LRS Consulting Services Bloghttps://lrsconsultingservices.comIt’s always time for Cybersecurity Awarenesshttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/82/Uncategorized/2023/10/Its-always-time-for-Cybersecurity-Awareness/blog-post/High-profile cyber attacks are serving as a wake-up call for many companies to review their cybersecurity posture.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <br> <p>If there was ever a more appropriate time for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we don’t know when it would be.</p> <p>High-profile cyber attacks have made most of the population aware of the dangers hackers pose. Breaching a company’s cyber defenses gives these keyboard criminals access to a wide range of data, including customer data and employee data.</p> <p>Those attacks served as a wake-up call for many companies to review their cybersecurity posture.</p> <p>And, for IT consultants like you, another reminder to safeguard your personal and financial information. Now that we brought up the subject, you may be wondering just how serious we are about keeping your personal data safe.</p> <p>The short answer is: Very.</p> <p>Our internal LRS IT Department follows strict policies and procedures to evaluate security implications and enforce best practices for all employees, systems, and applications. Their efforts are focused on following a Zero Trust framework using layered technology elements such as Identity, Data Protection, Threat Protection, Application Security, Endpoint Management, Infrastructure, and network security with auditing and monitoring capabilities throughout.</p> <p>Identity and Access management systems are critical components to any enterprise security design. LRS utilizes Azure Active Directory combined with on-premise Active Directory as our primary identity provider. These technologies allow LRS to securely authenticate users, devices, applications, and processes before granting authorization to access resources.</p> <p>LRS employees are required to create strong network passwords, but our IT Department goes beyond passwords to authenticate users. Numerical PINs are alternatives to passwords, and we also rely on multifactor authentication to identify users connecting to our network using a smartphone or other mobile device.</p> <p>We encourage employees to use data protection technology that enables them to classify files and emails as Personal, Private, Confidential, or Highly Confidential. Classification based on data sensitivity not only ensures that information is not unnecessarily exposed to unauthorized individuals, but also applies an appropriate level of encryption to preserve its confidentiality.</p> <p>Speaking of encryption, we employ hardware level disk encryption, Virtual Machine encryption, backup encryption, database encryption, and files protected by either passwords or public and private keys.</p> <p>LRS also has extensive defenses against cyber attacks. We use the threat management capabilities of our security software to detect and investigate suspicious login. We also have anti-virus, vulnerability management, and attack surface reduction capabilities that alert IT security personnel of potential endpoint intrusions.</p> <p>We have next-generation protection for emerging threats, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and potentially unwanted program (PUP) detection to ensure the integrity of LRS devices and data.</p> <p>Rest assured that the personal data you send to LRS Consulting Services, including your resume, is kept safe. We are very serious about data security all year long, not just during Cybersecurity Awareness Month.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/82/Uncategorized/2023/10/Its-always-time-for-Cybersecurity-Awareness/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/82/Uncategorized/2023/10/Its-always-time-for-Cybersecurity-Awareness/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 11 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/82/Uncategorized/2023/10/Its-always-time-for-Cybersecurity-Awareness/blog-post/Honoring IT Professionalshttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/81/Uncategorized/2023/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/Every year we recognize the professionals who make IT possibleLRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>When we at LRS observe National IT Professionals Day on the third Tuesday of every September, we always think of three particular IT professionals.</p> <p>Our company’s founders were three IT professionals in the days when information technology meant mainframes and punch cards. They banded together to form a company offering their expertise to clients who needed that special service.</p> <p>In the 40-plus years since LRS was founded, IT has evolved and grown. In the 80s it began to include servers and personal computers and networks tying all the machines together. In the 90s it began to include a global network called the world wide web and with it a strange phenomenon called the website. And electronic mail.</p> <p>In the 21<sup>st</sup> century, IT began to include mobile computing as cellular phones and tablets became more popular and much more powerful. Offsite storage rose in popularity to the point that many users store files and use applications that are stored in the “cloud.”</p> <p>Along with the positive growth and evolution of Information Technology came the growth and power of criminals who commit their crimes over the internet, so IT now also includes cyber security.</p> <p>That’s where we are today. Among the hundreds of LRS employees are programmers like our founders, along with quality assurance analysts, network engineers, web developers, cyber security analysts, cloud architects, and even mainframe specialists who tell us the mainframe is never going away.</p> <p>These are the IT professionals who develop products for, and provide support to, our customers. They’re also the technology experts who provide crucial services that so many of our customers depend on to keep their businesses operating.</p> <p>When most of us sit down at our desks to begin our workday, whether we’re in an office or at a remote location (such as a spare bedroom at home), we usually just fire up the computer and log into our email accounts without a thought to the IT behind the scenes and the IT professionals who keep it all running.</p> <p>That’s why it’s important to set aside one day a year to honor these people. For most of the year, they toil at jobs that most users never think about, so we rarely thank or even acknowledge them for their work. One day a year really isn’t enough, but today we focus on celebrating them and the work they do.</p> <p>And, as we’ve progressed from mainframes and punch cards to laptops and smartphones, we also recognize IT professionals for the work they do to keep up with the constant evolution of their world. We know they’re often studying to learn the latest changes in programming languages, operating systems, and security standards because LRS employs IT professionals whose job is to <em>teach other IT professionals</em>. And we know how busy our instructors are.</p> <p>So this year, as always, we paused on National IT Professionals Day to recognize, celebrate, and thank all the IT professionals who make today’s world possible. We specifically call out every IT professional who has helped make Levi, Ray &amp; Shoup, Inc. the company that it is today.</p> <p>As you sift through the week’s emails and deal with Zoom or Teams calls, you should do the same. Acknowledge and thank the IT professionals who make it all possible.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/81/Uncategorized/2023/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/81/Uncategorized/2023/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedThu, 21 Sep 2023 13:30:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/81/Uncategorized/2023/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/Employing America's Veteranshttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/80/Uncategorized/2023/7/Employing-Americas-Veterans/blog-post/You could say National Hire A Veteran Day is a call to action for employers. LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>Today is National Hire A Veteran Day, a special day that was established in 2017 to focus attention on the employment needs of US military veterans. You could say it’s a call to action for employers.</p> <p>At LRS Consulting Services, we constantly strive to answer that call. Currently, self-identified veterans account for 3.8 percent of our employee headcount, which is lower than the 6.4 percent of the US population that is military veterans.</p> <p>Just a year ago, veterans made up 7.5 percent of our headcount, which shows the fluid nature of the IT staff augmentation business.</p> <p>Our efforts to answer the call includes partnering with clients who focus their efforts on hiring veterans. Part of that focus is to thank them for the sacrifices they made by serving in the US military, and part of that focus is to benefit from the positive qualities veterans bring to the civilian workplace.</p> <p>After all, veterans have the ability to persevere through difficult times. They’re disciplined, and they’re not going to give up just because the work gets hard.</p> <p>Veterans also have a strong sense of mission, coming from a background in which everything they do is oriented to the mission of defending the country. The goal is always excellence toward the mission instead of excellence for personal gain.</p> <p>And veterans respect the chain of command; they understand the amount of respect that is due to people in areas of responsibility.</p> <p>One of our employees who’s a veteran joked that veterans are used to being told what to do, especially when they’re called in to work an unscheduled shift.</p> <p>So when one of our largest clients asked us to help them focus on placing veterans in their IT environment, we were ready. We partnered with Hire Heroes USA, Indeed Military, Veteran’s Support Network, and the DoD Transition Assistance Program. Over a period of several months when we placed over 100 consultants with the client, 17 of those consultants were veterans.</p> <p>That means 16.5 percent of our consultants were veterans, well above the benchmark of 6.7 percent set by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).</p> <p>We’re pretty happy with that result. We were also happy to read the Employment Situation of Veterans report for 2022 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which said the unemployment rate for all veterans fell to 2.8% last year, compared with 3.6% for nonveterans.</p> <p>We also noticed that the overall unemployment rate for June was 3.6% unemployment, with 3.1% for adult women and 3.4 for adult men.</p> <p>So veterans are doing well nationwide.&nbsp;</p> <p>We think that’s a good thing. After serving for years in the nation’s defense, veterans shouldn’t have a difficult time finding work when they return to civilian life.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/80/Uncategorized/2023/7/Employing-Americas-Veterans/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/80/Uncategorized/2023/7/Employing-Americas-Veterans/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedTue, 25 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/80/Uncategorized/2023/7/Employing-Americas-Veterans/blog-post/Will AI actually kill jobs?https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/78/Uncategorized/2023/5/Will-AI-actually-kill-jobs/blog-post/Software engineers may be in panic mode, but their jobs are not necessarily at risk.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>In late April, Google announced that it had upgraded its Bard AI “experiment” with the ability to help people with programming and software development tasks, including code generation, code debugging, and explanation.</p> <p>Maybe it’s a coincidence, but about that same time, software engineers began to fear for their future.</p> <p>Just days after Google’s announcement, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/software-engineers-tech-panicking-golden-age-over-chatgpt-ai-blind-2023-4#:~:text=Tech%20workers%20are%20taking%20to,job%20security%20of%20software%20engineers." rel="noopener">BusinessInsider</a> website published an article headlined ‘Software engineers are panicking about being replaced by AI.’</p> <p>The article pulled anonymous comments from the networking website Blind and did not verify the comments. But those comments were full of, well, panic.</p> <p>“Software engineering is a dying profession,” wrote one Microsoft engineer. “And since GPT is already great at writing its own prompts, you're up the creek without a paddle.”</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.techrepublic.com/article/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning-software-engineering/#:~:text=AI%20and%20ML%20tools%20will,automate%20elements%20of%20application%20testing." rel="noopener">TechRepublic</a> had a similar view, writing that “Artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing how businesses operate. Enterprises are amassing a vast amount of data, which is being used within AI and ML models to automate and improve business processes."</p> <p>The article went on to say that AI and ML tools will fundamentally alter the ways in which applications are built – from design-to-code platforms and tools, to ML models that automatically generate code, to models that automate elements of application testing.</p> <p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://brainhub.eu/library/software-developer-age-of-ai" rel="noopener">Brainhub website</a> also chimed in, posting a paper that says software developers have a reason to worry. It quotes a team of researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory as saying there’s a high chance that AI will replace software developers as early as 2040.</p> <p>Those researchers said, “Programming trends suggest that software development will undergo a radical change in the future: the combination of machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and code generation technologies will improve in such a way that machines, instead of humans, will write most of their own code by 2040.”</p> <p>Even Congress is worried about the potential risks of AI, holding hearings this week so tech CEOs and others can testify about the need for potential regulatory measures.</p> <p>That’s a lot of gloom and doom, but a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-05-05/ai-is-putting-tech-companies-in-the-hiring-mood-again?cmpid=BBD050523_CUS&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=230505&amp;utm_campaign=closeamericas" rel="noopener">Bloomberg columnist</a> offered a different view of the employment prospects for software developers, at least in the near term.</p> <p>In an opinion piece, Conor Sen recounted all the layoffs at tech companies so far this year and then made this pivot: “But an unexpected savior has come riding to the rescue of tech workers, at least for now. Companies and investors are hyped up about what artificial intelligence could mean for future profits, and worried about what it could mean if they’re left behind. And while AI may eventually destroy millions of jobs, the products and services that will be responsible for that don’t yet exist. Companies have to build them, and they’ll need tech workers for that.”