I’m Blogging IT

IT Morale

2009-11-20T22:04:18Z

More Than a Quarter of IT Employers Rate Their Organization’s Employee Morale as Low, Finds New CareerBuilder Survey

CHICAGO, November 17, 2009 –

“Low morale levels are an unfortunate side effect of this recession,” said Eric Presley, Chief Technology Officer for CareerBuilder. “As a result, employers are taking measures to help address negative workplace sentiment and motivate their employees. Whether it’s through stepping up communication, offering more employee recognition programs or providing more flexible work opportunities, organizations are doing what they can to proactively manage low morale.”

IT workers revealed a variety of factors that may be contributing to low morale levels. Thirty-one percent said that their stress level at work is high and six-in-ten (60 percent), the highest among industries surveyed, said that their workload has increased in the last six months. More than one-in-ten (14 percent) are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.

More than one-third (34 percent) of IT workers said they felt there was departmental favoritism at work, which could also play a part in low morale levels. Thirty percent of IT workers don’t think their department is important to senior leadership.

Sales (22 percent), research/development (7 percent) and marketing (6 percent) topped the list of departments IT workers believe are primarily given preferential treatment at work.

When asked what type of preferential treatment IT workers thought favored departments received, they said that they:

Tend to have higher salaries – 62 percent

Receive more recognition by senior leaders – 53 percent

Receive more funding/resources – 38 percent

Tend to have greater career advancement opportunities – 31 percent

Have more flexibility in their work arrangements – 26 percent

Are awarded with trips while other departments are not – 20 percent

Tend to have more training and leadership development opportunities – 13 percent

Are able to follow a more casual dress code – 12 percent

Given higher profile projects – 12 percent

IT workers have navigated increased workloads, longer hours and strained resources during this recession. Some of these challenges have taken their toll on workplace morale. A new CareerBuilder survey of more than190 IT employers reveals that more than a quarter (29 percent) rate their organization’s current employee morale as low. Additionally, more than one-third (36 percent) of IT workers report that they have had difficulty staying motivated at work in the last year and one-in-five do not feel loyal to their current employer. The survey was conducted between August 20 and September 9, 2009.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive

© on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,924 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; non-government; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions); and among 4,285 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; non-government); ages 18 and over between August 20 and September 9, 2009 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 2,924 and 4,285 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.81 percentage points and +/-1.5 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

Number of International Science and Engineering Students Increasing

2009-11-18T23:19:46Z

Science Careers from the Journal Science – This article took a closer look at international students who are coming to the United States for education and the different fields they are targeting. What they found was that science and engineering students from abroad jumped 20% during 2009 and that 4 in 10 international undergraduates are in science or engineering programs. The increase of students targeting these fields show the direction science and engineering is going and the important role it will play in the future.

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/sciencecareers/2009/11/international-s.html

Small Business Success Essential for Economic Growth

2009-11-18T22:36:45Z

Yesterday, TIME released an article entitled “Small Business, Key to Recovery, Is Still Hurting” by Janet Morisssey. The article details the importance of small business and their integral role in the economy. How integral is that role? They generated 65% of the job growth between 1993 and 2008.

Small business recovery is essential for the larger economic rebound, but it will not happen in the near future. According to The National Federation of Independent Business, 21% of small businesses plan to cut workers over the next three months. Suggestions by economists and small businesses to stimulate growth include: extending credit lines, significant tax credit or tax cut to companies that hire new workers, and government tax credit or tax cuts for money small businesses spend on health care for employees.

Will we see enactment on the given suggestions moving into 2010? Hopefully small business needs will be addressed in some fashion, leading to a positive outlook in terms of consumer spending and hiring forecasts in small businesses over the next year.

Talent

2009-11-16T21:25:38Z

November 17th

“Talent is not patient, and it is not faithful”

http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/management/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14301649&source=hptextfeature

Gaming Industry Back On?

2009-11-17T14:44:04Z

November 17th

IT Industry Update

2009-11-16T14:44:38Z

Here is our Q3 IT Industry Update.

Globalization And The Challenges that Come With It

2009-11-14T01:12:37Z

November 14th

As the globalization wave reaches emerging markets, IT leaders face new mangement challenges. Here’s advice from CIO on how to balance the competing—and often conflicting—needs of established and developing business locations.

http://www.cio.com/article/507503/Globalization_New_Management_Challenges_Facing_IT_leaders?page=1&taxonomyId=1436

Recruiting Software

2009-11-14T01:12:57Z

November 13th

Today we see more companies using recruiting software and applicant tracking systems in order to screen through candidates better. I found an interesting article from CIO that gives job seekers hints on how to optimize their resumes for these new technologies.

It’s a time consuming process for the companies to screen out the many candidates who apply to today’s jobs that do not meet the qualifications. We understand this concern and have products developed just to help screen people out and save a lot of time. If you are utilizing job postings then make sure you are adding the screener questions. You can save time by just looking at people who answered your questions correctly. If you are really short on time then leave the full screening portion up to our professionals. We will use our industry recruiting experts to screen out candidates. In the end we will hand you the resumes that meet your qualifications. Just think about all the other things you can accomplish in the week without having to screen out everyone that doesn’t fit your profile.

http://www.cio.com/article/505849/Recruiting_Software_10_Ways_Job_Seekers_Can_Beat_the_System?page=1

Healthcare IT Is Going Strong

2009-11-11T14:48:16Z

November 11th

Informationweek has an interesting article on how Healthcare IT is the fastest growing segment of the $1 trillion global health care market. It’s growing by 11% annually, which will likely continue through 2013, says a study from Scientia Advisors.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/EMR/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221601057

It’s Not Me, It’s You

2009-11-10T15:50:01Z

As a small business consultant one of my favorite things to read is the small business section in the Wall Street Journal. If you happened to catch it today, there was an article with a humorous title about a not so humorous subject.

‘It Just Isn’t Working? Some File for Customer Divorce: As Weak Economy Exerts Financial Pressure, Firms Shed Their ‘High-Maintenance’ or Delinquent Clients’. Author Raymund Flandez writes about how some businesses are cutting ties with clients who constantly ask for more discounts or fail to pay on time. A year ago small businesses were giving special pricing for loyal clients and even offering payment plans. Today is a different story – small business owners can no longer maintain this type of relationship with their customers. As important as your clientele is, you still need to make profits.

The article references several small businesses that have found more time to work with their loyal customers who pay on time after refusing to deal with difficult clients that only focus on costs. “Problematic customers need to be fired”.

So what do you do as a small business owner? The concept is simple:

Accept the fact that you may be initially suffering from a drop in sales
Drop difficult clients carefully- be courteous and professional
Do more to protect your company- run credit checks for first time accounts, sending contracts ahead of time, reiterating terms and obligations
Stand your ground- “It isn’t worth it for 10 employees to spend five hours for an account that may only generate $2,000 in sales over the year”.
But don’t forget to use your better judgment- if a loyal client just needs a little extra time, work out a specific arrangement with them.