Work smarter, not harder

As businesses emerge from the downturn with less manpower but higher targets, working smarter will be key to survival. Success will depend on cultural changes in business and IT. There needs to be a focus on increased collaboration, multi-skilling and performance incentives.

Applying lean principles will reduce waste, providing the whole organisation takes responsibility for making sure its processes are effective. Adopting agile practices will ensure that invested effort is focused on delivering value, constantly re-aligning to business needs, and providing early ROI.

Organisations that offer flexible working practices and stable work locations will continue to be attractive to new candidates. On the whole, people are striving to achieve a good work-life balance, and no longer happy working away from home for weeks on end.

Unfortunately, unlike software tools, you cannot buy a self-directed work team and configure it for immediate deployment. The level of self-direction a team can have will also depend on the organisational constraints placed on it.

A company should define what it expects to achieve from such teams to ensure that unnecessary restraints are removed and that measures of success exist to encourage their team-based collaboration.

The move to an empowered, team-based approach to software development is a huge change for the industry and will not be without challenges.

Not all employees will welcome these changes – they may be perceived as a threat as many people prefer to work on their own in the way they have done for many years.

Finally, an IT recruitment re-focus is needed. A change is taking place in the IT industry that will have a major impact on the way organisations look to recruit software delivery people in 2011 and beyond.

The so-called “hard skills” such as an applicant’s technology skills and qualifications will simply be an entry requirement and a greater focus should be placed on the softer skills such as being a team player, possessing self-organisation and a “can-do” attitude.

The core competencies a recruiter should now seek are behavioural skills. While these are sometimes difficult to extract, a skilled recruiter with a competency-based recruitment method should be able to identify applicants who will not only suit new ways of working but also enhance the team.