Staffing plan to add a mix of onshore and off shore consultants to the staff of a company. Includes business case and cost-benefit

1. Solving XYZ Corp
Software Engineer
Shortage

2. Note
I wrote this staffing plan for a formal company and
2

3. Overview
• Target qualifications/criteria for Software Engineer (SE) for XYZ
Corp.
• Philadelphia based
• Has mature Software Engineering thought processes
• Some demonstrated Python and Flask experience / skills
• XYZ Corp. has capacity to bring some Junior SEs on board and mentor
• XYZ Corp. will not sponsor Visas
• XYZ Corp. will not work with Recruiting firms at this time
• Decisions on Visas and working with Recruiting firms are based on
costs vs previous results and could be open to review / change.
3

4. Summary of Recruiting Efforts to Date
• XYZ Corp. job postings appear on
• XYZ Corp. Website (ProductA used as ATS)
• AngelList (feeds into ProductA)
• Indeed.com (does not integrate with ProductA– started 2/25/201x)
• LinkedIn (feeds into ProductA)
• Glassdoor (feeds into ProductA– started 4/1/201x)
• Posting has been up (with multiple revisions) for 543 days and
generated 137 total applicants
• Software Engineer posting has generated since Jan 21
• 36 (XYZ Corp. and AngelList) and 47 (LinkedIn and Indeed.com)
• Resulted in 3 interviews and 1 hire
4

5. Summary of Recruiting Efforts to Date (2)
• Majority of applicants are Undergraduate and Graduate students
with no or little (limited intern only) experience
• Stand out in-school candidates are retained to revisit their applications
near/at graduation (2 in ATS now)
• Based on personal experience, this is not an unusual or low rate
• Assessed local and national benchmark salaries
• XYZ Corp. pays as well or better than Philly average (which is higher than
national average)
• Continuing to try new approaches
• Updated content based on XYZ Corp. Staff feedback
• Created an additional posting with salary included along with similar
posting w/o salary on Indeed.com 5

6. Comparison of Recruiting Efforts
• XYZ Corp. Posting on LinkedIn
• Results are ordered by LinkedIn algorithm but are usually on first 3 or 4
pages (could improve with paid sponsorship but only marginally)
• XYZ Corp. response rate (3 apps in 4 weeks) is at least as good
(PromptWorks - 2 apps in 3 weeks) or better (Comcast - 0 apps in 4 weeks)
than similar postings
• Effectiveness of recent tweaks
• Modified wording: Week from 3/24 to 3/31, the response rates were flat
• Posting with salary: New posting that included salary received fewer
responses than similar posting with no salary
• The week the two ran side by side indicates this is not a factor driving response rates
or quality/career level of respondents
6

7. …and the Situation is not likely to Improve
• As XYZ Corp. grows, 2021 could see XYZ Corp. with 90+ clients and
millions of lives serviced, this will likely result in:
• More Software Engineers needed to develop and support new features
• More Software Engineers needed to automate processes just to sustain
• More Software Engineers (or technical positions in Data Science or Client
Management) for on boarding and processing (not all processes can be
100% automated)
• The situation for recruiting Software Engineers is likely to get worse
• Comcast Tower 2 opens in 201x
• Other business (The Vanguard Group, LiquidHub, Lincoln Financial, etc.) are
expanding or moving into Philadelphia
• Potential Amazon HQ2 and other new entrants placing further demand
7

8. What Staffing Mix Should XYZ Corp. Target?
• XYZ Corp. should have as employees (FTEs) all Mission Critical /
Strategic positions (Data Scientists, Product Managers, Client
Management, Sales, Software Engineers, Project Management,
Architecture)
• The right staffing partner can help with
• Staffing roles where XYZ Corp. cannot justify an FTE or can perform some
“commodity” functions when staffing is difficult can be outsourced
• Staff Augmentation until we can hire Staff positions
• Effectively staffing some positions that while important are less strategic
(such as creating integration testing scripts, automation, build and deploy,
off hours support, Defect Triage and testing, Performance testing and
others)
8

