Stephen Mill, regional manager for
Robert Half Technology shares his
views on job opportunities ...
Interview by
Stephen Ibaraki, I.S.P.
This week, Stephen Ibaraki, I.S.P.,
has an exclusive interview with
Stephen Mill, regional manager for
Robert Half Technology. Robert Half
Technology is a leading provider of
information technology (IT)
professionals on a project or
full-time basis.
Mr. Mill's area of responsibility
currently includes managing the
daily operations of the firm's
Canadian offices. Stephen has spent
the past seven years at the
specialized staffing firm where he
has experienced all phases of the IT
job market cycle first-hand.
With more than 100 locations in
North America and Europe, Robert
Half Technology is a leading
provider of IT professionals for
initiatives ranging from web
development and
multiplatform systems integration to
network engineering and
technical support. Robert Half
Technology offers online job search
services at
www.roberthalftechnology.com.
Discussion:
Q:
Stephen, considering your very busy
schedule, we are indeed fortunate to
have you in this interview. Thank
you for sharing your deep insights,
and experience with our audience.
A: You are very welcome and I'm
excited about the opportunity to
share my thoughts with your
audience.
Q: You have a most interesting
history. Please detail your
experiences which led to your
current position. We would be
interested in your most valuable
lessons and challenges.
A: My background and experienced has
been primarily focused on business
development. My top achievements
have been primarily a result of
maintaining a positive attitude
throughout my career. This has
helped me overcome many challenges
over the years when working with
various levels of management and
when dealing with customers. If
there's one piece of advice that I
can offer for success, it's to stay
focused on your career path, count
on many but rely on none. It's up to
you!
Q:
What are the major challenges facing
your company today, in two, five,
and ten years. Please detail your
vision, missions, strategies, goals
and values? What factors make your
company so successful and what
processes can be transferred (used)
by other organizations?
A: My top areas of focus are to
retain key staff as the market
improves, continue to secure
business before the competition
does, and keep ahead of emerging
technologies and industry trends.
Our mission, as always, is to be the
premier provider of professional
staffing services in all the markets
we serve, while adhering to the
highest professional standards of
excellence.
Q: Please detail the services you
provide to both organizations and
professionals?
A: Robert Half Technology is a
leading IT consulting services firm,
which is in a position to meet all
of a company's unique information
technology needs, from finding just
the right individual for an
immediate assignment to providing IT
resources for a global network of
offices. The need to access
information technology expertise on
a just-in-time basis, combined with
constant requirements to assimilate
emerging technologies, has
contributed to our rapid growth.
Regardless of current economic
conditions, companies of all sizes
and across all industries will
always require qualified IT
professionals. Start-up companies
require support for new systems
implementation and web development;
established firms seek assistance to
develop e-commerce strategies and
utilize Internet-based applications
to make business operations more
efficient. Robert Half Technology
helps firms achieve these goals by
providing the highest quality
project and full-time professionals
in areas ranging from multiplatform
systems integration to e-business
development to help desk and
end-user support, including
specialists in web applications,
network engineering, systems
integration and database design.
More information is available on our
website at
www.roberthalftechnology.com
or by calling one of our accounting
executives at (800) 793-5533.
Q: Is there a way to generate more
targeted applications, conduct
reference checks, perform background
checks, and process other important
criteria (what are these areas)?
A: Focus on the right recruiting
sources, such as online job boards
for specific positions and
specialties. The more targeted plan
you have for positing job
descriptions and available
positions, the better matched
applicants will be to your needs. An
alternative to initiating an
in-house job search process would be
to utilize the services of a
specialized IT recruitment firm,
which are typically much better
positioned to assist with specific
requests for IT professionals with
in-demand skills and specialties.
Q: Detail the techniques that
businesses can employ to keep valued
employees.
A: It’s valuable to take time to
recognize your employees’
achievements. Show your staff you
care through day-to-day praise and
recognition. Don’t forget simple
courtesies. “Good morning” and
“thank you,” a note of appreciation
or kind words during a meeting can
go long way. Other ways to show
employees you value their
contributions include initiating
social activities for staff, giving
cards or small gifts for special
occasions, providing personal or
public recognition for a job well
done, offering tickets to local
sporting events and shows, providing
free coffee and snacks, and
occasional meals, as appropriate.
These are only a few techniques.
Employee empowerment, fostering
teamwork and regular performance
appraisals also go a long way in
helping keep your top talent.
Q: And IT professionals, what can
they do to stay employed? From their
perspective, what is the hiring
environment today and where do you
see it going in the future; what
strategies can they use to obtain
meaningful employment? What
qualities are companies looking for
in candidates and how can candidates
effectively prove that these
qualities exist in themselves?
