Thinkronization Newsletter January 2012
We wish everyone a very Happy New Year from Remedi Electronic Commerce Group. As we move into 2012, we explore risks that confront our organizations and the mitigation of risks, particularly a few identified in an annual study of the topic by the Economist Intelligence Unit of Lloyd’s of London.According to the 2011 Risk Index, the study identifies these top five:
- Loss of customers/cancelled orders
- Talent and skills shortages
- Reputational risk
- Currency fluctuation
- Changing legislation
It is hard to imagine that with all the mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, off shoring and general unemployment, that the availability of talent is even a concern, let alone a top two risk. Yet as those of us in IT know, there has been a talent and experience shortage brewing for some time now. Remedi has seen a contraction in the general availability of integration talent since Q4 2010, particularly as we continued the climb out of the Great Recession and organizations began hiring once again.In this edition, we will explore how this talent and skills shortage might affect IT decision makers, IT technicians and IT recruiters.
For The Integration Decision Maker
On a positive note, the Lloyd’s survey finds that more than 70 percent of respondents indicate they are better prepared to manage business and operational risks than they were two years ago given lessons learned during the Great Recession. So what has brought on the dramatic rise of talent and skill shortages as identified in the 2011 global study?- For some in the East, simple demographics play a role, as the population of young and old outnumbers professional, working-age people.
- Competitive pressures also contribute, as the West seeks innovative and entrepreneurial talent to lead the way out of recession.
- Finally, simple productivity, the need to accomplish more with fewer highly skilled and broadly capable resources, adds to the risk.
When on boarding resources from outside your organization experience comes with a price, particularly in a tight market, but can be a quick way to seed your group with talent that did not previously exist. Alternatively, the hire-and-train approach consumes resources…not in the form of compensation which is often less, but in time, training and nurturing.
Fortunately, decision makers can count on integration services organizations like Remedi for temporary needs in the training and/or talent category. In addition to or full-time and contract to hire placement options, our consulting and training provides clients with project and supplemental resources for all things integration, including:
- Electronic Data Interchange – EDI
- Business to Business Integration – B2Bi
- Enterprise Application Integration – EAI
- Extract Transfer and Load – ETL
- Data Integration – DI
- Data Warehouse – DW
- Business Intelligence – BI
- Supply Chain: management and consulting
- Data Exchange: communications and managed file transfer
For The Technician
he Lloyd’s of London Risk Index 2011 notes that the impact of the talent crunch is particularly severe in the IT, medical and engineering fields. Intensive training and high drop-out rates are cited as reasons for the deficit. As the recession continues to impact the job market, now, more than ever, is the time to be open to expanding your skill set. An expanded skill set can help solidify your position within your organization and open up all sorts of opportunity.Access to new technology has been noted to be as motivating as salary as a key driver in employee satisfaction. Whether for yourself or others on your integration team, make sure the opportunity to grow and provide resume building experiences are part of the development plan of your technologists.
In the instance outside integration resources are utilized as a result of a talent crunch or for your contingent staffing needs, make sure the how and whys of a consultant’s work is understood throughout the project. Good consulting organizations will educate your team as part of their deliverable, and not leave you dependent on them.
Lastly, ensure that your team is staffed with the talent and ability to digest and understand new technology to utilize it efficiently in the course of integration work. It is unfortunate, but sometimes folks are not wired for change and utilizing new technologies is not something they are capable of, or interested in.
Remedi can aid technicians on a variety of integration talent challenges as we hire and train IT experts, business integration experts, and EDI experts for project-based, contract-to-hire, and permanent positions.
For The Talent Recruiter
The business leaders polled for the 2011 Risk Index scored themselves as “more than adequately prepared” to tackle 48 of the 50 identified business risks. As a recruiter, do you just think you are prepared, or are you really ready to face the looming talent and skills crunch?Given talent shortages, or the risks of it, recruiting personnel inside your organization and firms like Remedi will be key to providing staffing solutions. With the Triple Constraint in mind, outlined in our last newsletter, the premise of “good, fast and cheap” also applies to getting resources on board in your organization. Where will you find the best employees? Sources of good talent may come from those developed and promoted from within your own organization, obtained from competitors or acquired from utilizing recruiters.
With niche recruiters like Remedi Electronic Commerce Group, you can instantly access specific skill sets exclusive to business and data integration. We cull the best and brightest IT professionals in the field and place them in contract, contract-to-hire or full-time roles including those such as:
- IBM Sterling B2B Integrator / BPML Developer
- IBM Sterling B2B Integrator Consultant
- Sterling GENTRAN Mapper / Developer
- Sterling GENTRAN Consultant
- GXS Application Integrator Developer / Consultant
- Inovis TLE / BizManager Developer / Consultant
- Extol Business Integrator Developer / Consultant
- Microsoft Biztalk Developer / Consultant
- Integration Business Analyst
- Integration Architect
- And more…