9. Staffing Model “Magic Quad”
9
MISSION
CRITICAL
SUPPORT
Risk
STRATEGICTACTICAL
MarketDifferentiation
INTERNAL
Key differentiatingprocess
thatentailsrisk:
e.g. Architecture,businessrequirements,
projectmgmt,security,releasemanagement
A non-differentiatingprocess thatentailsrisk:
OUTSOURCE
e.g. provisioning,
disasterrecovery,
Desktophelp desk
A key differentiatingprocess thatentails
littlerisk
CONSULTANT
e.g. Branding,Web Design,UI/UX and all staff
augmentation roles(a specialcase)
Neitherdifferentiatornorriskbearing –
justa needed process
CONTRACT
e.g. PC disposal,
networkinstallation
Short termengagement,deliverabledrivenShort termrenewable,
Informal or formal, SLADriven
Longterm, formal, SLAor deliverabledriven
XYZ Corp.Employees
Employees
Employees staff positions in the Internal (Strategic/Mission Critical)area
andstaff the interactions tocontrol other quadrants
Commodity services often have a higher total cost if staffed by FTEs
because outside providers can realize economies ofscale andother
efficiencies due tofunctions being their core competencies; this results in
lower costs for services

10. When XYZ Should NOT Leverage a Partner
• XYZ Corp. should continue to do primary software development
with employees whenever practical
• Development is a strategic & mission critical process that we must own
• It can be a challenge to maintain quality and schedule when development is
done in large part by consultants
• Doing so often results in higher costs
• Skillset gaps and project duration are often driving factors
• After we are accustomed to the relationship and get a smooth rhythm
going, we can evaluate leveraging a partner for primary development
• Can be onshore/nearshore or offshore
• Just like any consultant, we can get specific help for specific skillsets for limited or
extended durations as needed
10

11. How Can XYZ Corp. Use a Staffing Partner?
• XYZ Corp. should continue all efforts to fill key open positions
• XYZ Corp. should engage with a Staffing Partner that help with these
areas from the “Staffing Model”
• Consultants and Staff Augmentation
• Includes roles like UI/UX where XYZ Corp. needs long-term but part time engagements
that will have an uneven demand curve
• Outsourcing
11
Months
Hours

12. Value to XYZ Corp.
12
• XYZ Corp. can leverage a Partner’s resources, dedicated to XYZ
Corp., to ensure XYZ Corp. employees focus on the highest value
work. For example:
• Consultants could run Performance Tests and other Release related work
allowing XYZ Corp. employees to stay focused on development Sprint work
• In-office or offsite Software Engineering consultants would help bridge
staffing gaps as XYZ Corp. recruits replacement or new staff with minimal
disruption to delivery schedules
• Provide transactional consulting services for roles where XYZ Corp. does not
yet (or for some time) be able to justify an FTE: example UI/UX design

13. Consulting Engagement Proposed
13
• There will be enough work that XYZ Corp. should engage two
partners to provide consulting services. Suggestions:
• VendorB has “nearshore” staff.
• VendorA (part of LargeCorp): Has large India presence for overnight work
and to meet skillset gaps. Fewer onsite possibilities but can provide as
needed.
• In general, we need very few “onsite” consultants
• The most vital function of the onsite role is to manage the offsite engineers
• Employees will fill onsite staff as much as possible

14. Consulting Engagement Proposed (2)
14
• VendorB has fewer employees but the “nearshore” (S. America)
based staff has comparable rates to India based firms but is in same
time zone.
• VendorA and related LargeCorp companies have a deep pool of well
qualified Software Engineers and other employees
• About 24,000 total employees; 8,000 in US, the rest in Europe, Eastern
Europe and India.
• VendorA can provide XYZ Corp. with a wide range of services; US based
software engineer help, specialty consulting (UI/UX) and other services as
XYZ Corp. needs and for as long as XYZ Corp. needs

