White Paper Report - Technology Industry Draft (00000002)

REPORT
HUMAN RESOURCEISSUES:
THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY
PRESENTED BY: PCHR
UNIT 4A, SANDYFORDBUSINESSCENTRE, STILLORGAN,DUBLIN
2016

7/1/2015 Human Resource Issues: The Technology Industry 1
THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY REPORT
CONTENTS
Executive Summary............................................................................................................................2
Top 10 people issues for small to medium sized technology Firms.......................................................4
1. Retaining employes, specificially talent.................................................................................4
2. Attracting Talent..................................................................................................................5
3. Managing Leadership...........................................................................................................6
4. Leadership Support and Guidance.........................................................................................6
5. The pace of workin technology companies. ..........................................................................6
6. Employee Engagement.........................................................................................................6
7. Productivity.........................................................................................................................7
8. Learning & Development......................................................................................................7
9. Transitioning of skills............................................................................................................8
10. Rewards,including compensation and benefits......................................................................8
How PCHR can Help you with these issues? ......................................................................................10
The PCHR Human Resources Model..................................................................................................13
Why should a company move towards Best Practice?..................................................................13
How do we as a SME Technology Company achieve Best Practice?...............................................13
About PCHR.....................................................................................................................................15

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Top 10 People Issues in small to medium sized Technology Companies
Our report highlights and explores the People Management challenges currently faced by small
to medium Technology firms. The purpose of this report is to highlight to companies in the
industry that the people management challenges they are currently experiencing is a common
industry and small to medium sized firm trend. We then explore and propose possible
solutions. From this report an SME Company in the Technology sector will be able to position
themselves against the industry norms and compare their people issues to others in the
industry.
The importance of technological firms to the Irish and Global economy is well documented. As
is the importance of small to mediums sized firms who constitute the largest category of
businesses numerically in the European Union. However, there exists concern about high rates
of failure in both categories, technology firms and small to medium sized firms. There is also a
large number who will not achieve their full potential, who have often less than satisfactory
levels of productivity which affects their ability to grow and develop the business and respond
to large orders when received.
In this context, the role of external business support, specifically Human Recourses is vital to
such businesses. But even though it is vital to success, small to medium firms appear to be
reluctant to seek external advice and services. Even more surprising is that when they do seek
advice, it is accountants they go to for it, including people management issues. Accountants,
Bankers and Solicitors are the main sources small to medium sized firms go to for advice, which
of course they pay for. Kersley et al. (2006) found that in the 2004 Workplace employment
Relations Survey that the reliance on accountants for advice in this area had increased since the
previous such survey in 1998! Nothing has really changed since those surveys took place, if
there has been any movement, specifically during the recession years, it was to reinforce this
behaviour.
As a manager, one the hardest aspects of your role is to manage people successfully, so it is no
surprise that people management issues are some of the biggest challenges managers face on a
daily basis. Finding, attracting and retaining talent are all included in our Top 10 List of People
Management Challenges. In addition to direct people issues, compliance and regulations in this
field are ever increasing. SME’s face an ongoing increasing burden of employment legislation
and are more likely than larger firms to experience employee claims against themand to lose
cases at Tribunals. This is all interesting food for thought if you are a manager within the
Technology Industry.

As Human Resource Experts (and not accountants), if you have any specific questions or
queries, PCHR would be happy to discuss them with you.
“97% of people who quit too soon are employed by the3% who never gave up”
Movie - The Wolf of Wall Street

