BYOD: Have You Got Control?

Sep 24, 2013 | IT

Security, trust and your business on the line
80% of employees are now utilising ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) in the workplace according to a survey by MobileIron.  This means that even if you have the latest in security across your network, unless you have a BYOD policy in place, 50% of the devices used within your business are out of your control.

Even if you don’t officially allow personal devices to be used for work purposes, an individual’s preference for a certain device means that employees are likely to attempt to work around this.  This leaves your business open to a plethora of threats.

Sweep Those Threats Aside
When implemented and monitored correctly, BYOD can:

• Reduce capital expenditure for hardware
• Reduce support costs
• Increase employee satisfaction

Follow our quick guide and take back control.

Issue:  Security
Devices are unlikely to have the same antivirus and firewall protection as the computers in your office.  This, coupled with the risk of loss or theft makes BYOD a volatile component of your business.  If data is exposed to an unauthorised person, it is your company that will be fined, not the employee at fault.  Are you leaving your business open to data-theft and hacking?

Solution:  You should ensure that all devices are logged with you and that appropriate security software is installed on each one.  Never allow a jail-broken or rooted device to access your network:  ensure a ‘minimum device requirement’ is written into the BYOD policy.  Check that your end-user is ‘tech-savvy’ enough to use the device safely:  if not, provide training.

Ensure that all ‘apps’ used for business purposes are licenced and that all team members have a secure locking system on their phone.  Are procedures in place should a device be lost or stolen?  For instance, ‘apps’ are available that will delete data if the incorrect passcode is entered too many times or locate a lost or stolen device and remotely erase sensitive data.

Issue:  Social Media Meltdown
It’s difficult to restrict access to social media on a team member’s personal device.  After last week’s Silk Road revelations, you may also have concerns about employees utilising the ‘dark web’ for illegal purposes via their devices, putting your business and reputation on the line.

Solution:  Put a Social Media Policy in place, outlining what is authorised on the device.  Alternatively, set up a specific Wi-Fi network for devices to connect to that restricts access to certain websites during the hours of work.  It is then possible to unblock certain websites for users who require access to perform their roles.

Issue:  Mixing Business & Pleasure
Devices are likely to be used for both business and personal purposes.  A device is likely to hold personal photos, emails, videos, text messages, emails and ‘apps’ which may be inappropriate or unlicensed, placing your company at risk.  There is also the danger of emails being sent without appropriate legal disclaimers at the bottom.

Solution:  Communication and education on the safe use of devices is crucial.  Implement a BYOD policy stating exactly how business should be conducted on the device and make staff aware of particular issues surrounding the use of devices.  Emphasise the need to keep company and personal data separate.  Don’t forget to check that your HR and legal policies allow for the storage of personal and business data on the same hardware: they may need amending.

Issue:  Trust
Just 30% of BYOD users trust their employer to keep their data private according to research by MobileIron.  Mistrust mainly arises from confusion about what an employer can see on a device with the biggest worry being that employers are monitoring their text messages or photos.

Solution:  Your BYOD policy should include details on exactly what the company has access to on each device.  Unless an individual is conducting personal business via a company email account, you should not need to access their personal data.  In fact you would need specific permission from the employee to do so, which can be revoked at any time.

The problem arises when a team member leaves your employment and you need to erase company data for security reasons.  However, there are ‘apps’ available which allow you to isolate company data and erase it remotely without accessing personal files.

Who’s Paying?
Who is paying for call and data costs for these devices?  Ensure there is a transparent and user-friendly policy in place for claiming back appropriate expenses.

Need someone new to take on the challenge?
Do you need a new team member, perhaps to take on new project such as implementing a BYOD policy?  Here at Langley James, we know how to find the most vibrant and talented IT professionals available.  Whatever your requirements, permanent or contract, and up to the highest level of seniority, we can find you the ideal candidate.  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.

Cloud Bust – 14 days to find new cloud vendor

Sep 10, 2013 | IT

Risk of data being washed away
What happens when clouds burst into thin air?