15. Consulting Engagement Proposed (3)
15
• Find several Mid-level / Senior Software Engineers to get our staff
filled out
• Based (at least initially) in XYZ Corp. Office
• Interview can be similar as employee interview process
• Continue to look to fill open XYZ Corp. Employee positions
• When XYZ Corp. Employee positions are filled, scale back onsite consultants
as necessary

16. Offshore Engagement
16
• At some point it is to XYZ Corp.’s advantage to leverage VendorA’s
offshore capabilities
• One of the benefits this will provide XYZ Corp. is the ability to
leverage offshore to perform targeted work. Advantages include:
• Complementary hours: work like Performance, Integration or Regression
Testing can happen overnight US time.
• Work needed to support XYZ Corp. employees can be prioritized and
handed off to be completed after hours (US time) during VendorA’s
Offshore normal hours
• The VendorA team can complete vital (but usually not specialized work),
such as automation of new feature development more cost effectively and
(more importantly) XYZ Corp. will be able to staff the positions

17. Offshore Engagement – How it works
17
• General roles for VendorA people and what they do
• Onsite Technical Lead: This person is 100% based in XYZ Corp.’s office and
is a Senior Software Developer. The Technical Lead is responsible for
understanding any work that any onsite or offshore VendorA team member
is assigned. This person communicates with the Offsite Technical Lead and
often other offsite people
• Onsite Consultants: Like any consultant, this person is in the XYZ Corp.
office and participates in all development sprint meetings (if they are
performing Sprint work)
• Offsite Technical Lead: This person is responsible for onsite-offsite
communication and management of all offsite resources. This person often
participates in development sprint meetings and often overlaps XYZ Corp.
office time in the morning

18. Offshore Engagement – How it works (2)
18
• General arrangement
• Offsite Consultants: These consultants are directly managed by the
VendorA Leads and participate in development sprints only when they are
assigned Sprint Backlog items. Communication is usually channeled
through the VendorA Technical Leads unless the consultant is assigned
Sprint work, then the consultants participate in development sprint
meetings

19. Timeline
19
• Receiving an SOW from VendorA this week
• Will review resumes and interview (TBD – but ASAP)
• Begin: cannot begin to determine until we have an acceptable SOW
and consultants

20. Cost Benefit Analysis Summary
20
Annual fully loaded costs
w/ consultant all employees
1 on - 5
offshore 1 on 2 off
Open SE 1 (name) $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000
Open SE 2 (Actively interviewing) $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000
Consultant SE convert to employee (name) $336,000 $135,000
Open SE (Voluntary Term - March) $150,000 $150,000
Employee A (At Risk for Voluntary Term) $125,000 $125,000 $125,000 $125,000
Open (SM promoted to Product Team) $120,000 $120,000
Annual cost of VendorA contract $468,000 $312,000
VendorA Onsite Tech Lead Included Included
Offshore 1 included Included
Offshore 2 included Included
Offshore 3 included
Offshore 4 included
Offshore 5 included
Total year cost $1,001,000 $800,000 $863,000 $707,000

21. Cost Benefit Analysis Summary
21
Total Year costs
Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Open SE 1 0 0 5,625 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250
Open SE 2 0 0 0 5,625 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250 11,250
Consult SE 18,000 18,000 18,000 15,000
Open SE 12,500 12,500 12,500
At Risk SE 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417 10,417
Open SM 10,000 10,000 10,000
37,000 37,000 37,800 37,800 37,800 37,800 37,800 37,800
$50,917 $50,917 $56,542 $42,292 $69,917 $69,917 $70,717 $70,717 $70,717 $70,717 $70,717 $70,717 $764,800
Total people
on Payroll 4 4 5 7 7 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
AssumptionsSM transitions to Product Owner and employee costs covered under Product for April
VendorA onsite and Geiser to pick up SM duties
Budget allocated to 2 employees and consultant used to fund VendorA consultants
201x
May 1 onshore and 2 offshore in US for Training (additional T&E costs included)
June 1 onshore and 2 offshore in US for Training (additional T&E costs included)
July 1 on shore and 5 offshore for entire month
August 1 on shore and 5 offshore for entire month
Sept 1 on shore and 5 offshore for entire month
Oct 1 on shore and 5 offshore for entire month
Nov 1 on shore and 5 offshore for entire month
Dec 1 on shore and 5 offshore for entire month

