Specialist IT resourcing – for example in the fields of integration and API Management can be a minefield. Are you spending a ridiculous amount of time and resource looking for top contract or permanent IT staff, and having no luck? You’re not alone. Many IT departments are struggling to fill urgent roles for a number of reasons, which may not be obvious to begin with. Our SRP service could be the answer.
1. The devil is in the data
You might be thinking you want to have hundreds of resumes on file for you to pick and choose from. They say data is king, after all…
Actually that is very far from the truth: Organising data can be expensive, difficult and very time consuming. Managing databases is a specialist skill these days, and the more data you hold on people the more work is required – and this problem is amplified in companies that work across many disciplines. So to make this work for your organisation, you’ll need to choose wisely when selecting an applicant tracking system or database.
Initial setup of your database can be tricky – for permanent hires this can be especially difficult, and you only have a window of about 4 weeks to engage and hire, after which they could be gone forever. When applied to contractors, keeping up with end dates and rates is a full-time job in itself.
Depending on the structure of your company, HR might be handling the data aspect for you, which might mean you don’t have sight of key information and important timing information.
2. Don’t forget to count the hidden costs
External recruitment has a reputation for being expensive, so some companies consider moving to an internal resourcing model to save money. Sometimes they forget to include the hidden costs of salaries, advertising, databases, applicant tracking and all the time spent interviewing when making the business case. Turns out, often external resourcing can cost the same as internal resourcing – without the hassle.
The truth is, the biggest cost savings you can make are driving down “time to hire” and mitigating the loss of productivity perhaps with some contract resource.
3. Shoddy communication costs candidates
Many candidates have been lost through poor communication – it can be trickier than most people think. It is generally accepted that candidates want honesty, compassion and empathy. However, people tend to overlook the fact that good recruiters need to be skilled salespeople too. Candidates, hiring managers, and roles need to be ‘sold’ effectively, and this is even more so in the contractor marketplace.
Recruiters need to be quick to grasp detailed job descriptions, people requirements, and have good interpersonal skills to grasp subtle nuances in communications in order to make the right placements. In addition, all interactions need to be recorded and tracked accurately in order to avoid making costly and embarrassing mistakes somewhere down the line. It is always a case of ‘right person, right time’.
4. Wrong channels = Wrong candidates
It can be confusing to get your head around all the channels you could use: LinkedIn, job boards, advertising in trade publications or newspapers and head-hunters are only a few examples. Once you have decided, the work doesn’t stop there, you now need to track which are working, and for which types of roles.
One of the most important benefits is that you don’t waste time and money using channels which don’t deliver the best ROI. In addition, you don’t want to be in a position where you’re having to sift through inappropriate candidates – in a niche market you probably need to use niche channels. The best niche recruiters have channels mapped and availability tracked very accurately. Often the simplest channel is the most effective and usually the quickest.
5. Focus on right person or right skills?
When looking for contractors, focus on the skills needed or problem that needs solving and not the person. Some people forget that contractors are highly paid to solve specific problems or fill gaps in project teams quickly, not for being a great permanent team member.
Conversely, for permanent roles you have to focus on the person, even if their skills need more development. Companies are usually willing to invest in the right person through training and other development opportunities.
In integration and API Management there are rafts of technologies available, such are Oracle, Mulesoft, Intersystems, Apigee and Akana – and contractors continually update their skills by focusing on a vertical. Knowing your contractors’ personality and mapping their skills properly will pay dividends when you’re required to hire quickly. This can only happen over time.
Need specialist resources fast? Integrella can help.
Integrella has been in the integration business since 2007. As a trusted partner to key players in IT integration, you can be sure that when we hire staff into our team we get things right. Recently we have been asked by several of our clients to utilise our internal recruitment process and help them find the right contract resource quickly, on budget and with the same quality levels that we promote internally. Customers have been so delighted with the value we’ve been able to add, that we decided to make this the cornerstone of our Specialist Resource Provisioning service.