TOP 10 PEOPLE ISSUES FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED TECHNOLOGY FIRMS
Our report for small to medium technology companies focuses on the critical role Human
Resources can play in solving and resolving people issues within small to medium companies
and how we can assist themstrategically and operationally in managing their issues more
effectively in today’s challenging environment. We can also help them to grow and develop as
a company believing that contented and engaged employees result is increased productivity,
growth and development for the company.
Our Top 10 People Issues for small to medium sized technology industries are as follows:
1. RETAINING EMPLOYEES, SPECIFICIALLY TALENT. The average person changes jobs 10 to 15
times in their career. This is unique to the time we live in. Losing good employees is stressful
for a company but losing your talent is detrimental to efficiency given the drain it has on your
company to constantly be training and developing new staff.
Practically every company these days have a form of program designed to nurture its rising
stars. With good reason—these high-achieving individuals can have an enormous impact on
business results. Throughout different industries and countries, and in both booms and
recessions, it is the same issue: most management teams stumble badly when they try to
develop their next generation of leaders. Senior managers tend to make misguided
assumptions about these employees and take actions on their behalf that actually hinder their
development. In isolation or in combination, these mistakes can doom a company’s talent
investments to irrelevance—or worse. According to The Harvard Business Review, the six most
common errors are:
 AssumingThatHighPotentialsAre HighlyEngaged
 EquatingCurrentHighPerformance withFuture Potential
 DelegatingDownthe Managementof TopTalent
 ShieldingRisingStarsfromEarlyDerailment
 ExpectingStarEmployeestoShare the Pain
 FailingtoLinkYour Stars to Your Corporate Strategy
Talent needs to be nurtured, but that is not happening at present because:
 One infour intendstoleave your employmentwithinthe year;

 One inthree admitsto not puttingall of theireffortinto theirjob;
 One infive believes theirpersonalaspirationsare quite differentfrom whatthe company has
plannedforthem;
 Four outof 10 have little confidence intheirco-workersandevenlessconfidence inthe senior
team.
Good and talented employees set an incredibly high bar for their company. Because they work
harder (and often better) than their peers, they expect their company to treat them well—by
providing them with stimulating work, lots of recognition, compelling career paths, and the
chance to prosper if the organization does. So when the company is struggling, your star players
are the first to be disappointed. As they are much more confident than their rank-and-file
peers about their ability to find new jobs and are much less passive about researching other
opportunities they will move on quicker than their peers. As a result, when company’s cut back
and ask employees to “tough it out,” the stars will be the first to say, “No thanks. I’d rather find
an employer who appreciates the high level of contributions I’m making.” The best chance a
company has to retain its top employees is as follows:
 Create an environment that makes employees feel like an asset to the company;
 Make the expectations and goals of the company clear;
 Create an open and honest work environment;
 Provide opportunities to grow and learn, and let your employees know there is room for
advancement in your company;
 Recognise and reward good work.
Another particular challenge to Technology companies generally is the management of sole
traders and contractors. The industry works with a large amount of both and this results in a
particular set of regulation and compliance issues for the industry along with the management
of same. TUPE is also a frequent activity in the industry and a challenge to management and
staff alike.
2. ATTRACTING TALENT. This is a large issue for companies. Most companies struggle to attract
talent for their business, the right people with the right qualifications and the right approach
are not easily found. Companies cannot be successful in business without the right people,
and in today's hot job market in the technology industry, SME’s are competing against startups
and multinationals that offer unique opportunities, benefits, flexibility and attractive
compensation packages. SME’s have to look for new and unique ways to provide value to
employees, making themselves stand out as great places to work. Achieving the “Great Place
to Work” accolade is a very good starting point.