</p> <p>Which is a lot like the captain of the Titanic saying icebergs could sink the ship but we’re good for tonight.</p> <p>But Sen also cites the jobs website indeed.com, which keeps track of job postings over time, noting that since the middle of April new listings — those posted within the past seven days — for software developers have risen by 30%.</p> <p>So how should software engineers prepare for their ultimate demise?</p> <p>That Brainhub paper suggested they start working to acquire new skills including statistics, big data, data mining, data science, machine learning, MLOps, cognitive computing, text analytics, natural language processing, R, Hadoop, Spark, and many others.</p> <p>After noting that it would be impossible to truly master every AI-related skill, the paper suggested that “software developers who want to stay relevant in the Age of AI should see themselves as expert-generalists and treat learning new skills as an ongoing process.”</p> <p>Continuous skill development is something we advocate at LRS Consulting Services, and we love to see people grow. For now, we know that software engineers and developers continue to be in demand by our clients. When that demand shifts to new skills, we’ll be ready to help find the right talent.</p> <p>That’s why we’re here; we match talent with the right company. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/contact/" rel="noopener">Contact us</a> to learn how.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/78/Uncategorized/2023/5/Will-AI-actually-kill-jobs/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/78/Uncategorized/2023/5/Will-AI-actually-kill-jobs/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 17 May 2023 08:04:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/78/Uncategorized/2023/5/Will-AI-actually-kill-jobs/blog-post/Now we face the Great Mismatchhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/77/Uncategorized/2023/4/Now-we-face-the-Great-Mismatch/blog-post/We’ve lived through the Great Retirement, the Great Resignation, and the Great Return.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>Since the end of COVID-19 emergency measures that closed offices nationwide, we’ve lived through the Great Retirement, the Great Resignation, and the Great Return.</p> <p>Now we’re facing the Great Mismatch.</p> <p>That’s the conflict between employers who want employees working in the office at least a few days per week and employees who want to work remotely full time.</p> <p>A <em>Forbes</em> article on January 1 put The Great Mismatch in the form of hard numbers.</p> <p>The article said, “A recent&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/workplace-transformation-in-the-wake-of-covid-19" rel="noopener">survey</a>&nbsp;by Slack found that only 12% of people would choose to be in the office full time. Yet&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/18/50percent-of-companies-want-workers-back-in-office-5-days-a-week.html" rel="noopener">50% of leaders</a>&nbsp;are demanding their employees come back full time.”</p> <p>That article also cited a McKinsey study showing that 87% of Americans want to work in a flexible environment that allows for work in an office setting as well as virtually.</p> <p>The topic has been discussed in business and IT publications for several months and was recently addressed on the editorial page of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/18/federal-agency-remote-work-policy/" rel="noopener"><em>The Washington Post</em></a>.</p> <p>Focusing on federal agencies that are allowing remote work, the <em>Post</em> wrote, “Despite the claims of traditional managers who insist on a full return to five days in the office, the truth is that U.S. productivity actually spiked in the second half of 2020 while most offices were shut. And it<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bls.gov/charts/productivity-and-costs/nonfarm-business-sector-indexes.htm" rel="noopener">&nbsp;fell sharply</a>&nbsp;in the first quarters of 2022, when most companies began mandating a return to the office.”</p> <p>That information was first published by <em>Fortune</em> in <a target="_blank" href="https://fortune.com/2023/02/16/return-office-real-reason-slump-productivity-data-careers-gleb-tsipursky/" rel="noopener">a February article</a> that examined productivity data. There’s little doubt that remote workers are productive.</p> <p>But there’s the belief among many managers that the opposite is true. Julia Pollock, an economist at ZipRecruiter, summed it up for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marketplace.org/2023/04/04/employers-want-everyone-back-in-the-office-for-real-this-time/" rel="noopener">Marketplace</a>.</p> <p>Julia said most companies don’t like fully remote work because studies show that, generally, candidates who tend to apply for those jobs are less productive.</p> <p>“People who want to moonlight or want to smoke pot all day or watch movies while working or whatever,” she said.</p> <p>She also said that companies that list hybrid jobs with a mix of in-office and remote time get the most applicants.</p> <p>Maybe that’s the solution to the Great Mismatch – a hybrid environment instead of all-or-nothing.</p> <p>That’s the view of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.management-issues.com/connected/7471/the-great-mismatch/" rel="noopener">Management Issues</a>, which wrote, “Because there's such a disagreement, many workplaces (maybe most) are attempting to find a compromise, which explains the rise of hybrid work. Allowing employees greater flexibility in when and where work gets done while still co-locating at times is part of the answer. Organizations can stop the rush of turnover and inability to recruit, and employees get enough flexibility (and it's better than going back to the office full-time) they can live with the new arrangement.”</p> <p>It's also the view of 87% of Americans, according to that McKinsey study cited earlier.</p> <p>As we noted <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/76/Uncategorized/2023/3/About-that-wave-of-IT-layoffs/blog-post/" rel="noopener">just last month</a>, finding talent today is more difficult than ever, with or without a Great Mismatch. But we have the best recruiters in the business, and they know how to find the talent you need. So forget all the headlines and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/contact/" rel="noopener">contact us</a>&nbsp;for help.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/77/Uncategorized/2023/4/Now-we-face-the-Great-Mismatch/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/77/Uncategorized/2023/4/Now-we-face-the-Great-Mismatch/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 26 Apr 2023 08:28:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/77/Uncategorized/2023/4/Now-we-face-the-Great-Mismatch/blog-post/About that ‘wave’ of IT layoffshttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/76/Uncategorized/2023/3/About-that-wave-of-IT-layoffs/blog-post/It sounds like the stuff of nightmares for IT workers. Until you look deeper.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>It sounds like the stuff of nightmares for IT workers.</p> <p>“In 2023, layoffs have yet again cost tens of thousands of tech workers their jobs; this time, the workforce reductions have been driven by the biggest names in tech like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo and Zoom. Startups, too, have announced cuts across all sectors, from crypto to enterprise SaaS,” said a <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/20/tech-industry-layoffs/" rel="noopener">March 20 story</a> on the TechCrunch.com website.</p> <p>The story includes a comprehensive list of tech layoffs just this year, which have totaled more than 150,000 jobs.</p> <p>That same day, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cio.com/article/465110/amazon-to-lay-off-9000-more-workers-including-some-at-aws.html" rel="noopener">CIO.com</a> focused on the 9,000 workers who had been laid off at Amazon, which incudes staff reduction in the Amazon Web Services. Meta and Twitter have also announced staff cutbacks.</p> <p>Taking those numbers into consideration, the obvious conclusion is that it’s all good news for the companies that have been scrambling to find IT talent for their open positions.</p> <p>But that conclusion is wrong.</p> <p>“Our clients have been asking us if it’s easier to find the talent they need after all these layoffs,” noted Chris Walters, Senior Vice President, LRS Consulting Services. “The answer is no. The layoffs making news have had no impact on the number of available workers.”</p> <p>We took a look at the confounding numbers on this blog <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/70/Uncategorized/2022/11/Whats-going-on/blog-post/" rel="noopener">back in November</a>, when the total number of new jobs each month was around 300,000 even as big tech companies were announcing layoffs. At that time, we said, “And even with the high-profile layoffs, talent is still a scarce commodity. A <em>New York Times</em> story mentioned that more than 100,000 tech workers have been laid off this year, but that’s a drop in the very big bucket of 2.7 million tech jobs.”</p> <p>Early this month, Computerworld.com weighed in with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/3690309/about-those-tech-layoff-headlines-most-companies-arent-firing-it-workers.html" rel="noopener">a piece on the scary headlines</a> about tech sector layoffs. It began, “The unemployment rate in the technology job market in the US is about half that of other fields —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/3542681/how-many-jobs-are-available-in-technology.html" rel="noopener">just 1.5%</a>&nbsp;— so the onslaught of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/3685936/tech-layoffs-in-2023-a-timeline.html" rel="noopener">recent reports</a>&nbsp;about major “tech worker” layoffs can be confounding.”</p> <p>It went on to explain that the majority of workers being laid off did not hold IT positions. Not only that, but most of the companies announcing layoffs are so large that they were typically laying off just 5% to 6% of their workforce.</p> <p>“Gartner found that the companies behind the 10 largest layoffs in tech talent now employ over 150,000 more people than at the beginning of 2020. When it comes to tech jobs, hiring continues to far outpace firing,” the article noted.</p> <p>Computerworld also mentioned that Lisa Rowan, a research vice president for IDC’s HR, Talent, and Learning Strategies Group, said that while there are some technology jobs being eliminated among the layoffs, anyone let go with IT acumen is being snapped up “quickly."</p> <p>We can confirm that finding qualified Information Technology workers is no easier today than it was before the wave of layoffs began. It might even be harder now as companies are requiring employees to be onsite a least a few days a week and most IT workers prefer working remotely. A quick look at our <a target="_blank" href="https://jobs.lrsconsultingservices.com/" rel="noopener">list of open jobs</a> indicates the shortages we see.</p> <p>But we have the best recruiters in the business, and they know how to find the talent you need. So forget all the headlines and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/contact/" rel="noopener">contact us</a> for help.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/76/Uncategorized/2023/3/About-that-wave-of-IT-layoffs/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/76/Uncategorized/2023/3/About-that-wave-of-IT-layoffs/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 29 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/76/Uncategorized/2023/3/About-that-wave-of-IT-layoffs/blog-post/Eight straight!https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/75/Uncategorized/2023/2/Eight-straight/blog-post/For the eighth year in a row, we’ve won the ClearlyRated Best Of Staffing Client and Talent Awards.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>For the eighth year in a row, we’ve won the ClearlyRated Best Of Staffing Client and Talent Awards.</p> <p>We’re obviously thrilled by the news, because these awards are based completely on the ratings given by our clients and the permanent and temporary employees that we’ve placed with our clients. It’s really a report card on how we do business.</p> <p>So here are the hard numbers: We received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 84 percent of our candidates, down a bit from 85.9 percent last year, and from 90.9 percent of our clients a rebound from 82.5 in 2022. Both of these results are significantly higher than staffing industry averages, which are 46 percent for high client satisfaction and 45 percent for high candidate satisfaction</p> <p>Those numbers make us feel both honored and humbled. We cherish our relationships with both our customers and our consultants. We take neither for granted.</p> <p>It’s very rewarding to learn that our efforts were appreciated.</p> <p>Just as we’ve done every year when these awards are announced, we’re going to relish the honor that accompanies them. For a couple of minutes.</p> <p>Then we’re going right back to work finding the right fit between our clients and candidates, and finding creative ways to support our customers and our employees. That’s our passion, and we’re not the type of people who enjoy sitting around looking at awards.</p> <p>But if&nbsp;<em>you</em>&nbsp;would like to see what we’ve accomplished, just&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.clearlyrated.com/staffing/il-usa/springfield-il/lrs-consulting-services-springfield-il" aria-label="See our reviews on ClearlyRated website" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And contact us if you need a great IT consultant or if you want to put your skills to work for a great client.</p> <p>We’re among the best in the business, after all. For the eighth straight year!</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/75/Uncategorized/2023/2/Eight-straight/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/75/Uncategorized/2023/2/Eight-straight/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 08 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/75/Uncategorized/2023/2/Eight-straight/blog-post/The state of the IT staffing industryhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/74/Uncategorized/2023/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/The labor market in 2023 is going to be a tough one for employers who are looking for tech talent. Chris Walters<p></p> <br> <p><strong><em>By Chris Walters</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>Senior Vice President, LRS Consulting Services</em></strong></p> <p>It’s safe to say that 2022 was one crazy year.</p> <p>It began with everyone still rebounding from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and ended with headlines about major layoffs at tech firms.