22. Cost Benefit Analysis Summary
22
• Partnership will allow XYZ Corp. to fill long term open positions
• Will enable Development to meet currently at risk New Product schedule
• Will enable Development to implement critical automation and testing
goals needed to meet for growth targets and operational objectives
• Reduction of full year budget of current $1.0M to $850k
• Labor costs reduced by the fully loaded cost of one Sr. Software Engineer
• Increases Engineering staff from 6 to 10 FTEs

23. XYZ Corp.’s Points of Control
23
• XYZ Corp. controls the contract, XYZ Corp. can ramp up or down as
needed with minimal lead time (ramp up ASAP, ramp down with 30
days notice)
• Interactions with VendorA are aligned with Staffing Model “Magic
Quad” Upper left and Lower Right quadrents.
• Long term, formal, SLA or deliverable driven
• Short term engagement, deliverable driven

24. Appendix slides
24

25. Constant Demand
(Base Capacity)
Variabledemand Variabledemand
Two types of demand: Constant and Variable
ConstantDemand: Baselevelofcapacityneededtosupportgoingcontinuingdemands;KTLO,projectwork,etc.withskillsetsthatdo notchange
rapidly. NotallConstantDemandneedsorshould beFTEs
VariableDemand:Demandthatspikesatdifferenttypesdue tochangingdemandorskillsetsrequiredtocomplete work
Constant & VariableDemand

26. MISSION
CRITICAL
SUPPORT
Staffing Model
Risk
STRATEGICTACTICAL
MarketDifferentiation
INTERNAL
Key differentiatingprocess
thatentailsrisk:
e.g. Architecture,businessrequirements,
projectmgmt,security,release management
A non-differentiatingprocess thatentailsrisk:
OUTSOURCE
e.g. provisioning,
disasterrecovery,
Desktophelp desk)
A key differentiatingprocess thatentails
littlerisk
CONSULTANT
e.g. Branding,Web Design,UI/UX and all staff
augmentation roles(a specialcase)
Neitherdifferentiatornor riskbearing –
justa needed process
CONTRACT
e.g. PC disposal,
networkinstallation
Short termengagement,deliverable drivenShorttermrenewable,
Informal or formal, SLADriven
Longterm, formal, SLAor deliverabledriven
Employees
EmployeesstaffpositionsintheInternal(Strategic/MissionCritical) areaandstafftheinteractionsto controlotherquadrants
Commodityservicesare oftenhave a highertotalcost if staffedby FTEsbecauseoutsideproviderscan realizeeconomiesof scaleandotherefficienciesdue to functionsbeingtheir core
competencies;thisresultsin lower costsforservices
Terms:“Consultant”in thiscaseis someonewhoactuallygives adviceand setsdirectionand arenot “commodity” functions. “Outsource”encompassesstaffaugmentationforperhour helplike
java developers
Employees

27. Employee FTEs
consultants consultants
Cost Optimized Staff Level
ThecostofconsultantsisalmostalwayshigherthanFTEs. Evenifyouarenotableto exactlyestimatelongtermstaffingdemand,theCostOptimizedStaffing
LevelisusefulandisaMinimumAverageCostproblem.
Skillssetsthatfrequentlychangecan drivedowntheCostOptimizedStaffLevelsotherightskillsattherighttimeare available.
CostOptimized Staff Level
Staffing Model for VariableDemand

28. consultants consultants
Cost Optimized Staff Level
A mixofonshore/offshoreEngineerscan shiftthemodelasabove
Careneedstobetakenin whatworkisallocatedtooffshoreandthatappropriatecontrolsarein placetoensurequalityof deliverables
CostOptimized Staff Level
Staffing Model for VariableDemand
Employee FTEs