3. MANAGING LEADERSHIP. Finding ways to manage, motivate and engage employees is a
challenge. Companies are realizing that traditional mechanisms to keep leadership aligned,
such as quarterly reporting and team meetings, are too slow to be effective in the technology
world. Many companies are grappling with how much autonomy to give their leaders and, at
the same time, keep the business connected. The information in Retaining Employees is also
applicable here.
4. LEADERSHIP SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE. Gaining support and guidance from their leaders on
new technological activities is a challenge. Executives don't have much time to discuss or
debate decisions and so often team members feel they are not informed and are not part of
the decision making process. This can seriously affect employee motivation. Communication
is key to this problem with managers making the time to have regular one-to-one meetings
with their team and regular team meetings which can be used as a forum for communicating
and reinforcing the company objectives, the business plan strategy and tactics along with
technological developments and R&D publications.
5. THE PACE OF WORK IN TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES. This is unique to the Technologies
Industry. Technology companies require a faster pace, quicker decision-making, greater
customer focus, even different financial metrics approach to work than other businesses.
Keeping up that dynamic and fast paced work basis can often lead to burn-out. To retain the
energy and production level of existing employee, technology companies need to ensure that
all employees take their entitlement of annual leave, that flexi-working and adaptable working
hours is where possible built into the business model and that there is an in-built systemof
stress relief for employee such as EAP (Employee Assistance programme).
6. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. SME Technology Companies place high demands on their
resources and expect a 100% commitment of their time and effort. Employees are individuals
who have personal lives and have personal motivations. They do not always have the same
agenda as the employer. Whilst work and a career are both very important to employees, it
may not have their entire focus. Managing work, family time and personal time is a big
challenge in today’s workplace. Being as flexible as possible with employees, treating them
holistically by acknowledging the entire person rather than just the employee will often result
in them being more flexible with you. It is a win-win situation.
Keeping talent happy and engaged is a challenge for all companies, but when it comes to tech

companies, the challenge is even greater. Most key employees find job fulfilment in seeking
different challenges, developing new skills, expressing their creativity, and witnessing their
contributions influence the company. All wonderful motivators, but it is extremely hard to
continually deliver on these demands as an employer.
How do you keep talent engaged and motivated so your investment in them and their
investment in your company pays off? The right talent can push the boundaries of a company
so you should drive to hire, develop, and retain the best tech talent available. Below are the
key strategies that will allow you to do this:
 Research, test, and iterate on company culture
 Create room for people to be curious and play
 Don’t pigeonhole talent into their roles
 Offer short-term opportunities in other areas of the business and different roles
 Rotate employees and roles on a periodic basis
 Take an employee-driven approach to company growth.
7. PRODUCTIVITY. Getting a constant 100% productivity from employee is a big challenge. Lots
of research has shown the relationship between employee satisfaction/perception and a
company’s success. Employees that are happy and motivated tend to be more productive,
which is better for a business’ bottom line. Below are some incentives to employee
satisfaction:
 Bonuses: Employees usually respond positively to bonuses and other financial incentives
as a way to reward great performances;
 Benefits: Benefits that are not financial, such as casual days at the office, half day Friday
before a long weekend, office parties, and social activities outside of the office all help
to keep the employee motivated and increase productivity;
 Amenities: Workplace amenities, such as a gym, cafeteria, or day-care centre are good
incentives for employees to come to work and to stay focused on their work.
 Education: Employees respond to Training, Development and Educational incentives.
This can often result in highly motivated employees and a workforce that is skilled and
loyal.
 Positive recognition: Recognition for a job well done can make a big difference as a
positive reinforcement.
8. LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT. Technology companies in the internet era offer their employees
some great perks but do they provide budding professionals with any serious training? Given

the way technology companies grow and the HR challenges they face, management training
and career development are more important than ever. But few have the time to invest in it,
they are too busy staying ahead of the game.
Less than one-fourth of managers have a clear roadmap for how they can develop themselves,
and more than half didn’t even know who in their company is responsible for training &
Development. Many high-tech companies are young, so their procedures and policy regaring
Training & Development are not well developed or firmly established.
One of the interesting findings in the Fulmer and Hanson research was that more than 70
percent of the tech executives interviewed said that leadership development in technology-
driven firms is different than in other industries. The researchers believed that these tech
executives were wrong. Many people are born with an innate sense of vision; they readily learn
new technologies and master them. Some are very good at communicating and inspiring
others. But you can’t be born with the skills needed to plan projects, adhere to EEOC guidelines,
and prepare budgets and manage finances, or to know the intricacies of business and
intellectual property law. Some skills can be developed on the job, but this is usually through
trial and error. Establishing and providing A Training & Development programme and policies
and procedures for employee further education will allow move your company a step further
into the great place to work category.
9. TRANSITIONING OF SKILLS. Transitioning into the Technology industry can appear to be a very
intimidating enterprise for newcomers. The tech start-up scene can be particularly daunting
because fundamentally it is full of high flying 20-somethings. The majority of whom are male.
This could lead to a gender and ageist centric industry. While the young have the ability to
learn faster, the time to dedicate to new skills, and more energy, it is important to recognise
that regardless of age and gender, if you really want to learn something new, you will make it
happen; learning how technology works and programming is no exception. Sheryl Sandberg,
COO of Facebook she said that the tech industry was the best industry to be in because it was
growing but there are not enough people to fill all the jobs. That being the case we should
encourage all employees to consider a career in the technology industry. Age and gender
discrimination should not be an option.
10. REWARDS, INCLUDING COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS. Most employers’ idea of benefits is
limited to pension, private health insurance, additional leave etc. In the technology industry,
however, benefits and perks can mean a lot more than that. Whether it is catered meals or
bringing your dogs to work, a travel stipend or an indoor slide, companies are all about keeping
their employees happy and creative. An example of creative Rewards and Benefits is the

