Every staff augmentation provider says the same things on its homepage. Top talent. Rigorous vetting. Seamless onboarding. The words are free, so they're worthless as a filter. What tells you who's real is a short list of specific questions, and how comfortable the provider is answering them.
Key Takeaways
- Ask for the rejection rate. A provider that doesn't track it isn't vetting hard.
- Ask for the retention number, measured at six months, not a vibe.
- A flat, published price beats a custom quote you can't compare.
- A real replacement guarantee in writing is the difference between a partner and a broker.
Start With Vetting, in Numbers
Anyone can say "we vet carefully." Ask what percentage of applicants they accept. A serious provider knows the number and it's low. We pass about 3%, and we'll tell you exactly which five stages get us there. If the answer is fuzzy, the vetting is too. For what good vetting looks like, see the 5-stage process.
Then Retention
Vetting quality shows up later as retention, so ask for that too. What share of placed engineers are still on the client's team at six months? Ours is 97%, against an industry average we estimate near 85%. A provider that places fast but churns is selling you a hiring problem on repeat.
The Questions Most CTOs Skip
| Question | Good answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| What's your rejection rate? | A specific, low number | "We're very selective" |
| Six-month retention? | Measured, in writing | No data |
| Who owns the IP? | You do, by contract | "It's complicated" |
| Replacement policy? | Free, defined window | Case-by-case |
| Pricing? | Flat, published | "Custom quote" |
That pricing row matters more than it looks. Opaque "custom" quotes exist to protect the provider's margin, not your budget. A flat published rate lets you compare in a minute and budget without a sales cycle.
Watch How They Sell
The sales process previews the working relationship. A provider that pushes you to sign before you've talked to an engineer, dodges the vetting questions, or buries the price is showing you how they'll behave once the contract is signed. A good partner is happy to be checked, because the answers are their pitch.
A Concrete Version
Run the five questions on a real call and watch what happens. Ask for the rejection rate and a serious provider gives you a number in one sentence: about three percent, here are the five stages. Ask for six-month retention and you get a figure they measure, not a promise. Ask who owns the IP and the answer is you do, it is in the contract, not a pause. The tell is speed and specificity. A broker reaching for a custom quote will slow down on every one of these, because the honest answer is worse for them than the vague one. You can learn more from thirty seconds of hesitation on the pricing question than from the entire homepage.
The Honest Counterpoint
No single answer is disqualifying on its own. A newer provider might have a thin retention dataset and still be excellent, and a great firm can have one awkward answer. Do not treat the five questions as a pass-fail gate. Treat them as a pattern. One fuzzy answer is noise. Three fuzzy answers is the provider telling you how the engagement will go. And a provider that answers all five perfectly but has no engineers available this quarter has still not solved your actual problem, which is getting the seat filled.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the single most important question to ask?
The rejection rate. It's the cleanest proxy for how seriously a provider vets, and it predicts the retention you'll actually get.
Should I trust a provider without published pricing?
Be cautious. Opaque pricing isn't always a dealbreaker, but a published flat rate is a strong trust signal and saves you a sales cycle.
How important is the replacement guarantee?
Very. A defined, free replacement window means the provider has skin in the match working out, not only in closing the deal.
The Bottom Line
Ignore the homepage adjectives and ask five specific questions: rejection rate, retention, IP ownership, replacement terms, and price. The provider worth hiring answers all five without flinching. Ask us those questions.
Roberto Espinoza is CEO of Ruzora, which helps US startups hire pre-vetted senior LATAM engineers, with a vetted shortlist in 72 hours. See available engineers.
