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Thursday 29 October 2009
the move
Monday 14 September 2009
Aid agencies could benefit from‘pay-cations’
Sunday Business Post - Recruitment section - September 13 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
By part-funding gap year style working trips around the world, the government could help recent graduates through the economic downturn and boost exchequer funds, according to the organiser of this year’s Working Abroad Expo.
Stephen McLarnon, managing director of expo organiser SGMC Group, which takes place later this month, called on the government to consider implementing a part-funded ‘pay-cation’ scheme to support younger job candidates with limited opportunities in the domestic labour market. Such a scheme would benefit the economy by building on the professional experience and skill-sets of younger candidates, and boosting the government’s coffers.
‘‘We are not advocating that the government completely fund a gap year, but offer a fund-matching system for those considering taking a gap year,” said McLarnon. ‘‘A gap-year matching scheme for under-25s, offering up to €5,000 per person within a 12-month period, would offer immediate savings to the growing social welfare bill, while also assisting young unemployed people to gain new experiences and return to Ireland with something to offer.
‘‘It would keep people active, which is crucial, and it would give people a taste of life in less-well-off countries.”
A similar government scheme, under consideration in Britain, is proposing to fund up to 500 participants in overseas development projects. Under the scheme, participants would be required to raise funding of stg£1,000 (€1,140) and pay for their own flights and vaccinations.
‘‘The fact that Britain is looking at something similar gives the concept credibility,” said McLarnon. ‘‘Similar precedents exist here in Ireland, with the ESB earlier this year taking on approximately 300 apprentice electricians to help them qualify. PwC has offered graduates €5,000 to defer their entry into the firm until 2010.”
If properly managed, McLarnon believes such a scheme could raise vital funds for the exchequer.
‘‘An unemployed person, under 30 years of age and currently receiving unemployment benefit, gets approximately €10,000 per annum,” he said. ‘‘A fund-matching system, capped at €5,000,would immediately save the exchequer €5,000 per person. The government could include a 12-month exclusion from receiving any further social welfare benefits for participants in the scheme.”
The British government is piloting a gap-year programme in association with Raleigh International, a charity specialising in voluntary overseas placements. An Irish equivalent could target Irish organisations with overseas connections, McLarnon said.
‘‘The Niall Mellon Township Trust has done a fantastic job in South Africa, but is now suffering with less available funds from volunteers,” he said. ‘‘The trust, the government and Fás could come together and use the project for training apprentice plumbers, electricians and brick-layers. It would get nearly qualified trades people off the dole, qualified under the instruction of qualified trades people who have also lost their job, while also doing something worthwhile."
‘‘NGOs such as Concern and Goal are being badly affected by cuts to their overseas aid budget,” McLarnon said. ‘‘Many of these organisations are laying off staff and closing centres in much needed areas. The government could again part-fund professionals to work with these organisations while diverting them from the ever-growing dole queues.”
McLarnon said that there had been a significant increase in the number of Irish people looking abroad for work in recent months.
‘‘The number of young people travelling overseas has seen a substantial jump over the last 12 months, with a 33 per cent increase - an extra 5,500 people - in those going to Australia on working holiday visas,” he said. ‘‘This takes the number currently in Australia on annual working holiday visas to a record high of over 22,000. Figures for Canada, New Zealand and other countries are not available, but the total number could easily exceed a further 20,000.”
Other destinations also offer employment opportunities, McLarnon said.
‘‘Opportunities exist all over the world. There is an aging population in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, so they have to import a huge amount of labour,” he said. ‘‘The US is experiencing its own unemployment issues, but parts of Latin America such as Brazil are enjoying some growth.
‘‘Canada has avoided much of the financial crises and is very much open for business. Britain is largely expected to come out of recession in the coming weeks, joining Germany and France.”
McLarnon said that the healthcare sector, in particular, offered global opportunities for skilled Irish candidates.
‘‘Health recruitment has bucked the trend globally, except in Ireland, where the HSE is not renewing contracts and a recruitment freeze largely remains in place,” he said. ‘‘With this in mind, we have 11 British NHS trusts exhibiting at our show in Dublin in our dedicated medical and nursing zone. It is widely known that there is a surplus of nurses in Ireland, with overseas employers queuing up to recruit them.”