Chaos was rife over the last fortnight as Nirvanix, a reputable, 6-year-old Cloud Provider gave clients 14 days to find a new supplier or lose their data.
In 2 weeks the companies involved had to:

• Source a Cloud Provider with a similar environment
• Transfer all data to the new supplier
• Arrange and pay for supervised overtime for teams to complete the task
• Shut down and lose business as data was locked due to transfer
• Test the accessibility of all the data

Data STILL at risk
At massive cost, the companies involved managed to transfer their data to a new provider by 30^thSeptember… but the problems haven’t even stopped there.  Nirvanix still has to dispose of the data they have held.  As the leased servers are returned to their owners, if the hardware is not destroyed, there is a risk that data may not be erased completely leaving the companies open to data theft.

Unregulated and high-risk
The ‘Cloud’ industry is completely unregulated.  Anyone with spare space on their server can start a Cloud business.  A company may appear to be British but your data could be held anywhere in the world, putting you at risk of breach of data protection laws.  As the last fortnight’s events have shown, your data is at risk with even the most reputable of companies.  You may have a contract with a Cloud Provider, but once that company ceases to be, the contract is null and void.

Safe as houses
The safest place to keep your data is in-house.  You are in charge of its protection and maintenance. Any changes, for instance due to advances in technology can be dealt with on your timescales.  IT professionals working within your team have a personal investment in protecting and caring for your company’s data.  After all, if something were to go wrong, it would be their reputations (and jobs) on the line.

Thinking of bringing it home?
Here at Langley James, we know how to find the most vibrant and talented IT professionals available, from Web Developers to IT Managers and everyone in-between.  Not only can we help you add the latest superstar to your ranks, we also have experience of in-sourcing, including recruiting whole new teams.

Whatever your requirements, permanent or contract, and up to the highest level of seniority, we can match you with the ideal candidate.  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.

IT: The Second Coming

Sep 7, 2013 | IT

The future is here: and it’s you

The masses are panicking: you’re taking their jobs.  Technology is taking over the world, from Supermarket Self-Service Checkouts to Smart Phones.

Should you feel guilty?  Of course not!  Now is the time to feel pride:  Information Technology saves lives, increases safety, educates people, enhances communication and has revolutionised healthcare.  Let’s celebrate the bright future of IT by looking at just a few of the amazing developments that are happening right now.

Robotic pack mules
These tough, bullet-proof robots can carry 400lb of supplies over 20 miles (or up to 24hrs).  This innovation has the potential to significantly ease the physical burden on the military.  $10,000,000 has just been invested in developing a silent model for use in stealth missions, as well as increasing defences to the head area of the mule, where the majority of the sensors are.

Driverless cars
Thanks to developments in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), driverless cars are becoming a reality.  They are already being tested (under engineer supervision) and could be seen on the roads by 2020.  Imagine a car that could drop you off at the shops, and then pick you up when you instruct it to with your smart phone app.  Potentially, traffic accidents could be eliminated as this technology advances.  Could 1^st line support take over from the AA?

Self-Healing machines
The emergence of Industrial Internet has made it possible to develop machines with Artificial Intelligence, capable of interacting with data, other machines and end users, to self-diagnose and correct themselves.   A report issued by GE predicts that this technology could add €2.2 trillion to European GDP by 2030.

Robotic surgery
The precision of robots has made medical surgery an ideal area to develop their use.  However, human decision-making is still superior to a robot’s when it comes to surgery.  At Imperial College, London, they are solving this problem by developing a technique called “perceptual docking”, where the eye movements of the surgeon are tracked to teach robots the cognitive and decision-making processes involved in surgery.  This has exciting implication for the future of surgery.

Massive growth in IT but where are the people?
All these developments mean that there will be increased demand for IT professionals for a long time to come.  In addition to the superstars needed to develop the technology, experts will be required to maintain and care for the systems as well as train others in their use.  This means you will need to work hard to secure the talent you need.

Here at Langley James we know how to find the most talented, vibrant IT professionals available, from Developers and Designers to Project Managers and IT Directors.  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.

What are you excited about?
We’d love to hear what excites you about the future of IT.  We’d love you to join in the conversation.  Tweet us @ITRecruitment or follow us on Facebook.

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 8^th 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 8^th 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.

