As an SME, if you have already embraced technology and your business is now dependent on it, getting the right staff - or indeed any staff - to keep your systems up and running is a nightmare. There is no magic pool of qualified IT people sitting out there - it's a river and the technical bods are salmon, fighting their way upstream and into the best positions.
Today, even more SMEs are dependent on technology to keep their businesses not only running, but also profitable and competitive. In order to tackle the rapid pace of change in the marketplace they have to employ new business methods that depend on emerging technologies. Innovation and entrepreneurship are being held back by the continued IT skills shortage within the SME sector.
"Nearly two years ago we had this wonderful idea to provide an internet-only agency aimed specifically at providing pay-as-you-go professional services to smaller companies," says Barrie Desmond, managing director of Multimedia PR and Marketing Services, based in Monmouth, south Wales. "The early field trials were compelling, and potential clients who saw the blueprint of the service raved, but the technical integration challenges and focus needed were such that the idea sits mothballed while we wait for the local university to try and help resource IT people for the project."
In a recent independent survey of small businesses, carried out by 3Com, 82% of respondents stated that their companies were growing or changing aggressively. This means further investment in IT. Startlingly, the majority of these businesses do not have a full-time IT manager and three quarters have no written IT strategy or plans.
"By not having the appropriate IT expertise, some SMEs may be risking their very existence," cautions Simon Churan, director of Certes Group, a specialist IT recruitment company. "IT affects how organisations do business - for example, the effectiveness of their e-business strategy may be vital for competitive advantage, and therefore business performance, and may ultimately determine their survival."
For managers with little IT knowledge, the problem is one of making sure that technology does not end up controlling the business and that business need really is the determining factor for the adoption of new technology.
However, in the recruitment stakes, smaller companies can offer advantages over the larger, blue-chip corporates. Get Real Systems, a small e-procurement vendor employing 25 people, is constantly on the search for good IT staff. It uses its location near York to entice technical people out of the cities. "Quality of life is much better here, and where else could you work in a converted cow shed and barn in the middle of the countryside where the view out of the window is of green fields?" says boss Mark McCarthy.
While money is important, for many IT staff it is not the overriding factor. The main attraction of working in a small company can be the variety of work and the unusual experience to be gained. Most SMEs need good all-rounders with value-added specialisms, and many are prepared to invest in training while allowing a degree of creative on-the-job experimentation with new technologies. The downside for some individuals is that they are likely to be working on their own, and many of the tasks - such as keeping the email running and the printers working - may end up being repetitive.
Smaller companies simply offer a different option to candidates, not a worse one. For many, the options of increased working flexibility, diversity of role, a sharper focus on the impact of their activities on the bottom line and a feeling of truly making a difference are enough to tip the balance.
Currently, networking is the most fashionable method of recruitment, according to Robert Ames of the Data Company. Taking personal recommendation and word-of-mouth one step further and offering cash rewards to employees who recommend successful people, often helps to ensure a good fit with existing company culture and working practices.
Small companies are disillusioned by the poor value that they have received through traditional recruitment agencies."One guy was doing a day job as a marketing executive but, according to the agency, did 'techie' things at night on his Commodore PC," recalls Desmond. "He'd been built up so much by this agency that this cheeky little upstart was arrogant and selfish to the point where we wanted to terminate the interview by throwing him out of the window."
However, Jonathan Greig, CEO of Framfab UK believes that agencies still offer some of the best options for recruitment: "Search hard for the right recruitment partner. The cost may be high, but they can be an excellent culture protector for your business. We found a really good agency - IT Moves - they are like our right hand and live, breathe, eat and drink with us. It's the only way for them to understand what we are looking for, find the right recruits and then enthuse as much as we do about Framfab."
Anna Jones of Akibia believes that the recruitment of IT staff should be handled exactly like a courtship. "IT specialists don't feel valued if they are given a job offer after only a telephone interview, as sometimes happens - that smacks of desperation. You have to entice them into your company. That way you'll get the best out of them for your business."
Regardless of whether you are a small or large company, there is no easy answer to the pervasive issues surrounding the recruiting of good IT people. The unfortunate truth is that there are still four vacancies for every candidate. However, as a small business you have to get yourself out of the mindset that you will always be the poor relation in the recruitment stakes. Once you start focusing on selling the attributes and advantages of working for a small, dynamic company where the IT specialists can actually make a visible difference to the business, then you stand a chance of winning the battle.
Action list
• If your business and its continuing success is dependent on technology, then IT and recruitment should be a board issue, with a supporting IT strategic plan.
• Money is not the overriding factor for many IT staff, as long as you pay competitively. Identify and then sell the other benefits you can offer - location, job variety, experience with new technology, training, and a positive input into the business.
• Consider rewarding personal recommendations as a serious method for staff recruitment.
• If you outsource recruitment to an agency, then expect to spend time with them so they fully understand your needs and requirements and will then truly work with you.
• Consider using the internet as a recruitment medium.
• Court your IT staff, and demonstrate their value to the business by showing respect for their position.
