Certification - October 2008 - (Page 31)

those soft skills and the folks with the right kind of orientation or experiences that we’re looking for.” If candidates pass that test, they are invited into the office for a half-day interview marathon to meet with anywhere from three to five people. “One or two of those are actual true interviews, and the other two or three are information sessions where [the candidate] can learn more about Crowe and actually [have] the opportunity to ask a lot of questions,” Strawmyer said. “It’s just as much about the candidate getting to know us as us getting to know the candidate. We’ll ask a few technical questions throughout that day but nothing really intensive, really just to get an understanding of knowledge, of background, of experience.” When candidates are hired, the company instantly snaps into action to specialize, train and develop them. How does the company decide who goes where? “We focus a lot more on what the individual [is interested] in or what their aptitude [is] or their passion areas,” Strawmyer said. “It certainly always helps [if the individual has industry knowledge]. At the same time, it’s not required by any means. We’ll typically have subject matter experts or folks that are very knowledgeable about the industry who are part of our project that can help provide that learning. “We’re not expecting anyone — especially coming off the campus level — to either A) walk in the door knowing all about the industry or B) walk in the door knowing all about technology. [That’s] why we’re looking for people with the capability to learn because you ramp up and gain knowledge and experience over time.” Speaking of learning, Crowe sits down with each new hire and develops an individualized training program. “We don’t do any sort of boot camp or anything like that. For us, it’s individualized training,” Strawmyer said. “We look at each person coming in; the types of projects they’re going to work on, and develop individualized training programs, whether it’s self-study [or] going to classes.” In 2006, the National Association of Business Resources named Crowe Chizek as one of Chicago’s “101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.” Once they’ve settled in, Crowe’s IT consultants are given personalized career development plans. “One of the things we put together is a 30-, 60-, 90day plan that really just has to do with, what are the concepts, what are the people, what are the projects that we want that person to get exposure to or learn about over the course of the next 30, 60, 90 days?” Strawmyer said. “[It’s] just to make sure we’ve got a good on-boarding process so they’re getting to know the firm — they’re getting to know and meet people, do networking and build relationships, etc.” Ultimately, employees can work toward remaining on the purely technical side or move more into sales, Strawmyer said. “We try to [provide] as much self-selection as possible,” he said. “In order for someone to be the most successful over time, it’s best to align them with a direction where they’ve got a passion or an interest. [If] frankly it doesn’t matter [to him or her] and we don’t even know how to decide, we’ll default to our pipeline of work: Where do we have work that’s going to keep that individual busy? The ultimate tie breaker, if you will.” That career path also is driven by the types of projects the company acquires, he added. “Most of our early-on learning exposures are geared towards action learning [for] your next project,” he said. “If [the new employee has a] programming background and they’re playing a development role in a project, chances are the early stuff is going to be either shadowing someone, working on part of a project team taking on small tasks or if they’re lacking a few fundamental skills, then we’ll have them use self-study [materials] towards certification. It really depends upon the individual.” Crowe certainly takes that philosophy to heart. “We really focus more on finding the right people,” Strawmyer said. 8 – Agatha Gilmore, agilmore@certmag.com October 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE 1

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Certification - October 2008

Certification - October 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead Elect IT: Technology and the Democratic Process Managing Relationships in the Nonprofit Realm Interface VoIP Technician: Answering the Call of the Network Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - October 2008

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