The Difference Between Staff Augmentation and Executive Search

Executive search is a recruitment service that organizations avail. This process assists them in seeking out, attracting, recruiting, and selecting talented candidates for senior-level positions and executive jobs. When a company has a hard time filling a certain position, they seek help from an executive search firm. Executive search firms, like Springboard from the Philippines, gather the necessary information such as job descriptions, salary range, etc. Then, seek out and endorse candidates fit for the position. Those qualified will then be hired by the company and ultimately, payroll will be direct to the company.

On the other hand, staff augmentation is a hiring strategy wherein a company uses an external team of specialists to carry out a project. It involves evaluating and assessing the existing manpower then determining the additional skills required. It allows companies to add labor force according to the skills that the project requires. Note that the additional staff are only temporary and are contracted until the project ends. For example, company A staff augmented a specific project to company B. Company B will then temporarily give manpower fit for the project to company A. However, company B is still in charge of the additional staff’s payroll. It is a flexible hiring strategy that allows companies to extend their teams as necessary to complete the project.

Successful businesses in the Philippines use executive search as it provides multiple benefits to a company. It gives them access to a massive network and a wider reach of executive professionals. Moreover, it is more efficient than in-house headhunting because executive search firms specialize in the headhunting process. On the other hand, staff augmentation is also a popular hiring strategy due to its advantages. One benefit is that it creates an unbiased workforce. It is usually done in payroll processes wherein the company gets an external team to manage the company’s payroll. Instead of hiring full-time employees, firms can just expand existing manpower. Additional experts can be added on a short-term basis which doesn’t cost as much as hiring full-time employees. It allows companies to precisely hire only according to their needs for a short period of time.

Both hiring strategies also come with their own disadvantages. For executive search, it is extremely costly to use executive search firms’ services since you’re seeking high-level positions. Additionally, hiring the wrong executive search firm that does not understand your company’s goals will also lead to hiring unfit employees. Lastly, businesses have limited control over the recruitment process because the executive search firms recruit employees on their behalf. On the other hand, one disadvantage of staff augmentation is that it will be harder to manage. A team with more members will be harder to oversee. Additionally, it will take some time for the additional staff to learn the company culture and processes. A harmonious relationship between the new employees and the old ones may be missing at first.

Staff augmentation and executive search are both effective ways to fill jobs in your company. However, it is important to determine which strategy suits your company best. Both pose positive and negative consequences to a business, depending on their objectives but knowing their differences is the first step to using them effectively.