</p> <p>Part of the rebound from the pandemic was a wave of resignations. The “quit rate” as tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics hit a record of 3% in November 2021 and stayed that high throughout 2022. By November 2022, the rate had declined slightly to 2.7%</p> <p>Last summer, we wondered if it could be the “<a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/64/Uncategorized/2022/6/Could-it-be-the-Forever-Resignation/blog-post/">Forever Resignation</a>.”</p> <p>November also brought headlines about layoffs at Meta and Amazon totaling more than 20,000 technical workers. And recently Microsoft announced its plan to let 10,000 workers go, a result of over hiring during the pandemic.</p> <p>The media’s tone in covering these layoffs has been somber; after all, 30,000 lost jobs sounds like a lot. But Mark Roberts, CEO of the IT Staffing Industry group TechServe Alliance, offered a different view of the tech sector’s employment situation.</p> <p>In his ‘State of the Industry’ webinar, Roberts noted that tech talent remains in short supply. “One recent analysis determined there were 800,000 open jobs in IT and most candidates on the market continue to have multiple job offers,” he said.</p> <p>He further noted that the employment market continues to be very strong, with an overall unemployment rate for the third quarter of 3.6%. IT unemployment stands at 2.3% and engineering is even lower at 1.4%. Roberts noted that economists generally consider 4% as full employment.</p> <p>One trend that continued in 2022 from 2021 was a steady rise in average hourly earnings. The report for December 2022 said, “Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.6 percent,” which is just slightly lower than the 4.7% increase the year before.</p> <p>It’s a good bet that a similar increase will continue in 2023, according to the <em>IT Salary Report 2023&nbsp;</em>from Computer Economics. That report anticipates that “average wages for IT workers will rise 4.0% in 2023. This is the same as the 4.0% we projected last year, and it shows a strong IT job market..”</p> <p>How strong? The report says, “In terms of hiring, about 53% of all US IT organizations plan to increase their IT head counts in 2023. This is much lower than the 68% projected for 2022. However, it is noteworthy that only 5% of respondents plan to reduce IT head counts in 2023.”</p> <p>The labor market is going to be a tough one for employers who are looking for tech talent.</p> <p>A year ago I stated my belief that 2022 would be a year of continued recovery and growth, even as we continued to deal with the upheavals in the IT Staffing space. I’m not quite as optimistic for 2023 because we’re already beginning to see demand slip.</p> <p>In addition, I think we will also see a challenge this year as more companies ask their workforce to come back to an office either several days or five days per week. As we transition to what becomes the new “normal,” it may become difficult to fill on-premise positions compared to fully remote positions. This challenge could last at least a year or maybe longer.</p> <p>As companies search for talent, I foresee an increased role for nearshore development teams – software development talent located in Central and South America. Because they work in the same time zone as US companies, nearshore developers really become more a part of the team because they are working when our customers work.</p> <p>As we noted <a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/71/Uncategorized/2022/12/Going-nearshore-to-bridge-the-skills-gap/blog-post/">just last month</a>, LRS Consulting Services is positioned to meet the need for nearshore development in 2023 and beyond.</p> <p>Offering nearshore IT staffing is simply another way that LRS Consulting Services is here to serve our clients and consultants. From the beginning of pandemic restrictions, we worked to sharpen our focus on hiring managers and consultants.</p> <p>Possibly because of that increased focus, we were fortunate to post a good fiscal year. Our goal this year, as always, is to be an even better partner to our clients and consultants.</p> <p>So, please, let us know what we can do to serve you.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/74/Uncategorized/2023/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/74/Uncategorized/2023/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 25 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/74/Uncategorized/2023/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/Going nearshore to bridge the skills gaphttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/71/Uncategorized/2022/12/Going-nearshore-to-bridge-the-skills-gap/blog-post/Nearshore developers are in the same time zone, so it feels as though they're on the next floor of the same office building or in the next building over.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>When TechServe Alliance published its tech consulting industry update for December, it noted that there is <em>still</em> high demand for tech talent.</p> <p>And short supply.</p> <p>Even after layoffs at Meta, Amazon, Coinbase, and others, there’s still a skills gap. Mark Roberts, TechServe Alliance CEO, talked about the IT employment situation.</p> <p>“While layoffs among some high-profile tech companies have been in the news, demand for talent for technology professionals overall remains very strong,” Mark said. “When one sector of the economy reduces its workforce, high demand skill sets are redeployed to other industries. With an IT unemployment rate of just 2.3% as of the end of Q3, most qualified candidates continue to receive multiple job offers with escalating wage growth. It remains a ‘candidates’ market’.”</p> <p>We’ve talked about the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/51/Uncategorized/2021/4/Not-the-Skills-Gap-again/blog-post/" rel="noopener">skills gap</a> before on this blog; it’s a problem that never seems to be resolved. The available pool of domestic tech talent simply isn’t growing fast enough to meet demand.</p> <p>That’s why many American companies turn to nearshore development.</p> <p>As CIO Insight describes it, <em>nearshore</em> development is “a model wherein companies delegate their software development projects to companies in nearby countries. It enables companies to outsource their software development projects to teams within a few time zones.”</p> <p>That’s an advantage over <em>offshore</em> development, which typically involves tech workers in the eastern hemisphere. Nearshoring typically involves workers in Central and South America.</p> <p>As Adam Israel, National Director of Delivery for our Fulcrum Consulting division, explains nearshoring, it’s just like the workers are on the next floor of the same office building or in the next building over.</p> <p>“We align to the central time zone and work on the client’s time schedule and work on their meeting schedule and really work in a collaborative fashion,” Adam said.</p> <p>Fulcrum’s nearshoring practice focuses on Argentina and Peru. As Adam said, “They have a culture that fits very well with hardworking Midwesterners.”</p> <p>Fulcrum has been providing nearshore technical talent to its clients for more than seven years and has seen great success.</p> <p>“Everything we've started as a pilot has delivered so much value to our clients that they've found multiple ways to engage our nearshore teams,” Adam noted.</p> <p>LRS Consulting Services <a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/65/Uncategorized/2022/6/LRS-enters-new-market-with-acquisition/blog-post/">acquired Fulcrum Consulting</a> in June; at that time, Chris Walters, Senior Vice President of LRS Consulting Services, noted the significance of Fulcrum’s nearshore development service. He said it was something Consulting Services would eventually roll out to all of its branches.</p> <p>We’re beginning that rollout now, so if your business needs to bridge the skills gap with nearshore tech talent, <a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/contact/">contact us</a> today!</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/71/Uncategorized/2022/12/Going-nearshore-to-bridge-the-skills-gap/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/71/Uncategorized/2022/12/Going-nearshore-to-bridge-the-skills-gap/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 14 Dec 2022 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/71/Uncategorized/2022/12/Going-nearshore-to-bridge-the-skills-gap/blog-post/What's going on?https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/70/Uncategorized/2022/11/Whats-going-on/blog-post/The jobs reports had become monotonous: month after month, hundreds of thousands of jobs had been added to the US economy. Then everything happenedLRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>You may remember that November began with the release of the monthly jobs report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS.</p> <p>The jobs reports had become monotonous: month after month, hundreds of thousands of jobs had been added to the US economy.</p> <p>The report for October, released on November 4, was more of the same, with another 261,000 more jobs. That report came a day after <em>BusinessWire</em> touted the findings of a report on the staffing plans of “digital leaders.”</p> <p>The <em>BusinessWire</em> piece noted that, while 81% of digital leaders in the U.S. have concerns about the economy, 46% still plan to increase their overall technology budget and 47% expect to grow their headcount over the next 12 months. The findings were part of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nashsquared.com%2Fdlr&amp;esheet=52960118&amp;newsitemid=20221103005828&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=2022+Nash+Squared+Digital+Leadership+Report&amp;index=1&amp;md5=bdc190cea42c181322a50fdb1aa4e0c2" rel="noopener">2022 Nash Squared Digital Leadership Report</a>. The Digital Leadership Report is the longest-running and largest technology leadership survey in the world.</p> <p>The article quoted <a target="_blank" href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fjasonpyle%2F&amp;esheet=52960118&amp;newsitemid=20221103005828&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Jason+Pyle&amp;index=2&amp;md5=3908ec68fa90a760548988b581d97089" rel="noopener">Jason Pyle</a>, president of Harvey Nash USA, a Nash Squared company, who said, “The growth expectations expressed in this year’s report show that companies are strongly committed to continuing their digital transformation, which will be critical for the economy and jobs moving forward given the current global environment..”</p> <p>Just a few days after the October jobs report, TechServe Alliance threw some cold water on the optimism by noting that IT employment had dipped 0.14% over September’s numbers. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment slipped 0.19% from October 2021, down a net of 10,200 jobs.</p> <p>TechServe Alliance is the national trade association of the technology staffing and solutions industry. Mark Roberts, TechServe Alliance CEO, said, “Headlines may say that there are significant economic headwinds, but it’s important for businesses to understand that the 2.3% unemployment rate for IT tells a different story. It tells us that the lack of growth in IT jobs is not a demand issue, it remains a supply problem. Fundamentally, there are simply not enough people to fill the vacant jobs, and that will not change in the foreseeable future.”</p> <p>And then a whole lot of things happened. On Wednesday, November 9, Meta announced that it&nbsp;is laying off 13% of its staff, or more than 11,000 employees. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg&nbsp;made the announcement in a letter&nbsp;to employees.</p> <p>And most recently, Amazon announced a layoff of approximately 10,000 employees, with the bulk coming from the group responsible for Alexa.</p> <p>In trying to make sense of all the tech layoffs, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/technology/big-tech-layoffs.html" rel="noopener"><em>The New York Times</em></a> wrote, “The chorus of conceding by tech executives that they hired too many people is ricocheting across Silicon Valley as the industry rushes to make cuts, blaming a worsening economy. But at least part of the surge in layoffs was self-inflicted. When the companies enjoyed soaring profits and a belief that the pandemic-fueled boom times would keep going, they aggressively expanded by hoarding the most fought-over and expensive resource in the software business: talent.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Talent was so sought after that quits tracked by the BLS were above 4 million every month. We published <a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/64/Uncategorized/2022/6/Could-it-be-the-Forever-Resignation/blog-post/">a blog post</a> about the “Forever Resignation” as seen&nbsp; by some industry experts. Each month, 3% of the work force was resigning.</p> <p>Workers are still leaving jobs; the quit rate for October was 2.7%.</p> <p>And even with the high-profile layoffs, talent is still a scarce commodity. The <em>Times</em> story mentioned that more than 100,000 tech workers have been laid off this year, but that’s a drop in the very big bucket of 2.7 million tech jobs.</p> <p>You probably know how scarce talent is today. LRS Consulting Services has a staff of experienced, successful recruiters to help you meet your needs. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/contact/" rel="noopener">Contact us</a>!</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/70/Uncategorized/2022/11/Whats-going-on/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/70/Uncategorized/2022/11/Whats-going-on/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedMon, 21 Nov 2022 08:32:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/70/Uncategorized/2022/11/Whats-going-on/blog-post/Keeping personal data securehttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/69/Uncategorized/2022/10/Keeping-personal-data-secure/blog-post/IT consultants like you may wonder just how serious we are about keeping your personal data safe. The short answer is: Very.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which is every October, you see a ton of messages telling you how to safeguard your data.</p> <p>You get reminders on password complexity, safeguarding your documents, the importance of MFA, and many other aspects of securing your information.</p> <p>But IT consultants like you are often submitting personal data to IT staffing firms like us, and you may wonder just how serious we are about keeping your personal data safe.</p> <p>The short answer is: Very.</p> <p>Our internal LRS IT Department follows strict policies and procedures to evaluate security implications and enforce best practices for all employees, systems, and applications. Their efforts are focused on following a Zero Trust framework using layered technology elements such as Identity, Data Protection, Threat Protection, Application Security, Endpoint Management, Infrastructure, and network security with auditing and monitoring capabilities throughout.