Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for users of contract IT services.
In this issue:
• Why timing is key in securing the right specialist
• Tech View: NAS Futures
• 10 reasons to use contract rather than permanent staff
• Real Skills. Real People - a profile of B & M's Melanie Thompson
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Time is of the essence: why timeliness is key in securing the right specialist
Jerry Smart explains why the old adage, 'time is of the essence' is more pertinent now than ever when it comes to the recruitment of contract specialists
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">There is no doubt that the demand for critical specialist skills and expertise in IT now exceeds supply, meaning that all parties have to work smarter and faster to achieve their goals.
The customer, naturally, wants their suppliers to be reactive and responsive, either proposing good candidates who have the right skills and availability, or informing the customer promptly if there are no suitable candidates at that time. Once a candidate has been found, the supplier should follow up on their proposal in a timely manner and seek to ensure that the candidate is committed to this project - in preference to all others. Once the customer has made a decision, it is imperative for the supplier to have a good line of communication to the candidate to secure his or her immediate commitment.
In order to provide an effective service, the supplier, on the other hand, needs the customer to communicate their needs promptly and to act on proposals as soon as practical in order to secure the candidate. This requires good coordination between HR and line management as, once a candidate has been selected, the interview should proceed without delay and the decision to appoint (or not) be taken quickly - with the budget having previously been approved.
For both parties, General Agreements and Service Level Agreements help not only to define process, but also act as a practical way of setting and meeting expectations. In the next issue we shall discuss these agreements further.
For a timely response to your needs, contact sales@bmeurope.com
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Tech View: NAS Futures
Paul Smith, Technical Manager at B & M, looks at some of the benefits and trends of Network Attached Storage, or NAS
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In its simplest form, NAS is a disk attached to a network with a small front-end operating system supplying data control and security. The big business advantage of NAS is that it can usually be supported by IT staff with generalised skills, rather than the more specialised Storage Administrators required for SANs (Storage Area Networks) and DFSMS (Data Facility Storage Management Subsystem), for example. The initial investment cost is also much lower than for a SAN.
Building a NAS solution can be achieved by augmenting in-house networking skills with contract specialists rather than having to train existing in-house staff or buying in permanent network expertise, making them more cost effective to the business in the short term.
However, many businesses are finding that with storage needs growing by an estimated 40% - 60% a year, they need to think beyond simply adding NAS units - each holding between 10 to 40TB of data - and move to SAN solutions. This has the benefit of freeing up core capacity on the LAN and delivers improved resilience against technical or physical threats to the network. When a company is at the point of potentially moving from NAS to SAN, they can use contract expertise to carry out an assessment of the benefits of the change.
In the next issue we will look at the range of skills needed to implement and support SAN software - particularly in multiplatform environments.
To find out how B & M could provide the networking and storage skills you need, contact us at sales@bmeurope.com |
10 reasons to use contract rather than permanent staff
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There are many circumstances where taking on a contractor is both more cost-effective and expedient than waiting to take on a permanent member of staff. These are just some of the reasons that we have discovered over our 13 years in the provision of contract IT services:
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Taking on a contractor ensures a fast start to the project, and can be used as interim measure while you recruit a permanent member of the team |
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Having a contractor in place gives you a fallback position in case your recruitment plans are unsuccessful |
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Experienced specialists will transfer technical knowledge and skills to existing in-house staff |
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Specialists will 'hit the ground running' as they are used to adapting to new environments and swiftly understanding complex projects |
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Using a contract specialist means that you are always buying in up-to-date skills |
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Contractors will adapt to working in your location and are less likely to want to stay close to home
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Taking somebody on contract is a great way of road-testing their skills to see if they suit your organisation - with the potential to convert from contract to permanent at a later date
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Contract staff give you greater flexibility in your workforce: you can effectively add or remove headcount as the business and budgets demand
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You have lower management overheads for contract staff: no employment tax, no benefits and no allowances to pay
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Using a contractor can save paying a recruitment fee, which could be up to 30% per cent of the first year's salary.
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To find out if using contract specialists could help your business, e-mail sales@bmeurope.com
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Real Skills. Real People
Get to know more about our people and find out that their expertise ensures that our customers get exactly the right skills, when they need them
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It may seem a long way from running a restaurant to human resources, but for B & M HR Manager Melanie Thompson, it has been a logical progression.
As she explains, "I spent 2 years training as a chef and running a restaurant in Cornwall, but realised that I preferred the area of business operations more and embarked on a BA in Business Administration to develop my knowledge of how businesses worked".
Melanie began her HR career as an HR Officer for Manpower which employed the frontline call centre staff dedicated to ITV Digital, where she introduced operational and personnel procedures and implemented new policies and procedures which cut absenteeism and attrition.
After the collapse of ITV Digital, Melanie spent the following two years as an HR contractor for a variety of high-profile public and private enterprises. At the National Health Service, she was involved with the recruitment and selection of medical staff, including international nurses. In the private sector, she advised telecoms giant NTL on employment law issues and at Personal Pension Management, she registered approved staff with the Financial Services Authority.
Melanie joined B & M as HR Manager in January 2004 where her main goal is to use her skills to help specialists succeed in the right assignments. "My main focus here is to continue to improve B & M?s professional services and to provide assistance and support to our growing number of specialists ?using the best practice approach that is key to how we do business."
When she?s not in the office, Melanie still puts her culinary skills to good use by entertaining friends. And if she?s not in the kitchen, you may find her drawing in oil pastels, reading or cycling (providing it isn?t raining!).
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B & M has specialised in delivering skilled ICT specialists to meet the needs of leading organisations throughout Europe since 1992. We focus exclusively on providing consultancy, technical services and support for z/OS, UNIX and Linux enterprise systems, including third-party systems software, open systems and networking connectivity. We add real value for HR and IT professionals by taking the time to understand their needs and applying best practice methods to deliver results. To find out more about our approach to providing the best skills for each business, go to www.bmeurope.com B & M Europe Limited
www.bmeurope.com
+44 (0)118 981 1880
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