Publish date:
When companies need to quickly and cost-effectively build or upskill a Salesforce team while maintaining a high level of technical quality, they turn to staff augmentation.
Staff augmentation is a strategic model designed to address this need. By hiring skilled contractors on a full-time basis (40 hours a week), companies can complete critical tasks without the long-term commitment, higher costs, and extensive onboarding processes associated with hiring permanent employees.
This approach allows you to staff your Salesforce team efficiently, bypassing the complexities of HR and administrative procedures that come with traditional employment.
Although staff augmentation is still unfamiliar to many executives and hiring managers, its popularity is rapidly increasing. Here’s what you need to know about staff augmentation and how it can help you build an agile, flexible, and cost-effective Salesforce team tailored to your business needs.
What is staff augmentation?
Staff augmentation typically involves hiring skilled contractors, often from offshore talent pools, to quickly build or upskill a Salesforce team while maintaining technical quality. This model is best utilized through a partner who specializes in staff augmentation services and understands the local market.
With staff augmentation, you can have an entire “in-house team” hired and operational within days, rather than weeks or months, at a significantly lower cost.
Staff Augmentation might be a good option if:
-
You have a substantial amount of work to complete, but only for a short or indeterminate period.
-
Your budget doesn’t allow for the full-time headcount you would ideally need.
-
You have urgent work that requires immediate attention, leaving no time for the traditional recruiting, hiring, and onboarding process.
The Benefits of Full-Time Employees, with More Flexibility
For the parent organization, the experience of working with staff hired through Staff Augmentation is nearly identical to working with any full-time, distributed team. Hiring managers can expect the same daily visibility into the activities of augmented workers, who attend meetings, collaborate with in-house staff, and are reachable during business hours via normal communication channels like Slack, email, or Zoom. These workers are fully embedded into your operations, similar to full-time employees.
The primary difference is the flexible, open-ended nature of the arrangement, which is what makes Staff Augmentation so powerful.
Who Should Use Staff Augmentation?
While typically used by large enterprises, mid-market businesses and startups are increasingly adopting Staff Augmentation as remote and asynchronous work becomes more normalized. Organizations generally rely on Staff Augmentation for execution and maintenance, while keeping vision, planning, and strategy in-house.
Ideal Salesforce positions to source through Staff Augmentation include:
-
Salesforce Engineers
-
Salesforce Developers
-
Salesforce Admins
-
Technical Architects
-
Solution Architects
This model is also well-suited for contexts requiring minimal planning and strategy, such as day-to-day Salesforce CRM operations management.
Staff Augmentation is for organizations that know what they need to accomplish and just need to connect with the right people to get it done. It differs from other resourcing options like managed services, which are better suited for companies that need to outsource the entire operation, not just optimize it.
Benefits of Staff Augmentation
The benefits of staff augmentation include speed, flexibility, and cost savings.
Flexibility
Laying off full-time employees is costly and can damage team morale and a company's reputation. When it's time to hire again, the process of recruiting, interviewing, and training can take weeks or months. Staff Augmentation allows you to hire conservatively while bringing on flexible support as needed. The size of augmented teams can be adjusted quickly, accommodating specific projects or time frames as required.
Speed
Staff Augmentation enables rapid resourcing. New contractors can be onboarded within days, allowing teams to start critical work immediately and adjust strategies as needed.
Cost-Effectiveness
A Salesforce developer hired through Staff Augmentation might represent a lower overall cost compared to a full-time employee, once benefits, bonuses, and training are considered. Engaging an agency for Staff enhancement provides access to a diverse, overseas talent pool with attractive pricing options, without the risks and uncertainties of seeking talent independently.
Common Challenges (And How to Avoid Them)
While Staff Augmentation can seem unfamiliar or intimidating, especially regarding offshore talent integration, these challenges can be effectively managed.
Collaborating Across Time Zones
Concerns about time zone differences can be mitigated by setting clear communication expectations upfront. Reputable agencies ensure their contractors are online during the contracting company’s business hours, facilitating timely communication.
Hiring in Unfamiliar Markets
Connecting with offshore talent can be risky if done independently. A responsible approach involves working with an agency that has deep knowledge of the local labor market and a network built from firsthand referrals. This ensures a thorough vetting and verification process, minimizing risks.
By addressing these challenges, Staff Augmentation can provide a flexible, cost-effective solution for building and maintaining an agile Salesforce team.
Conclusion
Staff augmentation provides the benefits of hiring full-time Salesforce employees without the added rigidity, long-term commitment, and higher costs associated with traditional consulting firms.
When carefully implemented, these skilled contract workers can deliver the expertise and support your team needs, exactly when, where, and how you need it.
By partnering with an experienced agency, your company can access vetted, qualified Salesforce contractors who seamlessly integrate with your internal team. Regardless of the Salesforce platform—be it Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, or others—partner with an agency that employs sophisticated vetting processes to ensure you get the best talent.
Salesforce Staff Augmentation Services with Codleo
At Codleo, we specialize exclusively in Salesforce resourcing. Our extensive network of over 3,500 consultants worldwide has been built over nine years, ensuring we know how to thoroughly vet Salesforce talent.
We take the time to understand your business processes and needs, matching you with Salesforce professionals who have the right experience and expertise to deliver. With Codleo, you get top-tier talent through staff augmentation at a fraction of the cost of traditional consulting firms.
Contact Codleo today to enhance your team with the best Salesforce professionals.
About the Author