</p> <p>Identity and Access management systems are critical components to any enterprise security design. LRS utilizes Azure Active Directory combined with on-premise Active Directory as our primary identity provider. These technologies allow LRS to securely authenticate users, devices, applications, and processes before granting authorization to access resources.</p> <p>LRS employees are required to create strong network passwords, but our IT Department goes beyond passwords to authenticate users. Numerical PINs are alternatives to passwords, and we also rely on multifactor authentication to identify users connecting to our network using a smartphone or other mobile device.</p> <p>We encourage employees to use data protection technology that enables them to classify files and emails as Personal, Private, Confidential, or Highly Confidential. Classification based on data sensitivity not only ensures that information is not unnecessarily exposed to unauthorized individuals, but also applies an appropriate level of encryption to preserve its confidentiality.</p> <p>Speaking of encryption, we employ hardware level disk encryption, Virtual Machine encryption, backup encryption, database encryption, and files protected by either passwords or public and private keys.</p> <p>LRS also has extensive defenses against cyber attacks. We use the threat management capabilities of our security software to detect and investigate suspicious login. We also have anti-virus, vulnerability management, and attack surface reduction capabilities that alert IT security personnel of potential endpoint intrusions.</p> <p>We have next-generation protection for emerging threats, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and potentially unwanted program (PUP) detection to ensure the integrity of LRS devices and data.</p> <p>Rest assured that the personal data you send to LRS Consulting Services, including your resume, is kept safe. We are very serious about data security all year long, not just during Cybersecurity Awareness Month.</p> <br><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/69/Uncategorized/2022/10/Keeping-personal-data-secure/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/69/Uncategorized/2022/10/Keeping-personal-data-secure/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedTue, 18 Oct 2022 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/69/Uncategorized/2022/10/Keeping-personal-data-secure/blog-post/Honoring IT Professionalshttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/68/Uncategorized/2022/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/Among the hundreds of LRS employees are programmers like our founders, along with quality assurance analysts, network engineers, web developers, cyber security analysts, cloud architects, and even mainframe specialists who tell us the mainframe is never going away.Levi, Ray $ Shoup, Inc.<p></p> <p>When we at LRS observe National IT Professionals Day on the third Tuesday of every September, we always think of three particular IT professionals.</p> <p>Our company’s founders were three IT professionals in the days when information technology meant mainframes and punch cards. They banded together to form a company offering their expertise to clients who needed that special service.</p> <p>In the 40-plus years since LRS was founded, IT has evolved and grown. In the 80s it began to include servers and personal computers and networks tying all the machines together. In the 90s it began to include a global network called the world wide web and with it a strange phenomenon called the website. And electronic mail.</p> <p>In the 21<sup>st</sup> century, IT began to include mobile computing as cellular phones and tablets became more popular and much more powerful. Offsite storage rose in popularity to the point that many users store files and use applications that are stored in the “cloud.”</p> <p>Along with the positive growth and evolution of Information Technology came the growth and power of criminals who commit their crimes over the internet, so IT now also includes cyber security.</p> <p>That’s where we are today. Among the hundreds of LRS employees are programmers like our founders, along with quality assurance analysts, network engineers, web developers, cyber security analysts, cloud architects, and even mainframe specialists who tell us the mainframe is never going away.</p> <p>These are the IT professionals who develop products for, and provide support to, our customers. They’re also the technology experts who provide crucial services that so many of our customers depend on to keep their businesses operating.</p> <p>When most of us sit down at our desks to begin our workday, whether we’re in an office or at a remote location (such as a spare bedroom at home), we usually just fire up the computer and log into our email accounts without a thought to the IT behind the scenes and the IT professionals who keep it all running.</p> <p>That’s why it’s important to set aside one day a year to honor these people. For most of the year, they toil at jobs that most users never think about, so we rarely thank or even acknowledge them for their work. One day a year really isn’t enough, but today we focus on celebrating them and the work they do.</p> <p>And, as we’ve progressed from mainframes and punch cards to laptops and smartphones, we also recognize IT professionals for the work they do to keep up with the constant evolution of their world. We know they’re often studying to learn the latest changes in programming languages, operating systems, and security standards because LRS employs IT professionals whose job is to <em>teach other IT professionals</em>. And we know how busy our instructors are.</p> <p>So today, National IT Professionals Day 2022, we recognize, celebrate, and thank all the IT professionals who make today’s world possible. We want to specifically call out every IT professional who has helped make Levi, Ray &amp; Shoup, Inc. the company that it is today.</p> <p>As you sift through the day’s emails and deal with Zoom or Teams calls, you should do the same. Acknowledge and thank the IT professionals who make it all possible.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/68/Uncategorized/2022/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/68/Uncategorized/2022/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedTue, 20 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/68/Uncategorized/2022/9/Honoring-IT-Professionals/blog-post/Is that degree really necessary?https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/67/Uncategorized/2022/8/Is-that-degree-really-necessary/blog-post/Choosing candidates based on the skills they have rather than the degrees they don’t have seems like a great way to close the talent gap.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>So many postings on job boards list a BA or BS degree as a requirement for the position. That could be changing.</p> <p>In April, for example, <em>The New York Times</em> reported that more than 100 companies had pledged to open their hiring to workers without four-year degrees</p> <p>That story said, in part, “Work force experts see removing the four-year college degree filter for some jobs as key to increasing diversity and reducing inequality. Workers, they say, should be selected and promoted because of their skills and experience rather than degrees or educational pedigree. And companies that do change their hiring practices, they add, benefit by tapping previously overlooked pools of talent in a tight labor market, as well as diversifying their work forces.”</p> <p>Choosing candidates based on the skills they have rather than the degrees they don’t have ­– nearly two-thirds of American workers do not have a four-year college degree – seems like a great way to close the talent gap.</p> <p>After all, a recent study by the Cengage Group found that <em>65 percent of employers</em> are struggling to find talent.</p> <p>And, because 76 percent of Black adults and 83 percent of Latino adults lack a four-year degree, eliminating the requirement of a college degree can also be a great way to achieve your <a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/57/Uncategorized/2021/11/Are-you-thinking-about-DEIB/blog-post/">DEIB goals</a>.</p> <p>Some very notable companies had already moved away from requiring degrees for so many jobs.</p> <p>As a <em>Forbes</em> article in late July noted, blue-chip companies like Apple, Google, IBM, and Bank of America turned heads as long ago as 2017 with announcements that they would no longer require applicants for certain jobs to hold a degree, including for such posts as senior manager of finance.</p> <p>Companies often follow the trail that blue-chip organizations blaze, but not in this instance. Those companies are still the exception.</p> <p>The reluctance of so many companies to move away from their insistence on a college education for most jobs was highlighted in a recent study by the Cengage Group. That study found that 62 percent of all companies still require degrees for entry level jobs, with more than a quarter, 26 percent, admitting they do so to “filter the candidate pool” or because “that’s the way it’s always been done.”</p> <p>It's unclear why that’s the way it’s always been done, because many employers find that the college graduates they hire aren’t fully prepared for the workplace. A May 2021 article in the <em>Harvard Business Review</em> cited a survey of college graduates which found that nearly one-fifth of graduates reported that their college education experience did not provide them with the skills needed to perform their first post-degree job.</p> <p>Again, that was a survey of graduates who felt unprepared for the workforce.</p> <p>What are you doing in your organization? Are you requiring four-year degrees because you’ve always required them, or are you changing your focus to actual skills? We’d like to hear from you.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/67/Uncategorized/2022/8/Is-that-degree-really-necessary/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/67/Uncategorized/2022/8/Is-that-degree-really-necessary/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 24 Aug 2022 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/67/Uncategorized/2022/8/Is-that-degree-really-necessary/blog-post/Hiring our veteranshttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/66/Uncategorized/2022/7/Hiring-our-veterans/blog-post/National Hire A Veteran Day Is Monday, July 25. It's a special day to focus attention on the employment needs of US military veterans. LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>National Hire A Veteran Day Is Monday, July 25. This special day was established in 2017 to focus attention on the employment needs of US military veterans. You could say it’s a call to action for employers.</p> <p>At LRS Consulting Services, we constantly strive to answer that call. Veterans account for 7.5 percent of our employee headcount, which is just slightly higher than the 6.9 percent of the US population that is military veterans.</p> <p>We also partner with clients who focus their efforts on hiring veterans. Part of that focus is to thank them for the sacrifices they made by serving in the US military, and part of that focus is to benefit from the positive qualities veterans bring to the civilian workplace.</p> <p>After all, veterans have the ability to persevere through difficult times. They’re disciplined, and they’re not going to give up just because the work gets hard.</p> <p>Veterans also have a strong sense of mission, coming from a background in which everything they do is oriented to the mission of defending the country. The goal is always excellence toward the mission instead of excellence for personal gain.</p> <p>And veterans respect the chain of command; they understand the amount of respect that is due to people in areas of responsibility.</p> <p>One of our employees who’s a veteran joked that veterans are used to being told what to do, especially when they’re called in to work an unscheduled shift.</p> <p>So when one of our largest clients asked us to help them focus on placing veterans in their IT environment, we were ready. We partnered with Hire Heroes USA, Indeed Military, Veteran’s Support Network, and the DoD Transition Assistance Program. Over a period of several months when we placed over 100 consultants with the client, 17 of those consultants were veterans.</p> <p>That means 16.5 percent of our consultants were veterans, well above the benchmark of 6.7 percent set by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).</p> <p>We’re pretty happy with that result. We were also happy to read the Employment Situation of Veterans report for 2021 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which said the unemployment rate for all veterans fell to 4.4% last year, compared with 5.3% for nonveterans.</p> <p>The rate for male veterans was 4.4 percent, little different from the rate of 4.2 percent for female veterans. The overall unemployment rate for June was 3.6% unemployment, with 3.3% for adult women and 3.3 for adult men.</p> <p>So veterans are doing well nationwide.&nbsp;</p> <p>We think that’s a good thing. After serving for years in the nation’s defense, veterans shouldn’t have a difficult time finding work when they return to civilian life.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/66/Uncategorized/2022/7/Hiring-our-veterans/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/66/Uncategorized/2022/7/Hiring-our-veterans/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 20 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/66/Uncategorized/2022/7/Hiring-our-veterans/blog-post/LRS enters new market with acquisitionhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/65/Uncategorized/2022/6/LRS-enters-new-market-with-acquisition/blog-post/LRS is acquiring Fulcrum Consulting, LLC, an IT staffing, business advisory and nearshore development firm with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>LRS has announced that it is acquiring Fulcrum Consulting, LLC, an IT staffing, business advisory and nearshore development firm with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.</p> <p>The acquisition means that LRS will have a presence in the Twin Cities market for the first time; it also means LRS will increase its total staff to more than 1000 employees.</p> <p>Fulcrum was founded in 2002 and is an IT staffing industry leader in the Minneapolis area. The company will become a branch of LRS Consulting Services, the IT and engineering staffing division of LRS.</p> <p>Chris Walters, Senior Vice President of LRS Consulting Services, explained that Fulcrum Consulting is a perfect fit for LRS. He said, “Fulcrum fits well with our corporate culture. The company recruits top talent, treats them with respect, has strong relationships with clients and consultants, and has a strong believe in ethics and honesty. LRS is dedicated to the same ideals.”</p> <p>Fulcrum’s location in the Minneapolis area fits with the expansion plan that LRS Consulting Services has been pursuing for several years.