We hope you find the information below useful. As always, your suggestions are very welcomed and appreciated… please let us know of any ideas to include in this toolkit!

As you prepare to engage Pyramid to help with your resource requirements, these are some topics to keep in mind:

• Accurate and Practical Job Descriptions
• Interviewing strategies
• Improving retention

Based on our experiences on the cutting edge of technology, we also advise clients of the practical difficulty in finding an exact candidate for some hard-to-find skills. You may be better off finding a closely matching candidate, at a lower price point, who can learn on the job. This strategy may save you money in the long run. Talk to us and we can share our knowledge of what has worked for other clients.

Interviewing strategies
Candidates are going to be nervous… they are, after all, being judged!  As the interviewer, you can help them relax and feel more comfortable in two ways. First, open the discussion by telling the candidate about the project, the industry, yourself – anything that doesn’t require him or her to talk right from the start.

Next, ease into questions about the candidate’s previous projects and achievements. Focus the interview (and re-focus as necessary) by asking about the person’s accomplishments, as opposed to what the candidate “can do” (but hasn’t actually done). Also focus on what the candidate has done in an individual capacity, rather than what his or her team may have achieved. These strategies help to avoid a mismatch.

Test the candidates when they least expect it. You may not necessarily want a perfect answer, but you do want a candidate to be able to think on the spot and at least show creativity.

Encourage candidates to ask questions. Technical contractors must love their technology enough – and must care about the projects they engage in – to have questions for you.  The caliber of their questions is an important indicator of their interest in the job. It also speaks to their potential for getting the answers they will need to succeed in the job.

Improving retention
Retention isn’t a topic reserved for in-house employees; it’s very relevant to contract employees as well. Pyramid engages in multiple activities to ensure our employees complete their assignments. These include multi-touch relationship building, consultant get-togethers, a valuable referral policy, and more. We would certainly recommend that our clients partner with us in keeping good people working for you. Below are some suggestions that can be practiced in your teams:

• Start with the right person in the right role. Accurate job descriptions and thorough interviews lay the foundation for engaged employees.
• Offer an attractive package or bill rate. Understand from your vendor what constitutes a reasonable bill rate. But also understand that candidates are looking for whatever supports their standard of living. The right candidate who comes in at a higher price point may actually save you money long term.
• Provide opportunities for people to share their knowledge via training sessions, presentations, mentoring others, and team assignments. Contractors bring a lot of diverse experience with them. Like most people, they will be willing and pleased to share their experiences with others
• Offer performance feedback. Praise good efforts and results. Positive results need to be praised as soon as possible; you may not have another opportunity to raise their morale! Likewise, feedback regarding poor performance should be provided before it starts to get worse.
• People want to enjoy their work. Make work fun. Engage and employ the special talents of each individual.
• Enable employees to balance work and life. Allow flexible starting times, core business hours, and flexible ending times. (Yes, a son's soccer game is important.)
• Recognize and celebrate success. Mark their passage as important goals are achieved.
• Staff adequately so overtime is minimized for those who don't want it. Help prevent employee burnout.
• Nurture and celebrate organizational traditions. Have a costume party every Halloween. Run a food collection drive every November. Pick a monthly charity to support. Have an annual company dinner at a fancy hotel.
• Communicate goals, roles, and responsibilities so people know what is expected and feel like part of the in-crowd.