50 Shades of Blue

Jul 17, 2013 | IT

Beat every shade of the ‘post-holiday blues’

You all know the scenario: you’ve spent a week soaking up sun, sand and sangria and now after a day locked in a flying bus being served sub-standard cuisine you are back in the office staring at the beads of rain rolling down your office windows against a backdrop of grey London cloud.  The additional five pounds you gained eating gelato are doing nothing to atone for the hundreds of pounds missing from your wallet. Depressing isn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to keep that holiday spirit alive?  While we can’t promise you a desk on a beach, we can supply you with some fantastic tips to lift your mood and transfer that holiday feeling into the office.

• Relive your bliss:  Simply take some time each day to close your eyes and relive some of the experiences you had whilst on holiday.  You’ll be amazed how that holiday feeling of tranquillity will wash over you.
• Accept your feelings:  Recognise that feeling down after a holiday is entirely normal.
• Time out: Taking time out to have quiet thinking time about anything is fantastic for you.  Try to set aside at least ten minutes a day just for you.
• Unpack and de-clutter:  Tripping over your suitcase on your way up the stairs every night will only depress you further.  Refreshing your living and working space by reorganising and de-cluttering will improve your mood no end as your environment will seem new and fresh.
• Reassess your goals:  Goals that seemed feasible before you went away may now seem daunting and unrealistic.  Take an honest look at your targets and reassess them to ensure they are in fact achievable.
• Get help:  If you need help to hit your targets after your break, get help in the form of a contractor.  Here at Langley James we are experts in finding the perfect IT professional to help you out of a tight spot at short notice.
• Connect:  Holidays are great opportunities to spend quality time with friends and family but when you are busy with everyday life it’s easy to send your social life to the bottom of your list of priorities.  Don’t!  Work-life balance is essential for your well-being and simply getting together with friends is a great mid-week boost.
• Plan the next one:  Start planning for your next holiday.  If you can book it and have a date to look forward to, even better.  If it’s not possible to book another holiday in the near future make sure you have treats planned and reminders displayed around your work space.
• Budget:  Accept that you may have overspent and assess the damage.  Work out exactly what money needs to go towards paying off credit cards and overdrafts and what you have spare.
• Treat yourself:  If post-holiday budget is an issue plan small treats rather than large extravagances and you won’t feel deprived.  Why not have a day at the races or an evening at an art gallery.
• Taste the exotic:  After eating a variety of interesting and novel cuisine on holiday you can be left feeling sluggish and unwell as the pressures of real life mean you revert to unexciting, unhealthy convenience food.  Make the effort to experiment with ingredients to get that holiday feeling.  Forget your boring sandwich lunch – seek out exotic alternatives to give your working day a lift.
• Cocktails:  Recreate your favourite holiday cocktail at home or even as part of a Friday evening routine after work to boost motivation in your staff.  Just remember to check no one has to drive home.
• Get a check-up:  If you are not feeling quite right after your holiday or you have niggling pains then it could be nothing… but equally it’s easy to underestimate pain when you are away and having fun.  Make sure you get checked out by your GP just in case it’s something more serious.  There is nothing more stressful than having health worries at the back of your mind.
• Get outside:  It’s likely that during your holiday you spent lots of time outdoors.  It can feel very unhealthy to then be stuck in an office for most of the day.  Combat this by trying to at least get out of the office for fresh air at lunchtime for a few minutes.  You may even be able to stretch out that holiday tan.
• Healthy eating:  After a week or two of escaping the routine it’s easy to forget those healthy habits you were so strict about before you left.  Remember your ‘five-a-day’.
• Drink up:  Drink plenty of water to make sure you keep hydrated now you are back in a heated or air-conditioned environment.
• Exercise:  Don’t let two weeks of relaxation in the sun get you off track.  Keep up with your exercise schedule and boost those endorphins.  Even 30 minutes of outdoor walking can boost your mood and get rid of holiday pounds.
• Be an adrenaline junky:  Remember the surfing class you took in Cornwall?  The scuba diving in Barbados?  Why only try something new on holiday?  Why not try rock climbing or indoor sky diving to get that adrenaline boost you crave.
• Colour therapy:  Was there a colour you loved on holiday? Perhaps the deep blue of the Moroccan sky or the rustic terracotta of Italian roofs?  A feature wall in your office in a colour that lifts your spirits can bring the holiday feeling into the office.
• Don’t be SAD:  Use a ‘broad spectrum daylight’ lamp which is proven to lift mood of those suffering from ‘seasonal affective disorder’ during times of sparse daylight.  If you don’t want to buy one you can rent their use in many spas.
• Stay golden:  Top up your tan with some time on a sunbed.  If you’re worried about the UV rays there are plenty of top quality spray tan treatments available.
• Be selfish:  Have one activity just for you each week.  Whether it’s a yoga class, taking a vintage car restoration class, or cooking yourself a gourmet meal for one, make it just for you.
• Be unpredictable:  Shake your routine up.  Alter your route to work or ban TV one evening a week… anything that jolts you out of the predictable will break up the monotony of the working week.
• Take another day:  Don’t dash straight back to the office before you’ve had the chance to breathe.  Take an extra day’s leave to unpack and enjoy being at home before returning to work prepared, relaxed and ready to roll.
• Clock off:  While it’s necessary to work in the evenings at home for the vast majority of managers, make sure you set a strict time for finishing.  Having a portion of evening free without distractions will work wonders for your stress levels.
• Prioritise:  During the first few days back at work, only tackle your most important tasks.  Ticking them off will leave you with a sense of instant achievement while tackling a mountain of mundane tasks can feel like moving a desert with a teaspoon.
• Keep the holiday going:  If you enjoyed an activity like swimming or dancing on holiday, there’s no reason not to carry on.  Make it part of your week.
• Get up (even) earlier:  There’s nothing like a long leisurely breakfast to relax you and set you up for the day (just like you enjoyed on holiday).  All it takes is setting your alarm clock 30 minutes early.
• Eat alfresco:  Summer’s not over yet.  Make the most of an Indian summer by getting outdoors and making the most of the sunshine.  Whether it’s a barbeque or a picnic in Greenwich Park, nothing gives you the holiday feeling like eating outdoors.
• Go for gold:  Sometimes everyday life can seem a bit mundane after a break.  Work out what you want from your career and go for it.  Prepare thoroughly and meet with your immediate superior to make an action plan.  Who knows what your next destination could be.