</p> <p>As Chris explained, “Fulcrum’s location in central Minnesota helps us achieve our growth goals in a new location. We are also acquiring an experienced IT staffing group that manages an established client base.”</p> <p>Fulcrum’s Minneapolis location will join the LRS Consulting Services offices in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; and Dallas, Texas.</p> <p>In addition to IT staffing, Fulcrum also provides a nearshore development service to its clients. Chris called the service unique and something Consulting Services plans to eventually roll out to all of its branches.</p> <p>Offering new services to clients is nothing new for LRS. The company began as a small IT consulting business and has grown to a corporation that has divisions focusing on output management software and services, pension management software, infrastructure sales and services, web solutions, and IT training services. LRS employees are located literally around the globe.</p> <p>The many employees of LRS are eager to welcome the Fulcrum team to the LRS family!&nbsp;</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/65/Uncategorized/2022/6/LRS-enters-new-market-with-acquisition/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/65/Uncategorized/2022/6/LRS-enters-new-market-with-acquisition/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 29 Jun 2022 08:38:54 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/65/Uncategorized/2022/6/LRS-enters-new-market-with-acquisition/blog-post/Could it be the ‘Forever Resignation’?https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/64/Uncategorized/2022/6/Could-it-be-the-Forever-Resignation/blog-post/The big news is that Americans are still quitting their jobs in big numbers. One business publication has coined the term “Forever Resignation” to describe what’s going on.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>Do you remember Chris Walters, our Senior Vice President, telling you that quits and the quit rate had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/59/Uncategorized/2022/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/" rel="noopener">hit a record</a> last November?</p> <p>According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 4.5 million quits in November which resulted in a quit rate of 3%. Those were record-setting numbers.</p> <p>The big news now is that Americans are still quitting their jobs in big numbers. The BLS marked the beginning of June by announcing that the quit rate held steady at 2.9 percent in April, with 4.4 million people quitting their jobs.</p> <p>Looking over the numbers published by the BLS, <em>BusinessInsider</em> coined the term “Forever Resignation” to describe what’s going on. Their report included this:</p> <p><em>April was the 11th month in a row that over 4 million Americans have thrown in the towel. It also marks a year since the country first notched a new record-breaking quits rate, which was quickly bested when quits reached a series high in November 2021 — showing that workers quitting in droves was far from just a reaction to early pandemic conditions.</em></p> <p><em>April also showed just how much businesses want to hold onto their workers: Layoffs and discharges reached a new record low. Just 1.2 million people were laid off or discharged in April, a rate of 0.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.</em></p> <p>Other media sources still call the labor situation the “Great Resignation,” and CNBC reported in late May that it will probably continue for some time.</p> <p>The network based its report on a study released by professional services firm PwC that found 44% of respondents who work in the tech industry said they plan to ask for a raise. PwC surveyed more than 52,000 workers in 44 countries.</p> <p>The survey also found that 71% of respondents to their survey said a pay increase would prompt them to change jobs. And a Pew Research Center study&nbsp;found&nbsp;that over half of the Americans who quit in 2021 and took new roles were making more money.</p> <p>As we pay attention to the companies losing employees, let’s also look at the companies that gain them. A <em>Forbes</em> article noted:</p> <p><em>The Great Resignation undoubtedly will continue, but the flip side—the Great Acceptance—has created a massive opportunity for companies on the receiving end of recently exited employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows&nbsp;a nearly one-to-one correlation between the rate of quitting and swapping, confirming that these employees are indeed accepting new offers. </em></p> <p>What do those new offers include? <em>BusinessInsider</em> noted that wages are rising and many people are looking for jobs that will allow them to work remotely.</p> <p>As Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance said, “In this tight labor market, hiring managers will have to be mindful of the expectations and demands of the tech workforce as we navigate through the complexities of work-from-anywhere culture in order to hire and retain employees, especially in the specialized tech roles.”</p> <p>It’s worth noting that recent actions by the Federal Reserve to combat rising inflation, combined with fears by some business leaders about a potential recession, could stop the Forever Resignation in its tracks. Or not.</p> <p>No matter what happens, it’s sure to be a bumpy ride. We’ll keep a sharp eye on it, so just hang on.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/64/Uncategorized/2022/6/Could-it-be-the-Forever-Resignation/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/64/Uncategorized/2022/6/Could-it-be-the-Forever-Resignation/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 22 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/64/Uncategorized/2022/6/Could-it-be-the-Forever-Resignation/blog-post/How do you get workers back in the office?https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/63/Uncategorized/2022/5/How-do-you-get-workers-back-in-the-office/blog-post/Is it really the office doughnut that can draw reluctant workers back to the office?LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>It was a little over two years ago that workers, especially IT workers, were told to leave their offices and go home to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>Since that time, numerous companies have been calling workers back to their offices. Some companies were back in the office before the end of 2020. But some larger employers, especially tech giants, have only recently called workers back.</p> <p>Those companies have been the focus of the media.</p> <p>For example, in March, <em>Newsweek</em> proclaimed the Great Return had followed the Great Resignation and the Great Retirement. They based that proclamation on the fact that Citigroup, BNY Mellon, Google, and Twitter, among other big names, were calling workers back to the offices that month.</p> <p>The <em>Newsweek</em> story noted that many of the big companies are offering some form of flexible work schedule, with varying hybrid models for office and remote schedules.</p> <p>According to the article, “The decision to offer flexible schedules reflects the reality of a job market where millions of workers have quit their jobs in recent months seeking either higher pay, better benefits or more control over their daily lives.”</p> <p>Nobody bothers to ask workers how they feel about orders to move back to their offices and cubicles, with once exception.</p> <p>Apple had already told its workers that they would have to report to the office one day a week beginning last month, with the in-office requirement increasing to three days a week late this month. And, according to <em>Fortune</em>, Apple workers are fuming.</p> <p>The magazine reported that “A sizable number of workers—56%—claimed they are looking to leave Apple expressly because of its office requirement. It’s unclear how many actually will carry through.”</p> <p>Maybe Apple had ignored an article <em>Fortune</em> had published a month earlier, headlined “4 keys to getting workers to return to the office after COVID,” which advised companies to make the office a place that workers <em>want</em> to report to.</p> <p>And maybe, just maybe, management in all of these companies is just ignoring advice from the ultimate authority on making office work enjoyable – the office doughnut.</p> <p>In a <em>Wall Street Journal</em> piece, the office doughnut tells columnist Jason Gay that he and his pals are simply the offer that workers cannot refuse. He claims that management is focusing on all the wrong things, such as “Teamwork. Wellness. All this mumbo-jumbo about ‘reimagining the modern workplace.’”</p> <p>But it’s really the office doughnut that can draw reluctant workers back to the office. Sure, you can buy your own doughnuts and eat them while you work from home, “But we both know it’s not the same thing as an office doughnut,” said the office doughnut.</p> <p>“So let’s get real about the return to the office,” said the office doughnut. “Work from home is mostly delightful. You avoid the commute, traffic and all those in-person meetings which never made any sense. It’s made you happy. But not as happy as an office doughnut.”</p> <p>Are you offering office doughnuts to lure IT workers back to your office? Using some other enticement? Let us know, and maybe we’ll bring the doughnuts.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/63/Uncategorized/2022/5/How-do-you-get-workers-back-in-the-office/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/63/Uncategorized/2022/5/How-do-you-get-workers-back-in-the-office/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 11 May 2022 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/63/Uncategorized/2022/5/How-do-you-get-workers-back-in-the-office/blog-post/IT workers are making some moveshttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/62/Uncategorized/2022/4/IT-workers-are-making-some-moves/blog-post/A recent survey found that 80% of tech workers are considering looking for another job this spring, and most are doing more than considering.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>April Fool’s Day was the first Friday of the month, which means the US Bureau of Labor Statistics published its report on employment. It was another robust report showing that employment had risen by 431,000 in March, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.6 percent.</p> <p>Just a few days earlier, the bureau released the February Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, which showed that around 4.35 million people had quit their jobs that month. That meant the “quit rate” was holding pretty steady at 2.9 percent.</p> <p>TechServe Alliance recently took notice of the rise in workers voluntarily leaving jobs and offered this reaction</p> <p>“This increase in quits indicates that the demand for workers remains high, and employers continue to face challenges retaining employees at the start of the year. Various factors influence this high quit rate. Many workers are leaving their jobs for advantages including improved compensation, benefits or workplace flexibility, such as positions that allow remote work.”</p> <p>That echoes what Chris Walters, our Senior Vice President, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/59/Uncategorized/2022/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/" rel="noopener">wrote in January</a>. Chris wrote that the high quit rate is “an indication of the freedom and power US workers are now feeling. When they decide they don’t like their pay, working conditions, or company culture, they quit and then look for another job.”</p> <p>It’s a phenomenon that shows no sign of ending soon. At the end of March, HR Dive reported on a survey that <em>80% of tech workers</em> are considering looking for another job this spring.</p> <p>Many of those workers aren’t just considering a move. More than half of survey respondents (57%) said they'd applied for another job in the past month, three-quarters (74%) said they'd talked to a recruiter in the past month and nearly half (49%) said they'd interviewed with another company in the past month.</p> <p>What those numbers say is that companies already dealing with a shortage of skilled IT workers also face the likely prospect of losing the workers they currently have. It’s like a baseball team losing two of its starting pitchers to injury in the middle of the season; they have to scramble for a limited number of skilled talent while continuing to compete.</p> <p>There may be a ray of hope on the horizon, according to TechServe Alliance’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.techservealliance.org/news/the-state-of-the-technology-talent-shortage/" rel="noopener">The State of the Technology Talent Shortage</a> post, which notes that the number of computer science and information science graduates is starting to pick up. The National Center for Education Statistics says the number of computer science and information science degrees conferred increased by 124% between 2009-2010 and 2018-2019, from 39,600 to 88,600. So the IT talent pool may be expanding a bit.</p> <p>For now, though, employers are traveling a rocky road. Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance, said that IT employment has been essentially flat for the last seven months.</p> <p>Mark also said, “It’s up to companies to formulate their talent acquisition strategies that meet the expectations of the talent in terms of compensation and return-to-work policies. Additionally, to be successful in this environment, companies must be creative and diversify their approach to sourcing candidates.”</p> <p>At LRS Consulting Services, we’ve been counseling our clients on compensation and work culture issues since we started. We know our clients and we carefully screen candidates to make sure they’re the right fit for each client’s needs.</p> <p>That’s a tall order, especially in the current employment environment, but we’re up to the challenge. Let us know what needs you have and we can talk about how we can help you.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/62/Uncategorized/2022/4/IT-workers-are-making-some-moves/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/62/Uncategorized/2022/4/IT-workers-are-making-some-moves/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 13 Apr 2022 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/62/Uncategorized/2022/4/IT-workers-are-making-some-moves/blog-post/The challenging life of a technical recruiterhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/61/Uncategorized/2022/3/The-challenging-life-of-a-technical-recruiter/blog-post/A recruiter just calls a candidate, shares a job description, and before long, the applicant is interviewing, right? No, not really.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>Do technical recruiters, like the ones on our staff, have an easy job?</p> <p>In a piece discussing recruiting trends for 2022, <em>Forbes</em> hinted that people just might think so.</p> <p>According to <em>Forbes</em>, “People may think that a recruiter calls a candidate, shares a job description, and before long, the applicant is interviewing and on their way toward getting a job offer.”