Ambition Technology Blog

The goal of any recruitment company is to place the correct people with the correct organisation, and as the market grows and becomes more buoyant this becomes a greater challenge. In a busy marketplace with many opportunities and few strong candidates, it is essential an organisation sells itself strongly. One of the main selling points to candidates regarding prospective companies is their level of staff retention. A low level of staff turnover should relate to a happy workforce, and a happy workforce is a key goal in creating a successful company.

Australian Incentives agency AD+Inc conducted a survey of 500 SME’s where 65% of respondents said it would take up to six months to get a replacement for a key staff member “up to speed”, therefore both the financial and personal cost of replacing a key employee is very significant indeed. I’m sure the importance of retaining staff is not underestimated by any company, however the methods of achieving this vary considerably.

So what’s the secret? The answer possibly lies in one of the biggest studies ever undertaken by the Gallup Organisation, an American statistical research company who concentrate on studying human nature and behavior. Their study of over a million employees and 80,000 managers came up with an interesting finding: if you’re losing good people, look to the management. Management is the main reason people stay and thrive in any organisation, and the main reason as to why people leave. When people leave they take knowledge, experience and contacts with them, more often than not straight to the competition.

The value placed on attracting key staff should not be underestimated, the value placed on keeping them should be substantial.

Recently celebrating ten years with the Ambition Group and over 16 in the Industry, Nardia Allison-Nichol has an enviable record of success across the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) market.

Nardia graduated with an Honours degree in Arts from Sydney University before gaining several years practical technology experience in a hands-on technology role.  Joining a Technology recruitment firm, Computemp in August 1993, she started to build her career as a recruitment account manager.  With a flexible approach to the Industry Nardia has worked within most of the sub-sectors; including government, commerce and industry and the banking and finance sectors.

In April 2000 Ambition acquired Computemp and Nardia continued her successful career under the new direction of the Ambition Group.   Working as a team Manager, she built and developed internal teams who were skilled in client relationship development and first class recruitment delivery.  Currently Nardia is focused on roles within Ambition Technology’s Business Information team, encompassing  Business Intelligence, Business and Data Analysis, Data Warehouse and Architecture as well as Project and Program Managers, testers and technical writers.

Q & A session with Nardia:

What do you like about the technology recruitment industry?

The people. I really love understanding how businesses utilise technology and the way it is constantly changing. Read more…

Tim Olorenshaw is the IT Infrastructure Project Manager for Leighton Contractors in Sydney.  In this capacity he is responsible for managing major IT infrastructure projects, managing key relationships with data centre managed services providers, is involved in IT strategic planning cycles and manages the cross functional team members including mentoring and staff development.

Tim’s core skill areas with regards to IT consultancy and project management are:

• End-to-end Project Management experience – from initial business case to final delivery.
• Extensive experience building successful relationships with key stakeholders and C-level clients.
• Keen understanding of financial management and building business cases.
• Technical abilities and understanding across Wintel, Linux and Novell multi-tier architecture, Data storage and backup/disaster recovery design, PABX/VoIP systems, Network LAN/WAN design and setup, Unified Communications and data centre delivery.
• Real ability to translate business needs into design and solution.
• IT Management experience along with true technical understanding of systems.

With the release of the Rudd government’s budget this week, speculation is that employment growth will strengthen from 1% to around 3.5% in 2010. Realistically this means that unemployment rates will drop, demand for talent will increase and the recruitment market is likely to take a turn towards a severe skill shortage not experienced for quite some time. With this in mind what are you, the employer, doing to avoid attrition rates creeping up and losing your key talent to competitors?

With demand increasing dramatically this year within the Banking and Financial services space for Project Managers and Business Analysts, a skill shortage of experienced, competent and skilled candidates is a reality. In a bid to push through various projects and programmes of work delayed due to the GFC, many organisations within financial services now have multiple requirements ranging across a high number of projects. Some organisations are now offering rates and salaries way above market rates in an attempt to attract the best talent in the market, and to tempt those key performers away from their current employers.

Read more…

Typically a “User Group” is a program designed to encourage and support communities who want to hold regular meetings in their area; to discuss their particular specialty in the technology field. The purpose of these gatherings is to provide a forum in which technical specialists can share best practice and expertise and can in turn obtain feedback from the user community.

Take for example, Grant Paisley who is responsible for running the “Sydney SQL Server User Group” www.sqlserver.org.au

When asked how and why he got involved in running the SQL Server User Group, this is what he had to say…

Questions:

1. How and why did you become involved in running this User Group?

I’ve run a lot of user groups in my time; it is something I’m very passionate about. I’ve always been the one left standing when everyone else steps back.

www.sqlserver.org.au was previously run by Microsoft. I own and run a company in Sydney called “Angry Koala”, which specialises in the SQL field, specifically in Business Intelligence – we turn data into knowledge. Angry Koala took over the SQL Server User Group over five years ago, and we now have between 40- 80 guests per meeting (in Sydney). Other states like Melbourne have up to 120 guests at a time and we also have user groups in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart and Perth.

2. What is the purpose of a User Group?

The purpose of the user group is to build branding and community. For example, one of our members went to work in the UK for 12 years, and the first thing he did upon returning to Australia was join the SQL Server User Group. This allowed him to reconnect with other SQL Server specialists, find out what was going on in the market, the hot topics and employment opportunities etc. Glyn Llewelyn is now my GM as a result of joining the group. Read more…

With more and more Australian employers turning to outsourcing their technology departments to specialist and overseas providers, there has been concerns raised as to whether Australian jobs are being lost and if it’s as cost effective as the outsourcers would have you believe.

There have been many debates from advocates on both sides of the argument but here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of both side of the debate. Read more…

Unfortunately for most of us, a job interview is usually not going to lead to a job offer. Asking for feedback will let you discover how you can improve your interviewing so that next time round you have a better chance of success.

This can be extremely helpful in your job search, especially for IT jobs.  You will be rated on your specific technical ability as well as how much you fit into the team. So wouldn’t it be nice to know if the employer thought you didn’t have the correct experience or maybe if they just thought you don’t fit with the team?

So – make sure you ask for feedback next time.  The employer or recruiter will usually be happy to help.

As Sally-Anne Blanshard of myambition.com points out though,  it’s not just vital to ask for feedback but give it to the interviewer yourself. The thing you must remember is that an interview is a two way street. As long as you’re polite and constructive, the employer will likely welcome your comments and perhaps even view you in more of a positive light.

Working with a professional Recruitment Agency presents you with a number of advantages over someone trying to find their next job on their own, however there are some steps you should take to ensure you receive the very best service.

1. The emphasis is on the word professional

With few barriers to entry there are a multitude of one-man bands in the recruitment industry, some who offer exceptional service and some who offer very poor service.

Don’t assume that bigger is always better but just as you would with the purchase of a new car for example, shop around and do your research.  Ask colleagues and friends who they have received good service from in the past; ask them what it was they liked about that agent; check out their web site and the clients they say they work with, then when you’re ready give them a call yourself.

2. Treat looking for a new job as a part-time job in itself

You need to commit a certain amount of time and energy to this important project if you want to do it right and have the best chance of securing a job you want. Set yourself objectives and tasks you will need to do to achieve them, then start working. Recruiters have access to a wide variety of potential jobs but you need to let them know what company’s, industries or job titles you are interested in.

3. Look over your resume and decide whether a re-fresh is necessary

Ensure that you included all of the relevant information for the job you are applying for and remember that you have an audience who need to be clearly pointed to the facts which support why they should interview you. Be sure to articulate your achievements and your skills and most importantly spell out how your next potential employer will benefit from those things. Read more…