We hope this advice helps you hit the ground running when you get back to the office but we’d love to hear your ideas too.  What do you do to get the holiday feeling to carry over into the office.  Follow us on Facebook or Tweet us @ITRecruitment.

Is Your Marketing Department Draining your IT Budget?

Jun 24, 2013 | IT

Why collaboration can get you control and expand your business.

Is your marketing department directing the focus of the selection and purchase of new technology while you in the IT department are left to cope, trying to integrate a plethora of inappropriate systems? Does the competition for resources result in a focus on friction between departments and not on the needs of customers?  What if while you are busy dealing with these internal battles, your competitors are busy taking your forgotten customers under their wing?  Well with integration and collaboration, you can avoid this situation and concentrate on growth.

Technology spreads through every aspect of your company.  The task of maintaining and upgrading existing systems designed for so many different purposes is mammoth.  Forrester Research Analyst, Peter Burris has reported that when it comes to the IT budget, ‘70% of spending is on maintaining and upgrading existing systems.’  The danger is that the IT Department are people only seen when things go wrong.  In addition to this, with technology so endemic in every area of life, everyone thinks they have to be a technology expert.  In fact, according to The IBM Power in Data 2013 Survey, 16% of businesses have actually shifted responsibility for the technology budget to the Marketing team.  But as we know, there is a massive difference between knowing how to use technology, and actually understanding technology systems and how they work together (or don’t).

It is vital that your Marketing teams remember that your IT department is more than a maintenance department… that you are a group of highly specialised, creative experts who could help revolutionise their performance rather than struggle to make inappropriate systems work in synergy.  And the resistance is not as great as you fear.  The IBM Power in Data 2013 Survey showed that 85% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) ‘feel a need for an integrated cross platform marketing strategy’,  and 38% of marketing teams have spent time ‘deepening technology knowledge in the marketing team.’  While the responsibility for the selection and use of technology in marketing is increasingly falling to the CMO, it seems there is confusion and a lack of confidence for the task.  As Forrester analyst Sheryl Pattek says ‘With this much complexity, it’s no surprise that many CMOs are ill-equipped to provide the vision and strategic direction required to make sound and effective marketing technology purchase decisions.’