</p> <p>But as the article notes, the reality is different. The piece mentions the hunt for good job candidates that can involve scouring the internet and rooting around their own network as well as the frustrations that can occur once a good candidate is identified.</p> <p>As <em>Forbes</em> described the reality, it wrote, “More often than not, people don’t get back to a recruiter. They may say that they’re interested, but later ghost the recruiter. Sometimes, they’re not hiding from the search professional; it's just that they’re busy with their current job or juggling multiple interviews with other firms.”</p> <p>The <em>New York Times Magazine</em> painted an even darker picture of the recruiting life. The magazine profiled a recruiter who had begun her career in a hiring job with a fashion designer. In that job, the candidates she worked with would send her candy, flowers, and beautiful thank-you notes.</p> <p>After her switch to technical recruiting, she discovered that, “Recruiters working in technology these days do not receive candy, flowers or thank-yous. The recruiter is lucky if she can get someone on the phone — if she receives so much as an email in response.”</p> <p>The unemployment rate for all workers in the United States is about 3.8%, but it’s below 2% for IT workers. Because of that, and because so many companies are hungry for tech talent, candidates are in the driver’s seat. IT workers get weary of emails, text messages, and calls from recruiters.</p> <p>LRS Consulting Services technical recruiters are currently working to fill nearly three dozen openings for a variety of our clients, but you won’t see them profiled in a magazine article complaining that the job is too hard. They definitely relish the challenge.</p> <p>As one noted, “The type of person who excels at this job is one who’s willing to put in a lot of extra effort. It’s not a typical 8 to 5 job because a lot of times you have to call people off hours.” The secret to success, he said, is giving 100% every day.</p> <p>Yet another talked of the emotional reward of recruiting.</p> <p>“Recruiting is a roller coaster,” he said. “There’s ups and downs, but the ups are fantastic. Just knowing that you have gone above and beyond to do your job and then find out that the client is happy and the consultant is happy, there’s no greater feeling than that.”</p> <p>Our clients and our consultants all know how special our technical recruiters are; they’ve helped us win the Best Of Staffing award seven years in a row. We’re grateful for their attitude and their hard work. Contact us and find out for yourself how good LRS Consulting Services recruiters are.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/61/Uncategorized/2022/3/The-challenging-life-of-a-technical-recruiter/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/61/Uncategorized/2022/3/The-challenging-life-of-a-technical-recruiter/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 09 Mar 2022 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/61/Uncategorized/2022/3/The-challenging-life-of-a-technical-recruiter/blog-post/We rolled a seven!https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/60/Uncategorized/2022/2/We-rolled-a-seven/blog-post/It's the seventh year in a row that we've won awards based completely on ratings given by our clients and the employees that we’ve placed.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>For the seventh year in a row, we’ve won the ClearlyRated Best Of Staffing Client and Talent Awards.</p> <p>We’re obviously thrilled by the news, because these awards are based completely on the ratings given by our clients and the permanent and temporary employees that we’ve placed with our clients. It’s really a report card on how we do business.</p> <p>So here are the hard numbers: We received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 85.9 percent of our candidates, up from 80.6 percent last year, and from 82.5 percent of our clients, down a bit from 90.4 percent a year ago. Both of these results are significantly higher than staffing industry averages, which are 41 percent for high client satisfaction and 40 percent for high candidate satisfaction</p> <p>Those numbers make us feel both honored and humbled, especially this year. As we dealt with COVID-19 protocols for another year, our main goal was to make sure our service levels did not slip. To maintain service levels, we spent the whole year trying to figure out new ways to keep in contact with people. We had more face-to-face contact than the year before, but it was still limited.</p> <p>It’s very rewarding to learn that our efforts were appreciated.</p> <p>Just as we’ve done every year when these awards are announced, we’re going to relish the honor that accompanies them. For a couple of minutes.</p> <p>Then we’re going right back to work finding the right fit between our clients and candidates, and finding ways to support everyone until the pandemic is behind us. That’s our passion, and we’re not the type of people who enjoy sitting around looking at awards.</p> <p>But if&nbsp;<em>you</em>&nbsp;would like to see what we’ve accomplished, just&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.clearlyrated.com/staffing/il-usa/springfield-il/lrs-consulting-services-springfield-il" rel="noopener">click here<span class="sr-only"> to see what we've accomplished</span></a>. And contact us if you need a great IT consultant or if you want to put your skills to work for a great client.</p> <p>We’re among the best in the business, after all. For the seventh year in a row!</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/60/Uncategorized/2022/2/We-rolled-a-seven/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/60/Uncategorized/2022/2/We-rolled-a-seven/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 02 Feb 2022 08:06:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/60/Uncategorized/2022/2/We-rolled-a-seven/blog-post/The state of the IT staffing industryhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/59/Uncategorized/2022/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/A year ago I stated my belief that 2021 would be a year of amazing recovery and growth. Overall economic numbers have borne out that belief, even while IT Staffing has been in a state of flux all year.Chris Walters<p></p> <p><strong><em>By Chris Walters, Senior Vice President, LRS Consulting Services</em></strong></p> <p>It seems that everyone takes notice when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its monthly jobs report. That was certainly the case when it released its December 2021 report, which reported that a paltry 199,000 jobs had been added.</p> <p>Fewer people notice the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary report, issued just days before the jobs report. On January 4, that report noted that the U.S. quit rate hit a record high of 3% in November, with 4.5 million quits recorded that month — the highest number recorded since the Department of Labor began recording quits in December 2000. September also had a quit rate of 3%, with 4.4 million employees quitting their jobs.</p> <p>To be sure, some industries saw more quits than others. Accommodation and food services; healthcare and social assistance; and transportation, warehousing and utilities saw the highest increase in quits. The consistent factor in all of the quits is that people quitting their jobs didn’t drop out of the job market.</p> <p>They found better jobs.</p> <p>The phenomenon is being called “The Great Resignation” or “The Great Migration.” Either way, it’s an indication of the freedom and power US workers are now feeling. When they decide they don’t like their pay, working conditions, or company culture, they quit and then look for another job. You may think The Great Resignation will have no affect on IT Staffing, but workers in all industries are seeing demand for their skills.</p> <p>With workers changing jobs and companies facing stiff competition for workers have had an impact. As the BLS noted in the December jobs report, “Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.7 percent.”</p> <p>That kind of increase will continue in 2022, according to the <em>IT Salary Report 2022</em> from Computer Economics. That report anticipates “average wages for IT workers will rise 4.0% at the median, much higher than the 2.3% pace last year. At the same time, hiring plans are also strong, with 68% of companies planning to increase IT head count, much higher than the 47% last year.”</p> <p>This could mean a very happy new year for IT talent but not so much for employers. There was already a shortage of IT talent, and with 68% of companies looking to hire in 2022, the shortage will get even worse.</p> <p>According to the HR Dive website, the labor market troubles we experienced in 2021 are likely to stay around for some time. Along with the high quit rate, there is evidence that baby boomers are retiring in droves.</p> <p>The website quotes economist Miguel Faria e Castro of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, detailed in an October report the impact of the pandemic on encouraging baby boomers to retire. Faria e Castro found that, as of August 2021, the U.S. recorded slightly more than 2.4 million excess retirements due to COVID-19, a figure that represented more than half of the total number of workers who left the labor force from the beginning of the pandemic to the second quarter of 2021 — 4.2 million.</p> <p>A year ago I stated my belief that 2021 would be a year of amazing recovery and growth. Overall economic numbers have borne out that belief, even while IT Staffing has been in a state of flux all year.</p> <p>I’m confident that 2022 will bring us continued recovery and growth even as we deal with the upheavals in the IT Staffing space.</p> <p>Regardless of what happens, remember that LRS Consulting Services will be here to serve our clients and consultants like always. From the beginning of pandemic restrictions, we have increased our focus on hiring managers and consultants, even creating a new position to help increase our focus and creativity relative to client engagement.</p> <p>Possibly because of our increased focus, we were fortunate to post a good fiscal year. Our goal this year, as always, is to be an even better partner to our clients and consultants.</p> <p>So, please, let us know what we can do to serve you.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/59/Uncategorized/2022/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/59/Uncategorized/2022/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 19 Jan 2022 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/59/Uncategorized/2022/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/Consider the downside of remote workhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/58/Uncategorized/2021/12/Consider-the-downside-of-remote-work/blog-post/Regardless of how well remote workers perform, a bias against them can develop simply because they are not working in the office. It can be a classic case of the cliché “out of sight, out of mind” ringing true.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>It’s been nearly two years since organizations responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by sending most office workers, including IT consultants, home to fulfill their job responsibilities.</p> <p>As we saw so many of our clients implement mitigation efforts, we <a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/48/Uncategorized/2021/1/The-state-of-the-IT-staffing-industry/blog-post/" aria-label="read The State of the IT Staffing Industry post">adapted as well as we could</a> to keep in touch with them and maintain the relationships we’ve developed. Then we made the decision to send our employees home in compliance with mandates at state and local levels.</p> <p>At the time, business and IT publications predicted that remote work would become the standard for everyone who had previously worked in an office. That hasn’t proved to be true, but many companies have transitioned to a hybrid environment where some employees are in the office all the time while others work remotely one or more days per week.</p> <p>As <a href="https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/43/Uncategorized/Will-we-keep-working-from-home/blog-post/" aria-label="read Will We Keep Working From Home post">we blogged in June 2020</a>, working from home is close to Nirvana for some workers; for others, it’s definitely not.</p> <p>The Society for Human Resource Management noted in May, “Collaborating Remotely Can Be Hard.” The article quoted Judith Olson, a distance-work expert and professor at the University of California Irvine (UCI), who noted that distance still matters when people are trying to work together on a project.</p> <p>She said, "There is evidence that when working at home uninterrupted, you get a lot more solo work done. It's the collaboration aspect that suffers. There is something called 'the attribution error' in psychology that plays out here: If someone local is unavailable or out of the office, you attribute it to the situation, that something must have come up. If someone remote is unavailable, you attribute it to the personality, that they are shirking, avoiding you or are incompetent. So, the decision-makers, who are likely in the office, attribute evil personal motivations" to remote workers with whom they can't connect easily.</p> <p>Offering a dissenting opinion was Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and a senior research advisor for the Society for Human Resource Management, said people can work harder even when not around others doing so.</p> <p>"If you don't have commuting time, if you don't have chit-chat time in the office, telecommuters can work longer and harder. It all comes down to organizational leaders," Galinsky said. "Do they inspire teamwork? Do they inspire respect and support for all, whether they work at home or not? That's what makes the difference."</p> <p>Regardless of how well remote workers perform, a bias against them can develop simply because they are not working in the office. It can be a classic case of the cliché “out of sight, out of mind” ringing true.</p> <p>In August, the <em>New York Times</em> studied this phenomenon, noting that bias against remote workers could become a new obstacle to making workplaces more diverse and inclusive.</p> <p>The article quoted Sonja Gittens Ottley, the head of diversity and inclusion at the software company Asana, which has more than 1,000 employees who will be allowed to spend two days a week working remotely when offices reopen, who said, “The employees who are working in person may get more visibility with leadership. They might have more opportunities for mentorship and sponsorship.”</p> <p>Take meetings in which everyone dials in from a laptop: “After the meeting ends, the three people at the office close their laptops, step out of the cubicles, go grab a coffee, go chat in the corridor, basically carry the meeting on,” said Dr. Nicholas Bloom of Stanford. “And so you just naturally have an in group and an out group.”</p> <p>Being in the out group can be particularly hard on young workers. Working remotely means that they don’t have daily access to the type of daily exposure to their company’s culture that previous generations have had.