How to keep your IT staff at their best. “Loss of drive, determination, and enjoyment.” Those are the retiring words of one of the greatest running backs the NFL has ever seen, Barry Sanders – in the prime of his career, no less. Regardless of how amazing our jobs are,…...
How to Ensure Your IT Staff Love Their jobs
7 tips for tech staff retention. What makes a company attractive to IT employees? Of course, benefits, respect, and fair pay are attributes all employees value. However, tech talent in particular come with a unique blend of proclivities and annoyances. Unless you’ve worked in IT, or really understand the industry,…...
How to Say “Thank You” in IT
Showing appreciation for those who save the day. You’ve got the biggest presentation in company history in 15 minutes and nobody can connect to the Apple TV. Disaster appears imminent, then... ...Your IT hero swoops in, and with a few taps to the remote, voila, you’re back in business with…...
Onboarding Starts with the First Interview
Treat it as a process, rather than an event—which gets underway with the initial interview. Your top candidate accepted the offer and they’re cleared to start. Now the crazy circus involved with onboarding begins. Forms to complete. Eligibility confirmations—both at the federal and state level—to submit. And the biggest of…...
Don’t Overlook the Benefits of a Proper Greeting
How to make someone wish they were never hired (on their very first day). The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) published 37 pages of practice guidelines covering a subject frequently overlooked by companies - onboarding new employees. Clearly, the orientation process plays a significant role in the success of…...
Why a Resume Isn’t Everything When Hiring Tech Talent
Resumes can make notorious first impressions. Wouldn’t you rather start with some insight on their reputation? But I’m so much more than my resume. Of course you are, my bright little star. But I haven’t got time to figure that out. So goes the saga of job candidates and hiring…...
Does Hiring Have to Be Such a Pain in the…Fingers?
How to make hiring easy. Bringing on a new member to your team can be as daunting as ordering a four-course meal at The Cheesecake Factory, except this decision actually matters. Fortunately, finding, screening, and collecting a “selects” list out of your applicants doesn’t have to be a full-time job…...
Transforming Big Data From a Buzzword Concept Into an Actionable Asset
How your technical staff can help the rest of the company understand what they do. Big data. What’s so hard to understand about it? Let’s be fair, do IT professionals grok the marketing department’s sales funnel? Or why the people in HR are always referring to a balanced scorecard? Different…...
Recruiting Top IT Talent Takes More Than a 401K Plan
Ways To Attract The Best New Hires in IT The competition to attract top IT talent is fierce, especially in today’s market when there is not enough talent to go around. A Society for Human Resources article reports that “Sixty-one percent of CIOs in a survey said it is ‘somewhat…...
“Do Not Pass Go.” Why Your Statement of Work Has to Be a Document – Not a Concept – Before You Hire a Consultant
You need to know, precisely, what you’re not capable of doing. Do a Google search on “Statement of Work.” You’ll be hard pressed to find a definition that does not contain the phrase formal document. There’s a solid reason, and it has everything to do with success if you plan…...