The answer is communication and collaboration between the CMO and the CIO.   Is the Marketing team aware of all the technology they could utilise that you could provide?  And just as important, have you been given a clear vision of what your CMO wants to achieve?  With the IT department retaining control of the systems used in your business, imagine how much more time and cost-efficient maintenance and integration of technology would be.   How much budget could be freed up for the acquisition of new technologies? Think how much your CMO could gain from specialist advice on systems that could not only achieve their marketing goals, but perhaps provide far more than they had hoped.

The best decisions are made when they are fuelled with data from more than one perspective.  As Marketing Expert, Gil Press has recently professed, ‘In organisations where the CIO is expected only to cut costs and “keep the trains running on time,” the responsibility—and purchasing authority—for the tools enabling the digital transformation will reside with other senior executives. In organisations where the CIO is expected to play a key role or even lead this digital transformation, he or she will no doubt help the CMO—and other senior executives—navigate the complex and rapidly-changing landscape of all emerging digital technologies and tools.’

With less revenue wasted on inappropriate technology and the Marketing team exceeding their goals, there will be plenty of resources left for your most important commodity: your customers.

What are your views on this topic?  Are you already working in an environment where departments collaborate in ‘multi-disciplinary’ teams to benefit from a wide range of expertise?  What are the benefits and disadvantages of working in this way?  We’d love to hear your views.  Visit us on Facebook  or give us a Tweet @ITRecruitment

I Can Stop Your Heart at 50 Paces

Jun 17, 2013 | IT

Is your business safe from modern hackers?

The world has been stunned in the last couple of weeks by news of the death of Barnaby Jack, the famous hacker who made ATMs spit out money without so much as a bank card (an action since named ‘Jackpotting’), resulting in the upgrade of software by many big banking corporations.  He also demonstrated his ability to deliver an electric shock from 50 foot away to someone wearing a pace maker and deliver a potentially fatal dose from an insulin dispenser within 300 feet without the need for a serial number.  He was sadly found dead in his apartment just as he was due to attend the 2013 Black Hat conference.  He was to give a presentation on the vulnerabilities of various pieces of medical devices and give safe demonstrations of attacks.

While Jack’s intentions were noble, his work illustrates the level of threat to all modern day businesses and individuals.  Even major companies in the technology industry have not escaped modern day hackers.  PlayStation and Apple are but two of the major organisations that have experienced major breaches of their secure data.  The breach of PlayStation compromised over 77 million accounts and Apple’s ‘downpocolypse’ is at the very least an embarrassment: very scary stuff and certainly something you do not want for your own company.

The good news is that there are a number of policies you can put in place to safeguard your data and reputation.  Last year, writer Mat Honan was famously hacked and his digital world dissolved.  His Twitter account was hijacked and used to publish racist and homophobic comments and all data was deleted from his Cloud account, resulting in the loss of family photographs spanning the lifetime of his child as well as preventing him from regaining access to his account.  The hacker’s motive had not begun as an attack on Mat’s personal information but on his Twitter account purely to create havoc.  Mat, himself admits that had he followed some simple security advice the intrusion would have stopped here and his personal and professional data would have been kept safe.

The even better news is that every one of your employees can help to protect your company’s security.  As it turns out, the most common breaches of security are not caused by super-hackers but by people with much intent but little technical knowledge.  With some basic training from you in the IT department you can stop these intruders in their tracks.

Social Engineering
Social engineering is one of the most common ways through your security.  This is a particular danger in large businesses with a high staff turnover and believe it or not it involves employees simply handing log in names and passwords to the attacker.  The methods and stories vary, of course, but the usual method is for the intruder to pretend to be from the technical support team in your own IT Department.  They will claim that the individual’s computer is causing a problem on the network and request the log-in name and password.  More often than you would believe, the information is simply handed over.

Are your colleagues aware that this information would never be needed by the technical staff who will already have this access, and if such information is requested it should be reported immediately to the IT department?

Phishing Emails
Phishing emails come in many disguises.  They appear to have come from a reputable organisation such as a bank and may tell you that your account has been suspended and request your password as verification to reactivate your account.