</p> <p>The <em>New York Times</em> published an article in November headlined with the charge that “Remote Work Is Failing Young Employees.” The piece was written by Anne Helen Petersen and Charlie Warzel, authors of a forthcoming book on remote work.</p> <p>They contend that many of the perks of truly flexible work — a self-directed schedule, distance from overly chatty co-workers, remove from office gossip and politics — could also work against younger employees. If companies don’t create intentional, structured mentorship programs to help younger and remote colleagues with on-the-job learning, they risk leaving a generation behind.</p> <p>Peterson and Warzel described the situation of a midcareer lawyer who started a government fellowship right before the beginning of the pandemic. For him, remote work meant that his already distant manager disappeared fully. Prepandemic, he described his supervisor as “one of those people that was visibly very busy and constantly apologizing for it.” Things only got worse when they left the office. “I can’t emphasize the extent to which I felt like I fell off the face of the earth to her,” he said.</p> <p>Is there a solution? The authors urge companies to plan carefully as they implement a hybrid work environment, where employees split time between home and the office. They note, “Truly flexible work may seem breezy and carefree, but it’s actually the product of careful planning and clear communication. It requires peering around corners and attempting to identify needs and problems before they fester.”</p> <p>What’s your current environment? Do you have a mix of in-office and remote workers? How do you make it work? We’re interested in your thoughts!</p> <br><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/58/Uncategorized/2021/12/Consider-the-downside-of-remote-work/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/58/Uncategorized/2021/12/Consider-the-downside-of-remote-work/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 08 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/58/Uncategorized/2021/12/Consider-the-downside-of-remote-work/blog-post/Are you thinking about DEIB??https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/57/Uncategorized/2021/11/Are-you-thinking-about-DEIB/blog-post/The call for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) in the workplace is loud and growing louder by the day, according business publications. Is your organization heeding the call?LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>Have you been thinking about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) lately? <em>Forbes</em> magazine’s Human Resources Council has.</p> <p>In late October, it published an article headlined “Inclusive Recruiting: Five Frequently Asked Questions” which began with this sentence: The call for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) in the workplace is loud and growing louder by the day.</p> <p>Although that may sound like hyperbole, <em>Forbes</em> isn’t the only one talking about DEIB. In June, Glassdoor’s blog featured a post that defined each part of DEIB. Those definitions were summed up, including this concise quote: "Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard."&nbsp;</p> <p>The <em>Forbes</em> HRC also published blog post at that time saying the workplace mindset needed to be rewired to make DEIB a part of everyday life. The lead sentence? “Diversity and inclusion is the most sought-after business imperative today.”</p> <p>The new focus on DEIB may seem strange considering that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For decades, though, it&nbsp;was considered “enough” to&nbsp;have a certain percentage of diverse workers at any given company.&nbsp;But not only were these numbers often not met, diversity was rarely&nbsp;acted upon as a top initiative.</p> <p>That attitude has slowly evolved to where most businesses realize that being diverse isn’t about looking at metrics and ensuring a certain percentage of people are employed – it's treating everyone with an equal amount of respect and care when it comes to their expertise and opinion, regardless of looks, race, sexual orientation, or gender.&nbsp;</p> <p>Cultivating diversity requires a professional culture where all employees can feel comfortable and well-positioned to enact their best work. It demands more of leadership than just hiring stand-out employees. It also means providing them the tools and the professional climate they need to thrive.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>As Amanda L. Bonilla, co-founder and lead education developer with Inclusion Consultant Network, explained, "Diversity means difference. Different social identities, different ways of problem-solving and different styles of communication."</p> <p>Harnessing diversity is good for business, she noted. "Having diversity on a team means companies can benefit from the multitude of ways their diverse members approach their work and, in turn, relate to diverse clientele" Bonilla said.</p> <p>That’s where the powerful combination of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) comes into play. The benefits of a diverse workforce are undeniable: Businesses with a higher than average diversity had 19% higher innovation revenues, according to a Harvard Business Review study. The numbers speak for themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>We’ve found that to be the case at LRS. Not only is our commitment to equal opportunity employment consistent with the company’s mission and values, but it’s simply good business. Hiring and promoting the most qualified employees makes LRS a more successful company. If we don’t hire or promote the most qualified individuals, we’re weakening LRS.</p> <p>What’s your view of DEIB? How do you maintain a focus on diversity in your organization? Let us know!</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/57/Uncategorized/2021/11/Are-you-thinking-about-DEIB/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/57/Uncategorized/2021/11/Are-you-thinking-about-DEIB/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 17 Nov 2021 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/57/Uncategorized/2021/11/Are-you-thinking-about-DEIB/blog-post/The road ahead: IT staffing in the final quarter of 2021https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/56/Uncategorized/2021/10/The-road-ahead-IT-staffing-in-the-final-quarter-of-2021/blog-post/The IT talent supply challenge is very real. Every company looking for IT talent already knows what TechServe Alliance announced recently: Unemployment in the IT sector, as defined by TechServe, stands at 2.9% LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>Every company looking for IT staffing already knows what TechServe Alliance announced recently: Unemployment in the IT sector, as defined by TechServe, stands at 2.9%</p> <p>TechServe also broke down the numbers by skill set:<br>Computer Programmers&nbsp; 4.7%&nbsp;<br>Network &amp; Computer Systems Administrators&nbsp; 4.4%&nbsp;<br>Computer Support Specialists&nbsp; 3.9% <br>Software Quality Assurance Analysts &amp; Testers&nbsp; 2.9%</p> <p>In a news release noting that the rate of growth in IT employment has slowed recently, TechServe CEO Mark Roberts voiced what so many employers have been thinking.</p> <p>“The talent supply challenge is very real,” Roberts said. “While the shortage of workers is a new development for many labor categories, in IT, it has been a crisis in the making for years. Given this supply side challenge, I anticipate we will continue to see anemic growth rates for the foreseeable despite very strong demand.”</p> <p>Overall, Americans are quitting jobs at a record pace. As the <em>Washington Post</em> recently noted, “The phenomenon is being driven in part by workers who are less willing to endure inconvenient hours and poor compensation, quitting at this stage in the pandemic to find better opportunities elsewhere.”</p> <p>The Post article quoted an economist who said, “This really elevated rate of people quitting their job is a sign that workers have lots of confidence and they have relatively stronger bargaining positions then they’ve had in the past. There’s lots of demand, and people are seizing that opportunity and quitting their job.”</p> <p>HRDive confirmed the high in late September, noting that:</p> <p>Both white-collar and blue-collar jobs anticipate payroll growth in the next three months, most notably: <em>information (+62%)</em>, financial services (+58%), transportation &amp; utilities (+58%), construction (+56%), professional and business services (+54%) and wholesale and retail trade (+49%).</p> <p>A 62% growth in IT hiring seems impossible over the next three months considering the already high level of employment in the sector. Chris Walters, Senior Vice President of LRS Consulting Services, offered his thoughts about the final quarter of 2021.</p> <p>“During the fourth quarter we saw what seems like an even larger disconnect between what the workforce desires in terms of compensation and flexibility and what employers are willing to give,” Chris said. “However, the companies that are responding to these changes are definitely getting the top talent.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Chris continued by saying, “The other factor in hiring great people was speed. In a market where candidates receive multiple offers, the faster a company can get them through the interview process and make an offer the better chance they have to hire their top candidate. ‘Talent war’ is a term that is often overused, but that is certainly what it feels like right now.”</p> <p>LRS Consulting Services is always your ally in the talent wars. Call us today for help!</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/56/Uncategorized/2021/10/The-road-ahead-IT-staffing-in-the-final-quarter-of-2021/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/56/Uncategorized/2021/10/The-road-ahead-IT-staffing-in-the-final-quarter-of-2021/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 20 Oct 2021 08:03:39 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/56/Uncategorized/2021/10/The-road-ahead-IT-staffing-in-the-final-quarter-of-2021/blog-post/https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Resources/e43954e1-eb01-4997-92ad-dda56c0b9e3d/featured.jpgTop 6 consulting opportunities right nowhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/55/Uncategorized/2021/9/Top-6-consulting-opportunities-right-now/blog-post/As we enter the latter half of 2021, the demand for IT talent has not slowed down.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>As we enter the latter half of 2021, the demand for IT talent has not slowed down. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for tech occupations dropped to 1.5%, the lowest it’s been since August 2019.</p> <p>With there being more job openings than IT professionals, the plethora of openings can be overwhelming. So, if you are ready for your next assignment, here are a few of the hot jobs that our technical recruiters are working hard to fill right now:</p> <p><a href="https://jobs.lrs.com/job/details/22703">API Integration Business Analyst</a> – Located in Brentwood, TN, this is a 6-month contract with the opportunity to be hired on permanently! If you can easily juggle multiple projects at one time and have a deep understanding of interfaces for API’s, this is the job for you.</p> <p><a href="https://jobs.lrs.com/job/details/22767">Jr. Business Analyst</a> – This is a long-term contract-to-hire opportunity in St. Louis, MO. It’s a great position for those with technical and business acumen.</p> <p><a href="https://jobs.lrs.com/job/details/22744">Java Developer</a> – Are you a self-motivated, eager to grow, and experienced in Java? Check out this contract-to-hire opportunity located in Fort Worth, TX!</p> <p>For the past year, we have seen a rise in requests for remote work among our consultants. This has led to many companies alter their work from home policies, allowing more options for our remote-required talent. We have excellent remote consulting opportunities that we are currently filling, including:</p> <p><a href="https://jobs.lrs.com/job/details/22684">.Net Developer</a> – This is a contract opportunity for anyone able to develop large scale web sites and have a deep understanding of object-oriented programming.</p> <p><a href="https://jobs.lrs.com/job/details/22658">Senior Splunk Developer</a> – As a long-term contract opportunity, there is the possibility of being hired on permanently. If you are detail oriented, proactive, and assertive, take a look!</p> <p><a href="https://jobs.lrs.com/job/details/22716">Software Development Manager</a> – This is a direct hire opportunity. You will be leading the software development team and provide support for clients and project planning</p> <p>Visit <a href="https://jobs.lrs.com/#/jobs">jobs.lrs.com</a> for a complete list of our openings!</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/55/Uncategorized/2021/9/Top-6-consulting-opportunities-right-now/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/55/Uncategorized/2021/9/Top-6-consulting-opportunities-right-now/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedThu, 02 Sep 2021 08:30:52 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/55/Uncategorized/2021/9/Top-6-consulting-opportunities-right-now/blog-post/Hiring Veterans in Techhttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/54/Uncategorized/2021/7/Hiring-Veterans-in-Tech/blog-post/National Hire A Veteran Day was celebrated on July 25, and it got us thinking about our own efforts to hire candidates with military backgrounds.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>National Hire A Veteran Day was celebrated on July 25, and it got us thinking about our own efforts to hire candidates with military backgrounds.</p> <p>At LRS Consulting Services, veterans account for 11 percent of our employee headcount, which is higher than the 8 percent of the US population that is military veterans.</p> <p>We also partner with clients who focus their efforts on hiring veterans. Part of that focus is to thank them for the sacrifices they made by serving in the US military, and part of that focus is to benefit from the positive qualities veterans bring to the civilian workplace.</p> <p>After all, veterans have the ability to persevere through difficult times. They’re disciplined, and they’re not going to give up just because the work gets hard.</p> <p>Veterans also have a strong sense of mission, coming from a background in which everything they do is oriented to the mission of defending the country. The goal is always excellence toward the mission instead of excellence for personal gain.</p> <p>And veterans respect the chain of command; they understand the amount of respect that is due to people in areas of responsibility.</p> <p>One of our employees who’s a veteran joked that veterans are used to being told what to do, especially when they’re called in to work an unscheduled shift.