Have you ever encountered one of the following situations?
Betsy, one of your instructional designers, has been put on bed rest a month earlier than expected to go on maternity leave, which means she will be on leave for 90 days.
John, a learning project manager, gets a promotion to a new position in October and there is currently a hiring freeze through the end of the year.
The business partner who stated they didn’t need learning support this year suddenly calls you and says they have an emergency training situation involving a new regulation.
Being the level-headed professional that you are, you decide to:
- Redistribute everyone’s workload to accommodate the situation. Yes, people will have to work longer hours, but sometimes you just have to do it for the team.
- Determine which business partner’s project isn’t going to get done this year.
- Contact your trusted staffing vendor and discuss how staff augmentation resources can help support you during this time.
Of course, the third answer is what you want to do. With this solution, your team isn’t overwhelmed or overworked and your business partners are happy that their projects are being completed, which means they can look forward to meeting their goals. BUT…you begin to see the uphill battle of getting this approved and your shoulders slump just a bit. No worries — let me help you by addressing the three most common myths of staff augmentation services.
Myth 1: Staff aug is too expensive.
This is a huge misconception! If you are comparing just an employee’s salary against the hourly cost of a staff aug resource, the numbers are skewed. Let’s add a few pluses to that salary amount.
Salary + Direct/Indirect Costs + Utilization = Total Cost of Employment
You can’t forget to add in all the direct and indirect costs associated with an employee, which increase the rate by about 75% to 89% of the salary. Direct and indirect costs can include:
- Insurance benefits
- Retirement benefits
- Workers’ compensation
- Personal development
- Legal requirements
- Other costs of doing business (marketing, materials, etc.)
On top of that, you are typically only getting 56% to 60% utilization from an employee versus 100% with a staff augmentation resource. Remember: A staff augmentation resource (or as we like to call them, Innovators on Demand™) is not going to have paid vacation, sick leave, or holidays and probably will not need to attend company or team type meetings. He or she will be focused on the work during the contracted period of time.
Now that hourly rate is looking a lot better…isn’t it? 
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New clients, tap into our talent with one week of Innovators on Demand® on us.
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Myth 2: It takes a lot of time to get an outside resource up to speed.
Individuals who work as staff augmentation resources are very skilled at assimilating to new environments, and learning organizations tend to have common processes and tools. This allows for quick ramp-up and solid performance in a short amount of time. At ttcInnovations, we have a large pool of contractors with diverse experience and skills relating to industries, audiences, and tools.
When I work with a client, I want to match as many client needs and preferences as possible to ensure a quick and smooth transition from start-up to proficiency. Here are a few things to consider as you are working with a vendor partner to ensure a great match for your situation:
- Specific skills needed
- Industry and audience experience
- Communication style
- Work style and personality of the team and business partners
- Type of project (technical, soft skills, etc.)
Myth 3: I don’t have time to reach out to a learning vendor or it’s hard to find a trusted vendor partner.
My number one recommendation is to plan ahead for these types of scenarios. When you are in the throes of the situation, of course, you don’t have time. You are overwhelmed, worried, and probably a little skeptical if you’ve never used a staffing resource before. But guess what? You now know about ttcInnovations! Check out what we have to offer here or, better yet, contact me. We can turn staffing requests into interviews and selection in about three to five days…sometimes less.
Building a relationship w/ a learning vendor is like a good casserole, it gets better over time! Click To Tweet
There are many competent learning vendors in the market today. Do some research BEFORE life happens and find one you really like and can build a relationship with. Building a relationship with a learning vendor is like a good casserole, it gets better over time! The more you make it, the better you get at using just the right mix of ingredients. The vendor gets to know you, your business, and your preferences and can place well-matched resources that fit your team’s dynamics.
If you’re interested in getting more information, we welcome you to reach out to Contact Debbie for all your staffing needs!
