Too Lean: Too Mean

Aug 17, 2013 | IT

Is Lean Management Starving your Business?

Lean management is purported to be the most clean, efficient business practise: minimising outgoings while maximising profit.  The economic climate is warming up and this means increased business.

What if, instead of maximising your resources, lean management is starving your innovation, quality, customer service and team motivation… and putting your reputation on the line?

Could lean management be extinguishing the furnace that drives your business for good?

Starving Innovation

  • With team members stretched to their limit, do they have time to think creatively or just reactively?
  • The economy is changing: are you too ‘lean’ to adapt?

Starving Quality

  • Is your workforce too pressured to notice detail?
  • Have you avoided upgrading resources due to cost?  It can often more expensive to fix problems repeatedly than to replace hardware or software.  The looming withdrawal of support for Windows XP is particularly relevant here.  Have you migrated yet?

Starving Customers

  • Lack of investment into innovation and quality has immediate effect on your most vital resources: your customers.  Are you feeding them enough to keep them coming back or will they look for pastures new?
  • Have you got the resources to continually research your market, ensuring your competitors don’t pip you to the post with new ideas?

Starving Profits

  • With business picking up have you got the resources to look at the finer financial details of all your departments?
  • Investment in an excellent Business Analyst can save you thousands on hidden losses and boost growth without cutting down in the areas that matter.

Starving Talent

  • Quality candidates currently have their pick of exciting opportunities.  Will they be attracted to a ‘too lean’ environment?
  • There are many exciting, new opportunities currently available in the IT industry, will you be able to keep your best people?

Heading for burnout

  • Are your existing team members too stretched to enjoy their jobs?
  • Are they demotivated and headed for burnout?

People are the Fuel of your Business

  • Growth is happening.  Can your IT Department cope with the increased pressure of demand?
  • Does sickness and absence further stretch your resources and demoralise your team?
  • Could fattening up your staffing levels boost motivation, innovation, quality and profits?

We Can Help
Here at Langley James we know how to find the most talented, vibrant IT professionals available, from Web Developers to IT Managers, Business Analysts and everyone in-between.  Whatever your requirements, permanent or contract, and up to the highest level of seniority, we can match you with the ideal candidate to help your business grow.

To discuss your IT recruitment needs please call us on 0207 099 4839 or email us at langleyjames@langleyjames.com.  We’d love you to join in the conversation.  Tweet us @ITRecruitment or follow us on Facebook.

XP Support Ending: Is your Business Ready?

Aug 10, 2013 | IT

What the end of support for Microsoft Windows XP means for you.

Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP as of 8th April 2014.  If your business is still operating Windows XP after this date you are risking the following:

  • Invasion of your PC or network by viruses and other malicious software
  • Loss of system reliability
  • Theft of data
  • Lack of hardware driver updates

Despite this announcement many companies are still running Microsoft XP.  Now is the time to act to ensure the safety and integrity of your IT infrastructure.

As you in the IT department know, for many businesses, upgrading to later versions of Windows is not as simple as choosing between Windows 7 and Windows 8 and upgrading:  a significant number of older pieces of software are incompatible with the new operating systems and as a result CIO’s have often, reluctantly had to stick with the 12 year old version of Windows until now.

With April 2014 fast approaching, now is the time to ensure you have the numbers needed in your IT department to cope not only with the upgrade itself, but with the integration of existing IT systems into the new operating system as well as the inevitable training needed for other departments who may struggle with the significant changes made to the user interface of Windows 8.  Complete audits will be needed of every piece of software used across the company, including those on individual employee’s BYODs.  I’m sure you’ll agree it is a mammoth task.

Many IT specialists have said that even if migration to a newer version of the operating system begins today, it is unlikely to be completed before the deadline of April 8th 2014 unless you have people in place with the top-notch skills and experience needed to get the job done.  Worryingly, many of our clients have reported a significant shortage of the in-house talent needed to complete the upgrade.

WE CAN HELP
Our talented and specialised IT Recruitment Consultants have access to the best IT talent in the UK and beyond.   With over 14 years of experience we can help you find the superstars you need to complete every aspect of the migration to the new operating system, from Project Managers to Post-deployment support and everyone in between.

The talent to be found in the contract market has never been of higher quality but employers need to act quickly if they want to hit the deadline:  both IT contract workers and permanent candidates are in demand and are being snapped up at a moment’s notice.  Call us today on 0207 788 6600 to ensure you have the staffing and skill levels you need to complete the upgrade in time.