There are many ways of spotting a phishing email and most people these days are quite savvy at detecting them.  However, some can be remarkably deceptive.  Do your colleagues know to look for misspellings, subtle differences in company logos and broken English in the text?  Most importantly, they should know that reputable companies would never ask for such personal information via email.

Email Attachments
The age old problem of personnel receiving an email with an attachment containing a virus or Trojan horse: when the attachment is opened, the Trojan horse will create a security hole allowing remote access to your network.

The problem here is that even attachments from trusted senders could be infected if their own security has been breached.  Do you have a policy that states that no unexpected attachments should be opened until the sender has been contacted to verify the legitimacy of the document?

Weak Passwords
While it seems obvious that passwords should be highly confidential and secure, as well as hard to guess, it is still extremely common for people to use passwords such as, well… ‘password’, or even simply a repetition of their user name.  In these cases it will not take more than a few moments to gain access to the network.  There are a number of ways you can combat this issue.

• Best password policy.  Passwords are essentially an outmoded method of securing a network and all of them can potentially eventually be cracked.  A 100 character password would take a life time to guess but would be extremely impractical.  The good news is that a 12 character password containing different cases, numbers and symbols is considered a strong form of defence.  However, do you have different passwords for each account?  Mat Honan himself admits that had all his accounts not been ‘daisy-chained’ the effects of being hacked would not have been nearly so great.

• Two Factor Authentication: The concept behind the use of ATM cards: The security is created by a combination of what the user has (the card) and what the user knows (the PIN number).  This method can also involve a thumbprint or facial recognition.  The key is that as well as a password, some other form of information is also required to access a network.  A common method is the use of a smart card in combination with a password.

• Password Managers: once considered a bit of a risk as one password could unlock all the passwords for a user, there are now useful password managers on the market.  They come in many different guises, from Cloud based software to mobile devices and are a way of being able to use many long effective passwords while only having to remember one extremely strong combination of characters.

It’s a great idea to practice self-auditing of your security.  Why not ask one of your IT team to attempt to access various accounts across your business with extremely limited information?  This should give you an idea of how secure your network is.

There are plenty of ways to be proactive about protecting data from basic staff training through to the use of technology and your expertise.  If you need help in implementing any of these methods perhaps we could help you to hire an IT contractor who could devise a security policy as part of a project or to cover existing work whilst an expert from your own team heads the project up.

Have you got any further ideas on this topic?  Have you been hacked or stopped a potential hack?  We’d love to hear from you.  Why not give us a Tweet @itrecruitment

Finally let us remember the important work of Barnaby Jacks which has prevented many security breaches and has potentially saved lives. In the words of security expert Dan Kaminsky, ‘Nobody caused such hilarious trouble like @barnaby_jack.’

Increasing your bottom line – is it time for a Digital Makeover?

May 24, 2013 | IT

Increasing your bottom line – is it time for a Digital Makeover?

How long has it been since you had a digital makeover?  Is your business match fit for the 21^st Century?  Research by the Federation of Small Business (FSB) suggests that even minimal expenditure of less than £3k on upgrading hardware can see your turnover increase by 35% within the year and those spending the same amount on software, can see increases of up to 40%.

Investing in technology doesn’t need to break the bank, but can have positive effects on how companies communicate with existing customers and also in targeting new customers.

So what positive steps should you take to optimise your use of and investment in technology?  Where should you start?

The obvious place to start is your window to the world – your website.  A recent report by the BBC found that approximately 20% of UK businesses don’t even have a website, let alone an engaging one.  In this technological age, customers expect you to at least have a website and with the increase in gadgets, they expect to be able to view it on any device.  If your website has not kept up with technological advancement, it may not be compatible with the latest web browsers or easily viewed on mobile devices.  With Adobe Flash no longer being supported by Google Android and Apple devices unable to view websites built using Flash, keeping abreast of technologies has never been more important to ensure your website is responsive.  You need to be using the latest versions of programming languages, HTML5, CSS and Java to make websites accessible across all platforms and devices.

It goes without saying that as well as your website, you also need a presence on social media – Facebook and Twitter should be a bare minimum for consumer-facing companies.  Social media has become a foundation in the way businesses and brands connect with consumer with 74% of consumers citing relying on social media to make purchasing decisions and over 50% of people recommending companies and products on Twitter.

