hours suit everyone.
Assign managers for augmented teams
Most vendors have project managers on their part, but you should have in-house project managers as well. These people will be your single point of contact for all project details and communication with augmented staff.
Managers should hold meetings, answer questions about the product, and monitor progress. They help minimize friction and ensure everything goes according to a predetermined plan and agreement.
Continually assess the onboarding of staff augmentation teams
People work most productively when they have a sense of purpose and belonging. And augmented professionals are no exception. Therefore, you’ll need to continually integrate them into your operations, provide adequate support, and keep them on the same page as the rest of the team.
Here is a brief list of requirements that you should meet in every staff augmentation onboarding process:
- Transparent project plan
- Precise roles descriptions
- Valid contracts/agreements
- Proper communication tools
- Feedback and evaluation processes
Master onboarding to make full use of staff augmentation teams
Staff augmentation is an essential resource for tech companies, allowing them to collaborate with highly competent individuals while minimizing costs.
However, it’s crucial to remember that staff augmentation services are in high demand. Therefore, as you’re looking for top talent, vendors seek partners with defined project goals and a work approach that guarantees long-term collaborations.
Hence, consider using the above tips to develop an effective onboarding strategy before engaging in staff augmentation. This will set you apart as a desirable partner and ensure you collaborate with the most effective augmented teams, getting maximum advantages from this practice.