Do you see a change from the past to
the present and into the future?
A: No contractor would begin
building a house without at least a
rudimentary plan. Likewise,
something as important as a career
in IT shouldn’t be pursued without a
well-thought-out strategy --
especially given the rapid pace of
change in business today. Everything
from the introduction of new
technologies to company expansion
can have a direct impact on your job
and your career. This makes it all
the more important to develop a
long-term career strategy. Be sure
to share your professional goals
with your supervisor. Be clear about
your expectations for advancement
and understand what you need to do
to get where you want to be.
A key trend is the growing
importance of soft skills in the
workplace -- that is, the ability to
communicate, listen and work
collaboratively, including
departments outside of IT. While
logically it would seem that
technology has allowed us to work
more independently with less need
for soft skills, the opposite is
actually true. In a survey
commissioned by our firm, 77 percent
of chief information officers polled
said the increased use of technology
will require workers to communicate
more effectively and accurately in
coming years. The reason? Think
e-mail, voice mail and
teleconferences. With information
technology accelerating the
frequency of communication, any
deficiencies in diplomacy,
negotiation, and oral and written
skills are increasingly obvious to
others.
Q: Since you have a reputation for
staying attuned to market trends,
what are the hot job areas today, in
two and five years?
A: Companies that faced the
difficult situations of layoffs,
reorganizations and budget revisions
are now beginning to focus their
hiring efforts in a more positive
direction. They are gradually adding
staff to accommodate the
organization’s needs and provide
greater support to employees
throughout the firm.
At this time a majority of the
hiring seems to be on the project
side. It hasn't translated to as
many full-time openings yet. Many
firms are relying on project
professionals to assist with
expanded workloads until they’re
certain they have a long-term need
for permanent staff. This practice
also helps to maintain productivity
without sacrificing flexibility in
human resources management.
Companies are still taking a
strategic approach to human resource
management, carefully analyzing
their personnel needs to determine
the exact skill set and experience
level required for open positions.
Canadian CIOs expect an increase in
the hiring of IT professionals in
the fourth quarter of 2003,
according to Robert Half
Technology’s Information
Technology Hiring Index and Skills
Report. Fourteen percent
of executives surveyed plan to
expand their IT departments in the
fourth quarter and 3 percent
anticipate staff reductions. The net
11 percent hiring increase
compares with a net 4 percent
increase forecast last quarter.
The national poll includes responses
from 270 CIOs from a stratified
random sample of Canadian companies
with 100 or more employees. Other
key findings of our research
indicate that business expansion is
the leading factor driving IT hiring
and that Windows administration
remains the skill set most in
demand.
Q: Do you see the IT market turning
around and when? What will it look
like? How will the structure of IT
change within organizations?
A:
We're not economists and have no way
of predicting economic trends. What
we can tell you is that based on our
analysis of thousands of IT job
orders in
Canada, we feel that companies are
still conservative in their hiring
efforts and there are a lot of
qualified candidates in the job
market today, which is keeping
salary ranges conservative. It's
important to point out that demand
for top candidates remains strong.
The best candidates with the
strongest skill sets will be
competitive in any employment
market.
Q: In your role, what are your top
ten qualities and processes that
make for great leadership?
A: Motivated, satisfied and
sufficiently challenged employees
are crucial to your company’s
productivity and success. While the
best workers possess strong internal
motivation to perform their best,
you still need to take steps to
ensure that your entire IT staff is
motivated to work at their peak
potential.
Today’s technology workforce is made
up of a diverse group of
individuals. Add to that
telecommuters, independent IT
consultants and employees on
flexible schedules, and it’s obvious
that the traditional workforce is in
transition. There is no
one-size-fits-all approach to
motivating today’s employees. To be
a great leader, you must figure out
which motivational tools will be
most effective for your staff. The
next step is to implement those that
suit your management style and your
company’s goals. With motivation
being top, other qualities that make
for great leadership include
creating a positive work
environment, fostering open
communication, providing
opportunities for advancement,
offering competitive compensation
packages, recognizing and rewarding
employees, and promoting teamwork
and collaboration. Also, be sure to
put your employees' ideas into
motion!
Q: What drives you to do what you
do?
A: I thoroughly enjoy the technology
industry, what it has to offer and
its potential for shaping the future
of society. My success in management
provides me with optimism. I believe
in myself and my company, and it
makes it all worth coming to work
each day.
Q: Thank you again for sharing your
years of successful leadership and
wealth of knowledge and experiences
with our audience.
A: It was my pleasure. Thank you for
the opportunity.
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