Imagine you are the captain of a ship sailing across the ocean. You have a destination in mind, a crew of skilled sailors, and a map to guide you. But along the way, you encounter some challenges: a storm, a broken mast, a pirate attack. You need some extra help to overcome these obstacles and reach your port safely.
What do you do? Do you hire more sailors to join your crew temporarily, or do you seek advice from an experienced navigator who can show you the best route?
This is similar to the dilemma that many businesses face when they need outside help to accomplish their goals. Do they opt for staff augmentation or consulting services?
Both are valid options, but they have different implications and benefits depending on the situation.
What is Staff Augmentation?
Staff augmentation is a way of hiring additional employees for your current team to help with a specific project, goal, or skill shortage. It’s like getting a temporary boost of talent and expertise without the hassle of recruiting, training, or managing new hires. You can use staff augmentation to fill in the gaps in your in-house team, whether you need developers, designers, testers, or project managers. Staff augmentation gives you the flexibility to scale up or down your team depending on your needs and budget. You can also access a global pool of qualified talents that may not be available locally.
These employees are usually hired on a temporary or short-term basis, but can also be hired permanently, and work as part of your in-house team. They can be sourced internally within your organization, or externally through an agency or a service that specializes in providing staff augmentation.
Staff augmentation can also help you access a larger pool of talent, especially if you hire remote employees from different locations or countries. This can give you more flexibility and diversity in your team, as well as lower costs compared to hiring local employees.
What is Consulting?
Consulting, on the other hand, refers to working with external experts to help you achieve specific objectives and outcomes. These experts are not hired as additional employees but rather work as external advisors or partners who provide guidance, insights and solutions. They can be hired on a short-term or long-term basis depending on your needs.
While consulting is indicated especially when you need to leverage specialized knowledge or experience, or when you need to tackle complex or strategic challenges that require a fresh perspective.; consulting experts are not part of your regular in-house teams so there can be a few challenges regarding collaboration in the long-term. That's why consulting is preferred when, for example, you need to hire a consultant to help you with business transformation, digital innovation or risk management.
Why Scale Your Firm With Staff Augmentation?
Benefits of Staff Augmentation
Increased cost-effectiveness: Staff augmentation can help you reduce employee costs by 40% to 60% on average, as you only pay for the hours worked and avoid overhead expenses such as recruitment, training, benefits and taxes.
Enhanced flexibility: Increase flexibility by scaling up or down your team according to your project needs and budget.
Better control: Maintaining control over each delicate financial information is a big concern for accounting firms who consider the possibility of hiring external support, contractor or freelancers. Augmented staff work under your supervision, and are hired to fully commit to your team just like any other in-office employees, you can secure the information and process operations.
Reduced risks: Staff augmentation can help you minimize risks associated with data security, intellectual property or compliance, as you can keep the project in-house and follow your own policies and standards.
Unlimited scope of services: When it comes to accounting professionals, staff augmentation can provide a wide variety of skills or resources considering how thigh the labor market in the US is these days. Staffing augmentation options are now offering not only junior-level bookkeepers and analysts but a vast pool of candidates with the expertise for long-term strategic projects and senior-level roles.
Minimize staff attrition by avoiding overloading or underutilizing your in-house team.
Challenges of Staff Augmentation
Potential communication issues: Staff augmentation can pose some communication challenges, especially if you hire remote employees who work in different time zones or cultures. You may need to invest more time and effort in establishing clear communication channels and expectations or choose to shorten the scope to more nearshore options.
Possible cultural mismatch: Staff augmentation can also create some cultural mismatch between your in-house team and the augmented staff, especially if they have different values, norms, or work styles. That’s why so important yo work with agencies with experience in your particular industry or sector.
Augmentation vs Consulting: a Quick Review
The choice between staff augmentation and consulting depends on several factors, such as:
- Your project scope, complexity and duration
- Your budget, timeline and expectations
- Your in-house team size, skills and availability
- Your preferred level of control, involvement and risk
As a general rule of thumb, you may want to choose Staff Augmentation if:
- You have a well-defined project with clear requirements and deliverables
- You have a limited budget and a tight deadline
- You have a large in-house team with most of the skills needed
- You want to keep the project in-house and manage it directly
You may want to choose Consulting if:
- You have a vague or ambitious project with uncertain outcomes and challenges
- You have a flexible budget and a long-term vision
- You have a small in-house team with few or no skills needed
- You want to outsource the project and get expert advice
Staff augmentation and consulting are two different ways to get additional help for your accounting and finance firm. Both have their advantages and disadvantages depending on your needs and goals. The key is to understand the differences between them and choose the one that suits your situation best.
Staff Augmentation with Vintti: An Exceptional Approach to Offshore Accounting
If you need more help with deciding to try staff augmentation or finding the right partner to scale up your accounting firm, book a meeting with Vintti’s selection team. Vintti is your gateway to world-class financial and accounting talents from South America, offering the perk of aligning with your time zone.
Vintti connects you with skilled accountants, well-versed in US GAAP, and gifted with strong communication skills and cultural compatibility. We handle all formalities, from recruitment to management of your augmented staff, thereby saving you both time and hassle.
With Vintti, you can leverage the advantages of offshore accounting while ensuring uncompromised quality and security. To explore how Vintti can cater to your specific accounting needs, don't hesitate to book a call with us.
References:
Staff Augmentation vs Consulting: What's the Difference? - Codibly. https://codibly.com/news-insights/staff-augmentation-vs-consulting/.
Staff Augmentation vs. Consulting: A Comprehensive Overview | Devox. https://devoxsoftware.com/blog/staff-augmentation-vs-consulting-what-is-the-difference/.
Staff Augmentation vs. Consulting: What's the Big Difference?. https://www.oneclickitsolution.com/blog/staff-augmentation-vs-consulting/.
Staff Augmentation vs. Consulting: A Manager's Guide to ... - ITChronicles. https://itchronicles.com/human-resources/staff-augmentation-vs-consulting-a-managers-guide-to-their-differences/.
