Certification Magazine - February 2008 - (Page 30) INTERFACE Savid Technologies: Prioritizing A Well-Rounded Workforce AGATHA GILMORE Being well rounded isn’t just for college applications or dinner parties anymore. At Savid Technologies Inc., a software development and IT consulting agency, employees are expected to chat with a client’s CIO just as easily as they repair a broken network. “A lot of the work that we have with customers isn’t just solving the problem, but then explaining to them, as well as to the rest of the business, how that problem was solved and how we’re going to make sure it’s not going to happen again,” said Michael A. Davis, CEO of Savid Technologies. Operating out of two offices — one in Chicago and one in Washington, D.C. — Savid Technologies has a total of 16 employees, more than three-quarters of whom work as IT professionals. Its small size allows the company to focus on harvesting quality talent capable of solving a wide range of IT issues, rather than on simply selling product. “That allows us to work with a lot of different parts of the IT organization,” Davis said. “We’re a very broad company.” Indeed it is, providing technology consulting, security consulting, network maintenance, application development and training services. Being a small business and hunting for versatile, multitalented individuals also results in a unique interviewing method, Davis said. “We have a much longer hiring process than probably most places; it’s going to be a couple weeks, not just a two-day thing,” he said. “The biggest thing we pride ourselves on is on understanding the skill set, so our first interview is usually to get to know them, get to know their experience: Do they have some of this deepness that we’re looking for? “If they do, we bring them in for a second interview and put them into technology that doesn’t meet some of their resume bullet points; we watch to see how they go about solving that problem.” For example, Davis said, a candidate with a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification might be presented with a Dell switch and asked to configure it for something. “We make him have the proof in the pudding,” Davis said. “He may not have the experience, but if he understands the technology, he’ll be able to figure it out within, say, 15 to 20 minutes. [It’s important] because the customers usually hire us not to implement a switch on their network, but to solve a problem on that network.” Additionally, interviews are “360,” Davis said, so candidates not only meet one-on-one with the tech experts, but they also walk around and speak with various other employees with whom they might not even eventually work. “We want you to interview us,” Davis said. “There can’t be ambiguities; there can’t be misunderstandings. [Interviewees] have to fit with our culture. If they don’t fit in our culture, they’re not going to fit in the customer’s culture either.” If an IT pro does fit the bill, he is expected to fill two roles: that of engineer and that of strategic advisor. It is for the latter role that soft skills and the ability to communicate well are highly valued at Savid Technologies. Though some engineers won’t be interested in pursuing higher managerial roles, Davis acknowledged, possessing soft skills is increasingly important, even in basic IT operations. “More and more, part of our work is project planning, making sure we’re communicating with the IT director, making sure all the people that are involved are actually staying involved,” he said. Those who do have dreams of becoming managers or moving into the business side of IT have the opportunity to sit in on some related jobs, Davis said. 30 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE February 2008
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