Hollywood-style talent agents predicted for the IT industry

Citation

(2001), "Hollywood-style talent agents predicted for the IT industry", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 33 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2001.03733aab.001

Hollywood-style talent agents predicted for the IT industry

Hollywood-style talent agents predicted for the IT industry

Keywords: Information technology, Recruitment, Career development

The emergence of Hollywood-style talent agents in the IT industry was predicted by Don McLaurin, chief executive of the US National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), when he spoke at ATSCo 2000, the first ever Annual Conference of the Association of Technology Staffing Companies. He said that the top 5 per cent of IT workers were becoming superstars and already there were a few companies in the USA who represented the top IT talent as agents and actually managed their careers.

The talent agent was one of a number of US trends McLaurin quoted which he thought could affect the UK and other parts of the world. Other trends included:

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  A move to solutions businesses, which was driven by high valuations put on such companies by the stock market compared with the valuations on traditional staffing companies. McLaurin considered such business risky as it entailed providing solutions at fixed prices and, while several firms had been very successful, others had failed and backed off. "This trend could create an opportunity to expand traditional staffing businesses", he said.

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  More staffing firms moving to the employee model, where staffing companies use full-time employees rather than independent contractors. The advantages of this model, he said, were that there was reduced staff turnover, better margins and fewer regulatory headaches. There was less worry now about "beach time" (when there are no assignments for staff) because currently there are always more requirements to fill than staff available. McLaurin estimated that, outside California and New England, where the contractor still rules, 60-70 per cent of the people on staffing companies' databases were employees.

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  Talent auctions on the Internet. McLaurin reported that a lot of money and effort was going into developing this type of business but it had so far had a cool reception from clients and consultants. While he acknowledged that there could be a "huge payoff" if it works, McLaurin said that this has proved to be very unsuccessful in the USA because technology has not been able to take the place of the staffing firms in matching skills and cultures.

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  Adoption of automation products, such as automatic time sheets, which would improve customer services and cut expenses.

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  Higher visibility and therefore more attention from regulators.

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  Unionisation, which he felt was the biggest threat in the USA. He reported that the unions were now focusing hard on the organisation of IT workers and temporary IT workers.

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  Continued attempts by the clients to commoditize the industry through the use of "gate keepers" and trying to dictate margins. "It is extraordinary that this should be happening", said McLaurin, "when there is shortage of supply and an excess of demand".

On challenges for the IT and communications staff industry, McLaurin cited: using the Internet to its advantage, developing mechanisms for the international sharing of the talent pool and, finally, promoting a better understanding of IT staffing companies' vital role in the new economy. "We are re-inventing the way work gets done", he said.