But what about your back office?

The FSB is also reminding companies to apply the digital makeover to their back office as well as the customer facing elements.  “Improving your back office processes – is one of the best things businesses can do to improve productivity”.  However, whilst great deal of progress has been made in optimising paper flow, little or no effort has been invested in ensuring that back-office departments have the right number of employees, with the right skills, to do the right job, at the right time.  Even with the best workflow operations, people are still needed to process transactions – it is just as important to invest in human capital as well, changing the behaviour of employees and developing their IT skills.

Fix your Broken Team

May 10, 2013 | IT

How replacing your staff one at a time can rejuvenate your business

Are your results being hampered by lazy employees? Those employees that do just enough to get by and no more. If your business has good market share, potential and a good strategy but you are still getting poor results then it’s likely the cause is ‘coasting’ members of your team. Sometimes management can see this but often it takes someone else to point it out. But what can you do about these bottom-feeders who are holding your business back? How can you get quality personnel to fill their place? The answer is to rebuild your team employee by employee. Read on to find out how.

Firstly, it’s important to remember that unless you are in a position to close down business while you rebuild your team, this will be a gradual process and will not happen overnight.  However, it will be worth it.  Rather like repairing a plane in flight, you will be able to make changes that will improve your business without slowing down. Unproductive colleagues can cause problems right across your team, hampering motivation and productivity in even your most committed.  With this step-by-step guide you will be able to perform a complete redress of your staffing without interfering with your trading.

1. Identify your ‘Bottom-Feeders’
Review your staffing at least once a week.  Look at each team member and determine his or her appropriateness for the business. Use a spreadsheet to keep notes and strategies current so they can be continuously reviewed. Star any employees that are ‘on the bubble’ or are delivering questionable value.

Find out if the poor producers have potential. It’s incredibly common for management to want to replace without looking at an individual’s potential. Sometimes they are amazed when they see a minimal employee blossom. Do you know what their skills or interests are?  It could be that they are better suited to a different job within your organisation. It is usually better to give the minimal employee a chance or opportunity – if they do not want it they will often resign.

Deal with one employee at a time and you may find that existing under-performing team members become happier and more productive in their roles now that they are not being dragged down by others.

2.  Refresh your contractors continually
Remember the reasons you chose to hire contract workers.  Contract workers are a high value choice as they are often highly specialised and skilled, with a wide breadth of experience and bring a fresh perspective into your business.  However, after 12 weeks they are entitled to the same benefits as your permanent employees.  In addition to this, the freshness they originally brought to your organisation will begin to stale as they stagnate in an aging project.

Solve these problems by ensuring you are constantly assessing the type of contractors you need in your team and that they work no longer than 12 weeks with you, in order to ensure compliance with the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR).  Continuously assessing your contractors will allow you to constantly bring in a fresh stream of new talent with no hard feelings when the time comes to ‘part company’.  Here at Langley James we can find you the very best contractor talent to help your business grow.

3.  Who to hire next
When you have looked at your team and identified where replacements need to be made it is vital to source the best possible people to rejuvenate your company.  View employees as resources and profit centres – not just expenses. Minimal employees are usually cheaper but deliver much less value.

The key to building a successful team is to make sure each new hire is an improvement on what you have already.  At Langley James we can assist you to find IT professionals who fit all your exacting criteria. Look at work ethic, values, maturity, drive and creativity… truly amazing things happen when you replace a ‘bad apple’ with a quality member of staff.  Look for ‘breakthrough’ employees that can bring high value quickly. This is usually a factor of skill, experience and work ethic. This can bring a corresponding sharp spike in performance.

Make sure you are hiring to meet the demands of your business.  Constantly monitor the market and what needs to be delivered to your customers.  Think about this on a daily basis and it will become second nature.
4.  How to keep your team performing
Create a culture of delivering.  Annual reviews are not enough!  Measure and evaluate your workforce on a weekly basis.  This is not putting your staff under undue scrutiny if done properly and it is well worth the time and effort.  Make sure each member of staff has specific criteria to measure themselves against, specific to their job description.  Self-evaluation is as important (if not more so) than the evaluation you deliver.  After all, it is the employee’s job to be accountable, not management’s.  It is management’s responsibility to do something about the lack of accountability if it is not there. This makes it much easier to deal with those tough decisions if the time comes.

