What is Staff augmentation?
In staff augmentation, the customer decides what the engineer works on and how. The provider recruits, schedules and employs the engineer, and the customer directs the daily tasks. The arrangement is usually for a fixed term, a number of hours or a project phase, and it is used to cover peaks, absences, specialist skills or work in places where the customer has no staff.
It differs from a managed service, where the provider owns an outcome and a service level and decides how to deliver it. It also differs from a fixed scope project, where the provider delivers a defined result. With staff augmentation the customer keeps management of the work, and the provider is accountable for supplying a suitable person and for the person's employment terms.
Providers vary in what they include. Some supply only the person. Others add a coordinator, backup cover, tools, travel and onboarding. Rules on who may direct a contractor, and how contractors may be treated, differ by country and by state, so check legal and tax guidance for the engagement.
How it shows up in practice
- Write the role, the skills required, location, hours, term, and the tasks expected into the scope.
- Agree access, tools and onboarding: badges, accounts, a named point of contact and how the engineer reports work done.
- Agree what happens if the engineer is unavailable or is not a fit, such as a replacement or backup process.
- Decide how time is recorded and approved, usually through timesheets that the customer signs.