Generous staff guarantee

By ADAM GIFFORD

Specialist IT recruitment consultancy IT Futures is offering customers a replacement guarantee of up to 12 months if their candidates do not work out.

The extended guarantee is part of the company's new Futureproof programme which packages up a smorgasbord of consulting services on top of just finding staff.

Consultant Reid Pittams says the programme addresses problems customers have retaining staff.

"There's a war for talent out there. The skill shortage in IT is not just a recruitment problem," he says.

Head-hunting is increasingly becoming a mainstream recruitment activity, not just confined to the executive search firms.

"Organisations are getting more experienced at attracting staff, but they're struggling with issues which arise when star performers are targeted by other organisations. When your two or three top people are continuously approached with offers, how do you retain them?"

Futureproof gives customers points as part of the initial recruitment service, which can be redeemed for services later. Customers can choose to pay up front for more points or service levels, and for replacement guarantees longer than the three-month industry standard.

Futureproof offers recruitment functions such as psychometric and technical testing; team-style profiling; coaching and contracting; reviews of a company's recruitment process; advice on orientation programmes for new staff; coaching in mentoring; training needs analysis and assistance with career development programmes; performance management consultancy; and help with pay setting and staff satisfaction surveys.

It also offers a retention review to audit the work environment to identify why staff are not sticking around.

"If a company's recruitment programme is strong but not its induction, it can allocate the points for that," Mr Pittams says.

"We will sit down with a company and look at what their business needs are, and offer them a way to fund them through the recruitment process."

It's a way for organisations to create a flexible budget for human resources work which might otherwise not get carried out.

"People have an issue with HR. They focus on other things which seem more important to their business. This is a way to make it easier for managers to transact business.

"We've designed it so managers can pick and choose the services they take, based on the issues they face."

Mr Pittams says IT Futures' decision to extend the replacement guarantee means it is sharing more of the risk, "so we have an incentive to work with clients to make sure they are a better destination for staff.

"A lot of it's about culture fit. Often the key aspect of retention is making sure you recruit the right person in the first place."

IT Futures manager David Newick says IT workers have a different view of "the job" than many companies are used to.

"Generation X works to a different beat. They're looking for a work-life balance which brings about special requirements," Mr Newick says. "Organisations need to enable individuals to achieve that balance."