ESP is the 12th Fastest Growing Private Company in the Twin Cities
The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal announced its 2011 Fast 50 companies Thursday night, and ESP is 12th on the list. The Fast 50 are the fastest-growing private companies in the Twin Cities, based on revenue growth over the last three years.
Among other things, we attribute our success to the dedicated, talented and knowledgeable in-house employees at ESP and the diversely skilled IT professionals with whom we have the opportunity to work.
Members of ESP's staff accept Fast 50 award Thursday night.
Congratulations to ESP, and thank you to our clients and IT Pros for making us one of the Fast 50.
-Bob Hildreth
Posted in About ESP, Job and Industry News | Leave a commentHappy Birthday to Us
Every year, I get REALLY excited about my birthday. It’s not about getting gifts (although I do like those!) or about blowing out the candles on my cake (although I still always make a wish!). I get excited because it’s a day that celebrates another year of life. Whether that year was filled with successes, misfortunes, significant events, or just a lot of dull days, I made it through another year, and that’s something to celebrate. My birthday is still 77 days away, but this isn’t just a random reflection; ESP happened to turn 43 on Saturday and we have a lot to celebrate!
Our staff took a few minutes this morning to celebrate ESP's 43rd Birthday
Since last October, we…
Placed a lot of IT professionals in great permanent jobs AND had 63 new IT consultants start in contract or contract-to-hire positions.
Ranked 12th in the Minneapolis/St. Paul’s Fast 50 and ranked 4th in Executive Search Firms.
Revamped our website, and launched a quarterly newsletter to our clients and IT pros. (We have another one coming soon!)
Added to our recruiting and in-office staff with 4 new hires.
Increased our client base, so we are now finding great IT pros for even more Minnesota companies, while continuing to find great matches for the clients we already work with.
Celebrated with our IT consultants, on a dinner cruise on the Mississippi River on a perfect summer evening.
So congratulations to ESP for making it through another year. If you think of it, wish ESP a happy birthday this week! No gifts, please.
–AnnaLisa
Posted in About ESP | Leave a commentBest Office Space: What to Consider
ESP’s lease with the 701 building is up next year, and this time around it means we’re moving. While there is some excitement about a new location, we’ll be sad to leave this home of over 20 years. As we’ve started the process of looking for a new downtown location and space planning for those locations, we’ve become aware of a number of office space trends and begun some careful thinking on which trends we want to follow and which we want to ignore.
White Noise: One of the first concerns is how to soundproof for noise in a new space. Although, noise can be a problem in any work place, it is a particular concern for ESP as we spend a lot time on the phone with our clients, consultants, and candidates. This can obviously be distracting. One proposed solution is white noise machines. White noise can block out the sound of typing and other small annoying sounds when things are quiet, and dull the impact of conversations/phone calls. But is it just replacing one distraction with another? Some studies have shown white noise machines to be a distraction in itself—stop that incessant buzzing!—and even to cause stress and have negative effects on the brain. Do white noise machines really increase productivity?
Standing while you work: Individual work spaces introduce other health considerations. Recent studies have claimed that sitting at a desk all day could kill you… or at least cause some health problems. Standing-height desks have grown in popularity as an alternative to sitting all day. Studies claim standing decreases the risk of heart attack and may lessen back problems. But as I recall my days of working retail, standing all day can put a strain on your body as well. The truth is, doing anything all day every day can have negative health effects. Whether you have a sitting or standing desk, it is important to vary your routine and posture. The ideal is a height adjustable desk that will allow employees to stand for a few hours, then sit for a while, and then possibly stand again. But unless this can be done quickly and easily, how many of us would take the time to adjust our desk height during the course of the day, or the week?
Taking it one step further are treadmill desks. These would most often be used as a shared work station, rather than as an individual desk setup. Walking while working, especially at mid-day or during the afternoon slump, would likely increase productivity but these workstations are not cheap.
Touch Down Stations: Another consideration as we plan our new space is the increased mobility cloud technology provides. We’re completely cloud based—our files, email, CRM and phone system—which makes working outside the office easier than ever. In the coming years it is possible we’ll have employees who work almost entirely from home. But suppose they need to come into the office for the day, or would like to work in office one day a week? What should we provide for these employees? The solution seems to be hoteling/touch-down stations. These stations are set up for a laptop to just plugin and let the employee work. As we plan our space, setting aside some space for touch-downs seems like a no-brainer.
What do you think? What would you like you in your work space? Do you like white noise machines? Are they effective or annoying? Would you use a standing desk? Would you switch back and forth if you had the option? If you work outside the office, would you want a space to touch down in if you decided to work in the office once in a while or would you feel like you were visiting in someone else’s space?