There is also overseas demand for qualified Irish engineering and technology professionals, said McLarnon.
‘‘Fisher & Paykel, the big home-appliance manufacturers, are exhibiting at our Dublin show, looking for all the various different types of engineers, including automotive and quality assurance people, for New Zealand. People are starting to get back into R&D as the global economy revives,” he said.
Some candidates, who would otherwise head overseas in search of work, have unavoidable commitments in Ireland, McLarnon said.
‘‘Generally, individuals with a mortgage or young family will be less mobile. Those with mortgages in negative equity will be reluctant or unable to sell their properties,” he said. ‘‘Renting their property out is difficult, creating an economic trap for those that want or need to work abroad.”
McLarnon said candidates who had only just graduated had a tough time securing working visas for other countries.
‘‘Workplace experience is very important in getting working visas for Canada, Australia or New Zealand. People with a couple of years’ working experience are generally better placed to secure a visa,” he said.
Candidates with foreign language skills and travel experience are best placed to secure work overseas.
‘‘Huge opportunities exist in continental Europe for people with a second language. Having travelled before is not a biggie, but employers like to see people who have lived or worked abroad previously as, chances are, they will settle quicker,” said McLarnon.
Now in its fourth year, this month’s Working Abroad Expo will have more than 50 exhibitors, including government bodies, migration officials and recruitment agencies. Relocation experts will offer advice and assistance on starting a new life abroad.
‘‘These are undoubtedly challenging times, but opportunities do exist, and the Working Abroad Expo is designed to give people options, separate the myths from reality and give people the full facts, information, paperwork, contacts and job options they need for starting a better life abroad,” said McLarnon.
‘‘Employers and recruitment specialists will outline job opportunities in nursing, social work, engineering and various skilled trades in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, China and the Middle East,” he said. ‘‘There will also be seminars advising Irish tradespeople about meeting the increasingly high standards of the Australian construction, engineering and hospitality industries.”
The Working Abroad Expo takes place on September 19 and 20 in Dublin’s RDS and the Europa Hotel in Belfast on September 22 and 23. Tickets for the Dublin event cost €10. For more information, or to book a place, visit www.workingabroad.ie
Friday 11 September 2009
Keeping the faith
When Saturday Comes - WSC daily - September 8 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
After hauling off Sulley Muntari half an hour into a Serie A game with Bari last month, Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho blamed the Ghanaian midfielder’s religious beliefs.
“Ramadan has not arrived at the ideal moment for a player to play a football match,” said Mourinho, upset after a poor 1-1 draw for the Italian champions.
Mourinho's comments sparked a debate in Italy with Mohamed Nour Dachan, president of the Italian Union of Islamic Communities, telling Sky Italia: "I think Mourinho could do with talking a little less.” The UK’s Daily Star also helpfully picked up on the issue, headlining a story: Muslims: we’ll kill Mourinho.
The issue of footballers dealing with Ramadan, when Muslims must abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours, has been more calmly dealt with in Spain, a country with its own Moorish Islamic past.
Sevilla's Freddie Kanouté is among the highest profile players affected. Kanouté, who was 20 when he converted to Islam, the religion of his father, told the press that Ramadan fasting benefited his game rather than hindering it. “Having faith helps my football,” he said. “There is no conflict because people who know about Islam know that fasting empowers and does not weaken the Muslim.”
Various dietary and religious experts have weighed into the debate on whether irregular nutritional intake hinders performance or adds mental discipline. Doctor and Imam Moulana Yusuf Daya praised Real Madrid for supporting the club's Islamic players, who include Karim Benzema and Lassana Diarra. “Fasting is an effective means of restoring a player’s longevity,” said Daya. “Ramadan also helps lower cholesterol and systolic blood pressure.”
However, while the physical conditioning argument is interesting, it is the strength of character to stand up for what he believes in, whether or not his employers agree, that marks Kanouté out as a singular footballer. When gambling website 888.com sponsored Seville in 2007, Kanouté refused to wear a shirt promoting the sinful practice of gambling, until a “sizeable” amount was donated to an Islamic charity. The following year he spent €500,000 (£434,000) buying a mosque in Seville that had been due to close, so local Muslims had somewhere to pray. In January he was fined by the Spanish League for celebrating a goal by revealing a T-shirt supporting the Palestinian cause.