Whilst, those ‘bottom-feeding’ employees may do everything they can to avoid the attention those who want to do well will welcome the direction and opportunity to improve.  Your star employees will relish these meetings as a way of furthering their career and celebrating their achievements.

Have a career and training plan for each employee.  These weekly meeting are a fantastic way of keeping on track with these and ensuring they are still relevant.  Be approachable: when your staff and contractors are at ease with these weekly communications you will find they start to bring issues to your attention rather than you spending time and effort investigating who isn’t performing.

Make sure that in addition to weekly evaluations you perform formal reviews at least twice a year, preferably quarterly.  Think of the weekly meetings as a GPS system, ensuring that your staff are heading in the right direction and making good progress whilst avoiding obstacles, but the formal reviews are for taking stock of where the team member has arrived.  How much progress has been made?  Where are they heading next?

Make sure every member of your team understands other people’s roles.  Lack of understanding of what others bring to a company can cause friction and resentment.  In addition to this, create a culture where colleagues can train, support and mentor each other.  This can go a long way towards raising standards.

Make sure you include your contractors in your weekly evaluations: 12 weeks is an absolute maximum for keeping a contractor on and if your business needs require a different skill-set to that which your existing contractors can provide then it is only fair for both you and your contractor to have a change and get the best out of your staffing.

5:  Be persistent
The key to maintaining a high performing team is consistency.  Continual evaluation of what your team members deliver will keep their motivation high and you informed.  You will become aware of any weaknesses in your team so you are able to hire to fill a skills-gap rapidly.

Always be in recruitment mode: as you know, things can change rapidly in business.  With persistence you can be in a position to immediately know exactly the sort of person you need to hire in order to react to these changes. When it comes to contract workers you are in a position to assess their value on a daily basis should you choose in order to get the maximum value from these precious resources.  Of course, if you need help or advice we at Langley James are happy to use our wealth of experience to help you find the perfect IT employee.

Has your business been affected by poor employee performance?  We’d love to hear about your experiences or any advice you have to give other managers and business owners.  Tweet us @ITRecruitment or visit us on Facebook

Active, Looking and in Your Area

Apr 24, 2013 | IT

Active, looking and in your area

An actor has an agent, a writer has an agent, a gym fanatic has a personal trainer and candidates have agents too!

After reading an article which says we should be changing the way we do recruitment and finding the candidates not the positions, we at Langley James were very pleased with ourselves as we have been working this way for years!

Typically, recruitment agencies find the position, then find the suitable candidates.  Yes at Langley James we do work this way too but in recent years we have also been doing the opposite.  We find suitable candidates that are active, not passive and looking for work in your area then let you know about them.  You may well have seen them -they get delivered right into your Inbox either in the form of a Top 5 which can have a variety of candidates from IT Support, Project Managers and Developers or a single candidate.

We contact people we think are superstars, find out where they want to travel to, what industry, skill set and much, much more and then tailor-make a search to find the companies that tick all their boxes.  So, if one of these candidates lands in your Inbox, you know they are interested in a company just like yours – don’t forget you check your spam, you don’t want to miss out!

Some say what cupid is to love, we are to candidate’s careers!

By working this way, we ensure that we keep the candidates best interest at heart.  It’s no mystery that the recession has left a number of talented individuals who are brilliant at what they do without a job.

Our huge internal database includes over 100,000 candidates including permanent and contract IT Support staff as well as developers, built over decades and is continually growing with the best talent.

Out there in the job hunting world there are at least 20 main job boards, how does a candidate choose which ones to register with? Typically a candidate will register with just 3 and if your position is not advertised on one of their chosen sites, you may never see their CV.  At Langley James, we use the top rated job boards which include Jobsite, Monster, Reed, JobServe, Total Jobs, LinkedIn and Indeed to ensure we always find the best candidates.

If we can help you find a candidate for your position or if you would like to receive our top candidates, contact us on  0207 788 6600, join the conversation on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/langleyjames) or on Twitter (@ITrecruitment)