How To Find Good People In Good Times

Pulling together a group of all-stars who work together as a team is perhaps one of the biggest challenges solution providers face during this time of rock-bottom unemployment.

VARs can ensure they attract and retain the most well-matched, best-qualified candidates by offering competitive pay and benefits, creating a nurturing environment that encourages personal growth and keeping in step with the corporate culture. Of course, this approach requires extensive investment, but the effort can pay off with more contracts, larger deals and a high rate of customer satisfaction.

"In our organization--and many companies in our space are similar--70 percent of our operating-expense dollars went to employees in 2005," says Jim Kavanaugh, CEO of World Wide Technology (No. 43 on the VARBusiness 500), based in St. Louis. "People are by far our No. 1 largest cost and expense, and also our No. 1 resource, so it makes sense that that is where we should focus our time."

The IT arena is a small world, one in which companies often vie for the best and brightest employees.

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"We all pull and compete for the same macro pool of talent," says Mark Perlstein, vice president of CIBERsites IT Operations at Ciber (VARBusiness 500 No. 59), Greenwood Village, Colo. "All of us need to refine our recruiting standards. This industry is all about people. It's not about inventory and products."

Who Are You?

Leading by example, upper management must first design its corporate structure, code of ethics and business motto. Corporate leaders need to educate employees and prospects about their corporate creed and continue to underscore the culture seamlessly and transparently.

"Our corporate culture has really progressed under the leadership of [CEO and president] Mark Hurd," says Karen Walker, vice president of marketing at Hewlett-Packard Services (VARBusiness 500 No. 4), Palo Alto, Calif. "HP's culture is strong in terms of high integrity and having a core environment that people still enjoy working in. Folks are really excited about it."

It's often difficult to articulate the culture during a high-volume acquisition streak, such as the one undertaken recently by Logicalis (VARBusiness 500 No. 83), which now employs more than 1,000 people around the world. This year, the company took clear steps to making each employee aware of the Logicalis culture.

"We have worked very hard to take a number of excellent companies and cultures, bring them together and jointly develop a new culture--the culture of Logicalis," says Michael Cox, CEO of the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based solution provider. "Our marching orders for the last fiscal year to our employees was, 'Don't do anything that doesn't improve a relationship with a customer, a partner or a fellow employee.'"

This strategy apparently succeeded: In a recent companywide, in-house survey, the company found that 90 percent of its employees understood their role within the company and how it contributes to Logicalis' ongoing success, Cox says. In addition, 93 percent said they would recommend Logicalis as an employer, he adds.

World Wide Technology created an Employee Performance Matrix to help employees understand how well they were adhering to corporate values. "We want to help manage and guide new and existing employees," Kavanaugh says. "We created a common language across the organization so there is consistency in how we treat people and what we expect."

NEXT: How to balance hiring and retention.

Balance Hiring And Retention

VARs must address job satisfaction for both new hires and existing employees. "It's challenging because we want to make sure we're bringing in fresh talent that is driven and excited about being a part of HP," Walker says. "We also have a great and loyal employee base so we can maintain a low attrition rate." Today, the division has 69,000 employees.

To maintain a balance, HP Services works to provide strong development and training for its people. "We invest in a significant way," HP's Walker says. "We carve out time where our employees are taking more formal training and ensure they have time within their schedules to invent and innovate."

For its part, GTSI (VARBusiness 500 No. 62) employs individuals with customer, technical and partnership skills, says Scott Friedlander, executive vice president of the Chantilly, Va.-based government integrator. To keep its people satisfied with and excited about their jobs, the company has clear guidelines and career-path steps to encourage staff to pursue their career dreams within GTSI's walls.

"We sit in an environment that is virtually zero-percent unemployment," Friedlander says. "If you're going to recruit [employees] and keep them, you need to give them support, guidance, counseling, tools and coaching--and pay them for performance. The nice thing in a revenue-generating environment is you can set pretty clear and concise goals."

Given the cutting-edge nature of the high-tech industry, solution providers should also be prepared to keep employees up-to-date on the latest products and technologies.

Dimension Data (VARBusiness 500 No. 34), for example, developed the Dimension Data Solutions Academy to educate current employees and future candidates on IP telephony, the company's delivery methodology, client experiences, case studies and apprenticeship programs, says Geary Morris, senior vice president of marketing at Dimension Data, based in Reston, Va. "Although the first courses are around IP telephony, the Solutions Academy will soon be rolled out for each of Dimension Data's core lines of business," he says.

Quality of Life

Although some employees revel in expense accounts and frequent-flier miles, many more senior executives have cured their travel itch and want to work closer to home, says Jim Budkie, managing vice president of marketing at Hitachi Consulting (VARBusiness 500 No. 159) in Dallas.

"One of the things that make us attractive to a lot of experienced consultants is the fact they they don't need to be a road warrior for the rest of their lives," he says. "They can have a nice life/work balance. Whatever your life away from work is, it's nice to have one."

Keep Your Eyes Open

Even while training existing employees, solution providers must remain on the lookout for new talent. When top people become available, it is often prudent to make space for them.

"We are always hiring, even if there are no openings, per se," says Ken Brindamour, vice president of managed services at Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) [VARBusiness 500 No. 5], El Segundo, Calif. "If a top player is interested in joining our team, we grab them. If you only hire in a crisis mode, it's nearly impossible to make great staffing decisions."

Channel companies must keep in mind, however, that it doesn't all come down to dollars and cents. "It's not just about money," GTSI's Friedlander says. "You will not keep people if it's just about money. You have to have fun in the business."

Solution providers with a clear corporate identity and a willingness to help employees grow are able to retain excellent employees. To succeed, though, these organizations must be simultaneously supporting existing employees while searching out new star players for their team.