Posted in About ESP, Job and Industry News | 2 CommentsThe counteroffer is back and badder than ever
It’s a hot market for IT consultants and direct hire candidates, which means the counteroffer is back in full force. Companies are hiring again and qualified IT professionals are in high demand, often receiving several competitive offers. When one of these technology professionals resigns from her current company, the company realizes what they are about to lose and desperately (or sometimes only halfheartedly) tries to keep the employee on.
When you’ve reached the point of a counteroffer, you’re already in a lose/lose situation for employer and employee. The employee has decided he no longer wants to work for his company or in his role. If the employer doesn’t recognize this, they should. Now is not the time to re-negotiate.
As an employee: should you take a counteroffer?
As someone who has searched for and accepted a new role, you’ve already put in the effort to obtain a better job. Most likely, money wasn’t the only reason you were looking, and you’ll be happier if you stick to your decision. Keep this in mind:
Your company has made you a counteroffer because they don’t want to lose you—but did they recognize this risk before you told them you were leaving? What makes you worth more today, than yesterday?
No matter what they say, they are not considering your needs and career growth; they are protecting themselves from the time and resources they would lose, in losing you. It’s cheaper for them to offer you a raise now, and then never raise your salary again, then to have to spend time and money looking for your replacement.
Or, they may just want to put your exit on their timeline. What’s to say they won’t look for your replacement once they’ve made the counteroffer, no longer viewing you as a loyal employee? They can buy themselves some time by keeping you. Meanwhile, you lose the new position and will need to start over again in your search if that employer lets you go.
As an employer: should you make a counteroffer?
As an employer who has received a letter of resignation, why would you try to keep this employee? Sure, in the immediate future, retaining this employee is your cheapest option. But…
You already know the employee is half way out the door. Most likely her dissatisfaction is with more than just salary; while money and new perks may help you hang onto the employee for a while, in a few months she will probably look for something new again.
By making a counteroffer, you’re setting a precedent that may cause other employees to threaten to leave in hopes of a counteroffer in return.
If you are thinking about buying yourself some time–think about the impression that gives to the rest of your employees. If they get wind of what’s happened (you counteroffered and then let an employee go once you found his replacement), they will probably trust and respect you less, and may actually start to look for new roles themselves.
How do you minimize the risk of an employee leaving? With the high demand for technology professionals, it is important that managers ensure their employees are earning a competitive wage, and are satisfied in their work and environment. You can’t guarantee an employee won’t look for other work, but it is a good idea to think about ways to minimize the threat.
The bottom line is that a counteroffer is never a good thing for an employee or employer. As a company, cut your losses and move on. As an employee, take the new, better job you were looking for and enjoy it.
Posted in Job and Industry News | Leave a commentMN ranks in top 20% for Business
Minnesota has received several acknowledgments lately as a great place to work and build a career, including Forbes ranking in March, which named Minneapolis the best city to find employment.
Within the last week, Minnesota and the metro area ranked high again on lists from CNBC and Forbes. CNBC’s Top States for Business ranked Minnesota the 7th-best state for business based on measures of competitiveness. Minnesota ranked high in quality of life (8th), education (10th), and infrastructure and transportation (15th). Minnesota ranked 8th last year.
In a ranking of the 200 largest U.S. metro areas, Forbes ranked Minneapolis/St. Paul 34th and Duluth 89th for The Best Places for Business and Careers. Once again, education is a primary factor in Minnesota’s rankings. Minneapolis/St. Paul climbed 23 spots from last year.
Posted in About the Twin Cities, Job and Industry News | Leave a commentApply with LinkedIn Button to Launch Soon
No one likes the tedious process of filling out an online job application. The hassle of typing in your information and job history into separate boxes over and over again can cause many applicants to walk away midway through the process, or not begin the application at all. *
LinkedIn plans to launch a new tool meant to streamline the application process for job applicants. Rather than fill out a separate application on every job board and individual company’s website, the Apply with LinkedIn button, will allow applicants to login to their LinkedIn accounts, answer only a few questions, and allow their LinkedIn profiles to do the rest.
There is some debate within staffing firms and HR departments as to the usefulness of this feature. Will it just bring in lazy applicants? Or does streamlining the process make it easier for everyone, companies and recruiters included? The recruiters at ESP believe this tool will encourage candidates we find on LinkedIn to further engage with us. In addition it will widen the pool of candidates that initiate contact with us—giving us even more options to sort through for our clients, and enabling us to continue providing them with the best IT professionals.
Will the Apply with LinkedIn button totally transform recruiting? No, probably not. But while it isn’t totally clear on what scale LinkedIn will roll this out to companies, and how we’ll be able to integrate it with our current recruiting processes, we’re excited about another potentially useful tool coming from LinkedIn.