It is not that uncommon either for Christian footballers to religiously remove clothing upon scoring or winning a game. Everton’s Steven Pienaar, when he scored a deflected winner for Everton against Spurs last year, showed off a “God Is Great” vest and was promptly booked. Kaka famously unveiled his “I Belong To Jesus” T-shirt after winning the Champions League with Milan in 2007. However even Kaka, a leading light in the Athletes for Christ movement, has not involved himself in as many causes as Kanouté.
Whatever you think about Kanouté's stubborn and/or independent streak, it certainly hasn't harmed his career. Since leaving Spurs he's become one of La Liga's top strikers, scored in two successive victorious UEFA Cup finals and was 2007 African Player of the Year. As it happens, he has had a fairly shocking start to this season – sent off against Valencia as his team lost 2-0 in the season opener. Meanwhile, a 1-1 draw with Benin last weekend means he won't be at next year's World Cup.
Monday 31 August 2009
Twittering threat to job agencies
Sunday Business Post - Recruitment - Aug 30 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
The use of social network ing websites by professionals is driving fund a mental changes in the Irish recruitment industry, according to Declan Fitzgerald, global sourcing manager with Microsoft.
‘‘The Irish recruitment industry is in a state of huge change at the moment, and social media and the internet are driving a lot of this change,” said Fitzgerald. ‘‘We are seeing the arrival of the ‘internet recruiter’ who knows how to deploy a variety of different technologies, tools and techniques to source particular candidates. The smart recruiters now understand how to harness these technologies.”
Ronan Colleran, managing director of Accreate Executive Search & Interim, said the recession was prompting recruiters in Ireland to use social networking sites to save time and money.
‘‘The rate of increased awareness of the potential of social networking amongst the Irish recruitment community has been significant over the past six months in particular,” said Colleran. ‘‘With the downturn in the economy, people have started thinking of fresh ways to approach their work; maybe they are working a little harder than in a buoyant employment market.”
The sheer number of people using social networking websites is an obvious draw for recruiters. LinkedIn has more than 44 million members in over 200 countries. The number of Irish users signed up to Facebook has more than doubled to over 900,000 since the start of the year, and Twitter is also fast gaining ground among business users.
‘‘It started very much with younger people exploring these social networks, but the vast majority of people joining Twitter and Facebook in the last six months are over 35,” said Fitzgerald. ‘‘There is quite a large number of directors and chief executives at large multinationals with a presence on these sites. They may not be active users, but they are there.”
Fitzgerald, who runs his own LinkedIn recruitment group and blog, said Microsoft was among the first companies in Ireland to use social networking for recruitment purposes.
‘‘We’ve been using LinkedIn successfully for three years to recruit, and now have hundreds of recruiters using it,” he said. ‘‘I run two-day training courses internally, where we teach people how to use LinkedIn, Facebook and the internet generally, to search for company information, see conversations that people are having, and thereby approach them using various communication techniques.”
In February, LinkedIn launched its Talent Advantage suite of solutions, allowing recruiters to actively target candidates on the site.
‘‘LinkedIn’s recruiter product allows you to send mass emails to LinkedIn profiles, which is an excellent way for you to send out your job description and get people’s attention,” said Fitzgerald. ‘‘You can expand your network, and get access to their millions of users. You are also able to send more mails and contact more people.”
Microsoft has used social networking to find overseas candidates with niche skills.
‘‘We were hiring people for our malware engineering virus response team in the last year. We looked in the Irish market and there were very few people with that specialisation,” said Fitzgerald. ‘‘Using LinkedIn, we were able to type in certain keywords or technologies and find profiles of engineers around the world with the right experience. We then targeted two countries in particular - Romania and Finland - and contacted candidates to see if they were interested. There were no agency fees, very little costs involved, and it was very quick.”
Accreate has also used LinkedIn to find high-level candidates with specialised skills.