</p> <p>So when one of our largest clients asked us to help them focus on placing veterans in their IT environment, we were ready. We partnered with Hire Heroes USA, Indeed Military, Veteran’s Support Network, and the DoD Transition Assistance Program. Over a period of several months when we placed over 100 consultants with the client, 17 of those consultants were veterans.</p> <p>That means 16.5 percent of our consultants were veterans, well above the benchmark of 6.7 percent set by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).</p> <p>We’re pretty happy with that result.</p> <p>With the COVID-19 Pandemic, there was an increase in unemployment across the country, effecting the jobless rate with veterans. The Employment Situation of Veterans report for 2020, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this year, said the unemployment rate for female veterans was 6.7 percent and the rate for male veterans was 6.5 percent.</p> <p>That report was released on March 18, a year after the country shut down.</p> <p>According to the employment situation report for July, the overall unemployment rate for adults was 5.9 percent; 5.9 percent for adult men and 5.5 percent for adult women.</p> <p>So, statistically, veterans were having a similar level of success finding and holding jobs as non-veterans.</p> <p>We’ll be monitoring the numbers as businesses reopen in many areas, and we’re confident that veterans will continue to be successful. After serving for years in the nation’s defense, veterans shouldn’t have a difficult time finding work when they return to civilian life. That’s something we believe all year long.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/54/Uncategorized/2021/7/Hiring-Veterans-in-Tech/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/54/Uncategorized/2021/7/Hiring-Veterans-in-Tech/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedThu, 29 Jul 2021 08:24:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/54/Uncategorized/2021/7/Hiring-Veterans-in-Tech/blog-post/Everything’s opening up, but how?https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/53/Uncategorized/2021/6/Everythings-opening-up-but-how/blog-post/Many organizations had been discussing how they might re-open once the COVID-19 virus was controlled enough to move forward. Those discussions, which had been mostly theoretical, were suddenly about the here and now.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <br> <p>When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in mid-May that fully vaccinated people could stop wearing masks indoors, a lot of people were caught by surprise. But they were happy to finally see some light at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel.</p> <p>Almost immediately, state and city governments that still had COVID-19 restrictions in place announced plans to lift them within weeks. Some Major League Baseball teams immediately resumed full capacity while others announced plans to open their stadiums within days.</p> <p>And management in businesses and government that still had employees working from home started to call those workers back to the office.</p> <p>Many organizations had been discussing how they might re-open once the COVID-19 virus was controlled enough to move forward. Those discussions, which had been mostly theoretical, were suddenly about the here and now.</p> <p>“We can open offices now – what do we do?”</p> <p>If you’re Apple, you’re asking employees to return to the office at least three days a week in early September.</p> <p>Most Apple employees will return to work in their offices on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the option of working remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays. Teams that need more in-person interaction will go to the office four or five days a week.</p> <p>Google will also have most workers showing up in the office three days a week, though 20 percent of staff may end up working from home permanently, and another 20 percent might switch offices.</p> <p>Microsoft has announced that most of its workers will be able to work remotely up to 50 percent of the time after offices are fully open, if their jobs allow and the workers choose to. The company, like many other tech companies including Slack and Twitter, conducted a survey of its employees to see what they wanted their work life to look like after the pandemic. Across the companies, many people want to come back to offices at least part time, and a smaller slice wants to go back full time.</p> <p>It’s not just tech companies that are flexing, though. Ford Motor Company, more than a century old and a manufacturing icon, announced a new progressive, flexible, hybrid work model for its employees. In its move to radically redesign the workplace, Ford informed about 30,000 white-collar office workers that they can continue to work from home “indefinitely” and have “flexible hours approved by their managers.”&nbsp; It's anticipated that people will come into the office primarily for meetings and group projects.</p> <p>As one Ford executive explained, “The nature of the work we do really is going to be a guiding element. If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last 12 months, it is that a lot of our assumptions around work and what employees need has shifted.”</p> <p>The CEO at Ford’s rival, General Motors, simply said, “Work appropriately.” Instead of giving top-down orders, according to CEO Mary Barra, “It is up to leaders to focus on the work, not the where, and we will provide the tools and resources needed to make the right decisions to support our teams." The decision was based, in part, by the feedback from workers in response to several surveys asking how and where people would like to work.</p> <p>Just like those huge organizations, our clients are implementing a range of back-to-the-office options. One will not be calling workers back anytime soon, another has plans for everyone to return to on-premises work, and another will have rotating shifts of workers in the office and others working from home.</p> <p>Nearly everyone acknowledges that we may never return to working the way we all did before the pandemic. As we emerge from pandemic restrictions, we’re literally writing the rules for working in a post-pandemic world. The phrase ‘the new normal” may be odious to many, but a new normal is exactly what we’re all seeking.</p> <p>As you’re seeking the new normal for your post-pandemic organization, remember that LRS Consulting Services is here to help. We can share what our clients are doing as we supply the IT talent you need to keep moving forward.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/53/Uncategorized/2021/6/Everythings-opening-up-but-how/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/53/Uncategorized/2021/6/Everythings-opening-up-but-how/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 16 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/53/Uncategorized/2021/6/Everythings-opening-up-but-how/blog-post/Out of the chasm, into the shortagehttps://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/52/Uncategorized/2021/5/Out-of-the-chasm-into-the-shortage/blog-post/News about IT hiring always seems to be a double-edged sword, so the good news about IT employment increasing is tempered by the news of a chronic skills shortage.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <p>The recent news release from TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of the IT and Engineering Staffing and Solutions Industry, was pretty positive.</p> <p>The release said IT employment increased by 0.35% to 5,340,400 jobs in April. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment is up by 0.85% since April 2020, adding 45,200 IT workers.</p> <p>“After nine consecutive months of strong growth, IT employment on a year-over-over year basis has turned positive for the first time in 17 months” observed Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “We have climbed out of a deep chasm.”</p> <p>News about IT hiring always seems to be a double-edged sword, though, and Roberts also delivered the other edge, saying, “While heartened by the strong consecutive run of IT job creation, we have now returned to the pre-pandemic environment where there is a chronic shortage of IT professionals in many skill sets. A problem with no ready solution.”</p> <p>Network World agreed, with a story headlined “Tech industry remains on a hiring spree.” The story quoted CompTIA’s Tim Herbert, executive vice president for research and market intelligence. He said, “As employers increase hiring activity, expect more tech workers to explore their career options. In a competitive labor market, companies will need to be even more diligent in their approach to work practices and corporate culture in retaining tech talent.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Companies will also need to be even more diligent in their approach to hiring during a shortage. As Los Angeles-based Direct Search Alliance recently noted, companies need to move faster when they find the right candidate.</p> <p>“If you have someone in your interview pool that is a standout, move quickly. Because there is so much competition for a candidate’s time and attention, you could lose an ideal candidate by waiting to bring them in for a final interview.”</p> <p>LRS Consulting Services has emphasized this issue before. Our recruiters have found themselves in situations where they have sourced a candidate who matched the client’s requirements in technical skills, soft skills, and cultural fit, but the client had not completed their interview process and hesitated to make an offer. Meanwhile, the candidate’s skills made him or her so attractive that they had multiple offers on the table.</p> <p>While it’s understandable for clients to have a lengthy process in place to make sure they get the absolute best candidate, it’s also vital to move fast and make an offer once that candidate is identified. Our advice to clients is always to make a move once you’ve found the candidate that fits.</p> <p>Also, offer a competitive rate. As Direct Search Alliance said, “Quite simply, companies that do not offer competitive pay can put themselves out of contention when it comes to sourcing top talent. As the employment market is constantly in flux, hiring managers should constantly evaluate and adjust compensation policies to be seen as a desirable firm to work for.”</p> <p>As an IT staffing company, we’re constantly researching market rates for a wide range of technical positions and stand ready to assist clients on the best rate to offer.</p> <p>And we agree with Mark Roberts that the shortage of IT skills is a chronic problem with no ready solution. As with most chronic conditions, though, we think there are ways to deal with the problem and continue to hire the skilled people you need.</p> <p>Let us know if you’re seeing a shortage in the skills you need.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/52/Uncategorized/2021/5/Out-of-the-chasm-into-the-shortage/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/52/Uncategorized/2021/5/Out-of-the-chasm-into-the-shortage/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 19 May 2021 08:16:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/52/Uncategorized/2021/5/Out-of-the-chasm-into-the-shortage/blog-post/Not the Skills Gap again!https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/51/Uncategorized/2021/4/Not-the-Skills-Gap-again/blog-post/The good news is that IT employment will be back to pre-COVID levels soon; the bad news is that the skills gap will be back with it.LRS Consulting Services<p></p> <br> <p>It was a brief mention in a report from TechServe Alliance whose focus was the eight consecutive months of increasing IT employment.</p> <p>But there it was.</p> <p>“After eight months of uninterrupted growth, IT employment will be back to pre-COVID levels within the next 30 to 60 days” observed Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “The primary challenge we experienced before the onset of COVID confronts us again – an insufficient supply of talent in many IT skill sets. Further supporting the data, our firms report many candidates with multiple job offers – underscoring a systemic long-term challenge with no ready solution.”</p> <p>Yes, the skills gap may be back.</p> <p>A CNBC report at the end of March didn’t mince words.</p> <p>“For years, companies have struggled to fill demand for skilled jobs in technology, with eligible workers in short supply. The <em>skills gap</em> remains a significant challenge, but according to a new CNBC survey of technology executives, new approaches to recruiting talent and retraining existing employees are becoming more widespread and helping to close the gap.”</p> <p>Among those approaches are flexible on-the-job training opportunities and apprenticeship programs.</p> <p>Speaking of training, Microsoft recently announced that its partnership with LinkedIn had trained 30 million people in digital skills worldwide since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>“From laid-off factory workers to retail associates and truck drivers, millions of people turned to online learning courses from GitHub, LinkedIn and Microsoft during the pandemic to help prepare for and secure the most in-demand roles, including customer service, project management and data analysis. The announcement, detailed on the Official Microsoft Blog, builds on the company’s efforts to help people by extending through 2021 free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses and low-cost certifications that align to 10 of the most in-demand jobs. The next stage of the initiative sets a new foundation for a skills-based economy through a suite of new tools and platforms designed to connect skilled job seekers with employers.”</p> <p>We value training, and LRS Consulting Services has a history of providing specialized training for consultants who will be filling a specific niche. Most of our clients, however, prefer that we provide them with fully-trained consultants to fill openings.</p> <p>Which brings up the question: What skills are most in demand right now?</p> <p>According to Dice, these are the top 10:</p> <ol> <li>Software Developer / Engineer</li> <li>Project Manager (General)</li> <li>Network Engineer / Architect</li> <li>Senior Software Developer / Engineer</li> <li>Systems Engineer</li> <li>Program Manager (General)</li> <li>Business Analyst (General)</li> <li>IT Project Manager</li> <li>Software QA Engineer / Tester</li> <li>Computer Support Specialist</li> </ol> <p>We have clients seeking a lot of those same skills for their IT operations. Are you seeking the same skills? Looking for something else?</p> <p>Please let us know. We helped our clients during the last gap, and we’re prepared to do it again.</p><br /><br /><p>Originally posted at <a class='original-post' target='_blank' href='https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/51/Uncategorized/2021/4/Not-the-Skills-Gap-again/blog-post/'>https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/51/Uncategorized/2021/4/Not-the-Skills-Gap-again/blog-post/</a></p>UncategorizedWed, 21 Apr 2021 08:01:00 -0500https://www.lrsconsultingservices.com/Blog/Posts/51/Uncategorized/2021/4/Not-the-Skills-Gap-again/blog-post/