When you google "staff augmentation agency", you get around 6 million results. That's much less than the 20 million results for "how to become a TikTok influencer", but it's still a big number. How can you find the right staff augmentation partner in this massive population of unfiltered results? (Hint: ChatGPT can't help.)
First things first. What is staff augmentation? Staff augmentation (or secondment) is an outsourcing approach used by companies to augment their teams with contractors. They could adopt it for a short or long term as a means to complement their team's workforce and/or skillset.
Choosing the right tech staff augmentation partner can help you reduce hiring time, get the talent you need onboard, and cut your costs. In this article, I tackle the main points you should pay attention to before deciding on who you will be working with.
"First impression is the last impression" has its grain of truth. While you should not totally rely on your first impression, it's important to assess the first meeting with your potential partner. Ask yourself questions like "Did I feel that all sales break loose?", "Did they understand my pain points?", "Did they listen more than pitch?", "Did they suggest different solutions?".
🔴 They're selling me an ideal solution
🟢 They're selling me a solution to my problem
After briefing the agency on your requirements, they will need some time to get back to you with candidate profiles. In some instances, the first resumes you get are not relevant; in other instances, they might be a perfect match. The quality of the first batch says a lot about how well did the agency understand your requirements.
The content of the resume itself is also of importance. It should accurately describe what the person did in each position, using simple and straightforward wording.
🔴 The resumes contain endless amounts of technical and soft skills
🟢 The resumes describe relevant achievements of the candidate
Meeting a person reveals much more about them than reading their resume. When you get to talk to the candidate, you will be able to discover their level of knowledge, their experience, and their character. You should be capable of judging if the resume previously shared reflected well who that person is and what are they capable of doing.
🔴 The resume was bloated and does not match well the candidate you just interviewed.
🟢 The candidate is at least as interesting as their resume.
While contracts are not the funniest part in the process, they are definitely one of the most important milestones. We tend to be optimistic when signing with a partner. This is only natural as embarking on a new journey is exciting. However, always "plan as a pessimist, act as an optimist".
The contract is the piece of paper that you will be resorting to when things go wrong. It has to incorporate clear clauses covering common and less common scenarios (early termination, breach, notice, jurisdiction, etc.). Make sure you take the time to review the contract. Is it clear enough? If not, ask questions by email and then follow up with a clarification call. A good agency looking for a partnership should be cooperative and address your concerns. That does not mean accepting all your requests, but acting reasonably can be easily spotted.
🔴 The clauses are too restrictive and the agency won't budge
🟢 The agency is open to discussing changes and has covered common cases
In the next issue of the newsletter, I will cover the things you should be looking at after starting working with the agency. Stay tuned!
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