relatively new company, Airbnb. One of Airbnb’s perks is all about getting people not only out
of the office, but out of the city. Airbnb gives all of its employees $2,000 a year to travel
anywhere in the world they want to. Well they are selling accommodation around the world so
what better way to keep their employees engaged then supporting them to travel. Airbnbers
(employees of Airbnb) get to bring their pets to work, every day, they go sailing together, have
a Ping-Pong table, have weekly Yoga classes at work and get to eat organic lunches on a daily
basis. An interesting twist on the corporate world’s Casual Friday, Airbnbers have the opposite
– dressing up for Formal Fridays. And we can’t forget the moustaches. Yep, apparently they get
moustaches. If that wasn’t enough to make you feel like you want to drop everything and
apply for a job at Airbnb, the staff also gets theme days, one of which was in the vein of Mad
Men.
Aside from the travel allowance the majority of these perks cost very little financially (except
perhaps a good HR function to organise and arrange the benefits) but the result is staggering.
This is your competition. If you want to generate creativity then show some in your benefits
and reward packages which are not all financially based.

HOW PCHR CAN HELP YOUWITH THESE ISSUES?
How should I manage pay raises for employees? When should we enforce efforts to reduce
employee turnover? Questions and decisions such as these are difficult without expert
information and knowledge. PCHR can manage such issues for you and allow you to focus on
your core business. Our approach is to evaluate your business and get to know your company,
its business plan, its employee group and customer base and understand what it is you are
aiming to achieve.
In formulating a HR strategy and response to your particular issue, the following HR statistics
will give you an indication of the current employment market trends - they make interesting
reading:
 SME’s accounted for 68% of all employees in Ireland in 2012. Small and medium
enterprises accounted for 99.7 per cent of all active business enterprises in the
Republic, employed 68 per cent of the workforce and generated just over half the
State’s annual turnover, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
 There are around 1.9 million people working in Ireland. They can be broken down as
follows:
o 800,000 in c. 180,000 SMEs (with < 250 employees)
o 320,000 in c.170,000 micro enterprises (< 10 employees)
o 260,000 in c.15,000 small enterprises (11 to 49 employees)
o 220,000 in c.2,500 medium enterprises (50 to 249 employees)
o 400,000 in c. 500 large enterprises (with > 250 employees)
o 350,000 in the public sector (excluding semi states)
o 350,000 self-employed (with and without paid employees)

 60% of people aged 15 to 64 in Ireland have a paid job (less than the OECD employment
average of 65%). Some 65% of men are in paid work, compared with 56% of women. In
Ireland, about 4% of employees work very long hours (much lower than the OECD
average of 13%), with 7% of men working very long hours compared with just 2% for
women.
 70k people operate as agency workers in Ireland (OECD)
 32% of the 15-24 years of age cohort were engaged in temporary employment (Forfás
report 2013)
 Employment permits issued in Ireland have been on the decline since 2008
 57% of firms view employee retention as a problem. (Source: PayScale)