*By the way, it’s already really easy to apply to ESP—just attach your resume to our Contact Us form.
Posted in Job and Industry News | Leave a commentLinkedIn’s IPO: Good or Bad for recruiting?
The settling dust on LinkedIn’s IPO last week leaves behind mixed reviews. When LinkedIn nearly tripled its initial public offering last Thursday, peaking at $122.70, talk of a new .com bubble met with arguments that LinkedIn actually earns revenue, and isn’t just selling ad-space, unlike the .com companies of the 90’s. It also opened up a lot of questions about how it will affect recruiters and staffing firms like ESP.
We use LinkedIn every day as a tool for recruiting. It’s a way to keep track of our connections, find passive candidates, and keep our own database up to date. So obviously, LinkedIn’s success is good for us, right? Jury’s still out on that. How will this affect recruiters and staffing firms? Could it make us obsolete?
Good thing we offer more to our clients than simply a candidate’s resume, or it could. We prepare our candidates for success. We weed out candidates who might have a great resume, but don’t really have the experience or skills to be a great fit for our clients. Can LinkedIn do that? Nope. So we don’t necessarily see LinkedIn as competition, but depending on the decisions LinkedIn makes in regards to their increased revenue, we may need to alter the way we use LinkedIn as a recruiting tool.
Will advertising change the way users use LinkedIn? Will it cut down the time they spend there, will there be backlash, or will it just keep growing in popularity? What about LinkedIn’s revenue strategy moving forward? Will they charge recruiters more for LinkedIn recruiter? Will they charge job seekers to use the site? What new offerings will LinkedIn provide for recruiters with the new finances rolling in? Will this cause a bubble? The truth is it’s probably too early to tell. But isn’t it fun to wonder, speculate and all around make a hullabaloo about it?
Posted in Job and Industry News | Leave a commentESP ranks 4th in Executive Searches
Last week, ESP was ranked among the top 7 executive search firms in MN by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. ESP ranked fourth in revenue, and third in number of placements for 2010.
ESP’s must have tech gadgets
While we’re not nearly as tech-savvy as the people we work with–everyone here at ESP likes to have a fun new tech gadget once in a while. In case you need more reasons to get an iPad, or want to find out what gadgets you may be missing, check out ESP’s most wanted tech gadgets and why we want them:
The iPad 
Brad: Great convenience and portability!
Chris: I could Facetime with my mom back in NY.
Ken: Now with cloud computing, you don’t need a heavy laptop to login to work. I like to travel and it would let me work easier from anywhere.
Kurt: They are so light, and I would use it to read books and play music remotely at my house.
Bob: iPhone 5—will it or will it not be released this summer? Fall?
Molly: I’ve never had a smart phone before and I feel that is the best one of them all. It would be fun to have more options when working with my cell phone.
Denise: Not only does it seem to be a convenient reading medium, but I just learned with the Nook – which has a color screen option – you can check out books at the library, including children’s books, which I may in turn read to my two year old.
AnnaLisa: While I love turning the last page of a good book and placing it on my book shelf, the convenience and lightness of this tool would make it a pleasant companion for my downtown commute. Plus it’s glare-free!
Eric:classic look, state-of-the-art sound, and high quality parts.
Portable surround sound system for the iPod for our outdoor space/deck/back yard.
Tara: Why? We love music and intend on spending the whole summer back there.
Anything we’re missing? Feel free to share your most wanted tech gadget–we might decide we want it too!
Posted in About ESP, Tech gadgetry | Leave a commentESP’s Salary Survey projects higher pay in 2011
Each year we monitor and analyze hiring trends, including compensation and benefits in order to best serve our clients and candidates. Our annual salary survey presents data compiled from ESP’s recent placements, as well as national and local research. This year, we project average salary increases of 3.5% for professional IT staff and 3.9 % for IT management, as compared with our 2010 Salary Survey.
Base salaries for Information Technology roles in Minnesota average 7.85% higher than the national average. Due to high demand for IT professionals, companies are paying more for new employees, and offering raises to retain their current employees.
In the coming years it is expected that project management, cloud computing and virtualization, data security, network administration, business analysis and process improvement will be the biggest areas of growth within IT departments. Companies continue to invest in Business Intelligence tools and technologies as they strive to maintain or increase their competitive advantage and make the best business decisions in a recovering economy.
If you’re an IT Pro wanting to ensure you’re being compensated fairly or an IT Manager wanting to be competitive with your offers in this hot market, check out ESP’s 2011 Salary Survey, then:
- Search our Job Opportunities
- Learn about ESP’s Client Services
- Learn about ESP’s Candidate Services
- Contact ESP
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