When you retain a firm to bring in consultants to help with your software project, you are attempting to purchase a result. Ideally that result is excellent software developers who are on-site and productive helping you with your projects, as soon as possible. Let's look at how a ficticious but typical "staff augmentation" company called NottaWare tries to deliver that result.

NottaWare was founded by sales and recruiting folks gathered from several areas in the tech industry. They heve sold enough products/services and spoken to enough people to know how to hold a decent conversation. They also know how to recognize key words when speaking to clients. NottaWare has little to no real technical expertise in their sales and recruiting groups. A typical interaction with NottaWare goes something like this:

1. The NottaWare sales person contacts you several times per day to get you on the phone/email
2. Once any need is identified, the sales person ask you for all of your open requisitions
3. The sales person sends those requisitions on to his recruiter
4. The recruiter keyword-matches resumes from databases, and sends matching resumes on to you en masse
5. You and the other folks at your company make time to wade through a pile of (mostly irrelevant) resumes
6. You schedule phone screens and interviews with any decent-loooking candidates
7. You try to determine if any of the candidates have the technical and soft skills to help with your project
8. If you find a good developer, then the NottaWare salesperson facilitates bringing them in

That is a lot of steps with "you" in them. Chances are that YOU are already swamped with trying to meet project deadlines, and don't have a ton of time to dedicate to screening candidates. By attempting to reach out for help to NottaWare, you have instead created more work for yourself when you are already overtaxed. For the NottaWare salesperson, it's a numbers game. If he deals with enough clients, and throws enough candidates at them, eventually a client will retain a developer and he will get paid.

Other traits of a "NottaWare"-type company

• Developers don't like to work for them, they provide cut rates and inferior benefits
• Developers are not loyal to NottaWares, and do not stay with them for any length of time (creating continuity issues for you)
• Your account manager changes often, as attrition is high
• Developers have a mercenary attitude, and take little ownership or pride in work done for you

There has to be a better way, and there is...