 22% of new hires leave their jobs within 45 days of being hired. Reasons include poor
performance and temperament issues. (Source: Wynhurst Group)
 46% of new hires fail and are let go from their jobs within 18 months of being
hired. Only 11% of these are for lack of skill, while 89% are for attitudinal reasons like
motivation and lack of coach ability. (Source: Leadership IQ)
 New hires that undergo a structured on-boarding program are 58% more likely to be
with the company after three years. (Source: Wynhurst Group)
 The costs of employee turnover range from 30% to 150% of the employee’s salary
depending on their role (Source: SHL)
 54% of all job applications contain inaccurate information. (Source: SHL)
 31% of employers are planning to offer increased flexible working options for their
employees in response to employee requests (IBEC).

THE PCHR HUMAN RESOURCES MODEL
As a leading human resources services provider, PCHR issued this report in 2015 highlighting
the people management challenges experienced within the Technology Industries and
proposing solutions. The PCHR Human Resource Model is one where we will offer Person
Centred, Best Practice Human Resources which we believe will result in the long term in
facilitating company growth and profitability. We believe that when our customers are fully
compliant and have happy employees, performance and engagement will increase and so will
our customers business. This means, whilst in partnership with a business, along with the
“core” HR function PCHR will work with the management to increase quality and productivity
by ensuring that employees are fully engaged, take pride in being associated with the business
and are facilitated to become the best they can be at what they do through personal
development. This approach allows for increased retention and talent attraction and
management. This focus on partnership and our customers ultimately results in satisfied
employees, increasing outcomes and increased growth for the business. It is a win-win
situation which will be reflected and measured by KPI’s and SLA’s.
WHY SHOULD A COMPANY MOVE TOWARDS BEST PRACTICE?
 Smart companies have decided that happy workplaces and happy employees results in
bigger bottom lines and an advantage in the talent battle;
 Employee engagement and job satisfaction have fallen to modern-day low, countless
workers cannot wait to high-tail it out of companies they feel deeply disregard and
disrespect them;
 How much better would your company be with full employee engagement and loyalty?
 Companies that authentically value their employees will be (and already are) the big
winners in the 21st-century economy.
HOW DO WE AS A SME TECHNOLOGY COMPANY ACHIEVE BEST PRACTICE?
 Empower all Managers allowing them to people manage with confidence;
 Have a succession plan in place for all Management and key staff;
 Have an appropriate performance management plan in place for all;
 Have a Career Path in place for all roles;
 Review employee benefits and remuneration;
 Instil a sense of Brand loyalty and pride in employees and the work they do;
 Offer HR Services to employees as well as management;
 Reduce attrition – increase retention.

To achieve the recommended level where all Managers are confident and capable of managing
the people issues, they require additional knowledge, training and development facilitated by
PCHR.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit”
Aristotle

ABOUTPCHR
PCHR was established in 2013 to fill a gap in the market for a Person Centred Human Resource
Service provider who not only provides core HR services to clients but who will genuinely work
with a company as a real partner facilitating development and growth. We offer self-service
access to core HR processes and information, tiered levels of support to business with a flexible
platform for future service improvements. Technology Firms today are seeking support in
attracting and retaining high calibre employees, managing performance, developing talent and
reducing costs. Allow PCHR to be your Human Resource Partners.
What are the key benefits of partnering with PCHR? Around 20% cost reduction within HR
Operations, improved quality of services and of information, robust support for decision-
making through reliable management information plus strong analysis tools and reporting and
a platform for introduction of new services such as performance management systems.
PCHR have a highly qualified and seasoned team of professionals, who are experienced in many
industries including Technology
PCHR are part of a group of businesses that includes: Recruitment, Training & Development, IT
and Digital Marketing. Based in Sandyford, PCHR can provide Human Resource services to any
area in Dublin, nationwide and the UK.
If you would like to talk to us or would like to avail of our HR Health Check-up, please
telephone, email us or log onto our website (www.pchr.ie) for further information of our
service and company.
4a Sandyford
Business Centre,
Sandyford,
Dublin 18.
T: 01 4853450
E: info@pchr.ie
www.PCHR.ie

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