‘‘We used social networking to source a candidate who was based in Korea for a European client with operations in Ireland. This required a specific and specialised skillset in the financial services area,” said Colleran. ‘‘Given the locations involved, it would have been difficult to source this particular candidate without using social recruiting as part of our research process.”
Despite these advantages, the sheer size of the social networking ‘net’ can sometimes create as many problems as it solves for recruiters.
‘‘The sites increase the reach for research teams but they do not lessen the workload,” said Colleran. ‘‘As more candidates sign up, more sifting needs to be done to ensure the most relevant candidates are sourced for a given role.”
Communications consultant Damien Mulley advised recruiters to use professional networking sites carefully, and with long-term goals in mind.
‘‘Some recruiters are playing the short game and putting a wide spread in their sights and targeting everyone, as it is easy to do digitally. These networks offer the opportunity to build a relationship over a period of months and even years,” said Mulley. ‘‘It would be great if you only get approached by a recruiter when the ideal position pops up - a bit like an art dealer that knows what you like and only contacts you when they have something they know you will like and they know they can sell.”
Mulley believes that social networking poses a serious threat to the traditional industry, as it offers a cheaper and easy-to-use alternative to employers.
‘‘I think we will see more people Twitter, blog and Facebook about new jobs in their company and those ads spreading through networks of friends and trusted sources,” he said.
As work practices become more flexible and dispersed, Mulley said social networking could play a central role in complex recruitment and human resource processes.
‘‘I think recruiters and employers might become hubs of hiring activity, connectors of talent and facilitators of information, he said. ‘‘With a workforce that is going to move away from nine-to-five work and not working in the office, it will be up to HR and employers to keep these different networks of people working well.”
Colleran advised recruitment companies to make sure their own staff had the skills to make the best possible use of social networking sites.
‘‘As the popularity of social recruiting grows, there will be an increased onus on individual consultants and researchers to embrace the sites. As some are more web savvy than others, in-house training could be used to address any issues in this regard,” he said.
Colleran said that recruiters who failed to adapt to the trend risked falling behind in an industry facing unprecedented change.
‘‘If firms do not adapt towards using these tools, they will be left behind. Social networking sites are free and, since candidates are embracing this new phenomenon, so too must recruiters,” he said.
Online tools should be used in conjunction with established recruitment practices, Colleran said.
‘‘Companies run the risk of not hiring the best candidate if they rely only on information gleaned from the web. It is important to bear in mind that not all candidates have a presence online. Traditional methods, which have served us well over the years, should not be discarded,” he said.
Ireland confident in testing times
Sunday Business Post - Business of Sport - Aug 23 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
Everyone involved with the Irish cricket team is looking forward to taking on England in a one-day cricket international in Belfast on Thursday, according to the chairman of cricket for Cricket Ireland.
‘‘The England fixture is a massive event for everybody connected with Cricket Ireland,” said Joe Doherty.
‘‘As a one-off fixture, it would always be the showpiece of any year, but it is not just a meaningless friendly against one of the ‘big’ nations. It is a full ranking ODI (one-day international) that carries global ranking points for both countries and also serves as a benchmark for our own progress,” he said.
The match, sponsored by RSA Insurance, was the only chance to see top-level international cricket in Ireland this year, he said. It will be England’s first game after the final Test of the current Ashes series with Australia.
‘‘Tickets are selling strongly, and we expect the Stormont ground to be packed on the day,” he said. ‘‘The fixture is also attracting strong interest from groups making block bookings for corporate, club and social entertainment in the marquees.”
The game will be the third one-day international in three years between the two nations.
Although England have won both games so far, including a meeting during the 2007World Cup in Guyana, Ireland were not outclassed on either occasion. Given the timing this time around, they will fancy their chances of an upset on Thursday.
Ireland will have a full strength team to call on, including captain William Porterfield and England-based players Niall O’Brien and Boyd Rankin.
‘‘The coach and selectors have a full complement of players available,” said Doherty. ‘‘All our players are looking forward to another joust against the English.”
The Irish team is also involved in the Intercontinental Cup - the main competition for second tier cricketing nations.
‘‘We are proud holders of the trophy won in South Africa last winter, and have now won it on three successive occasions,” said Doherty. ‘‘It is a benchmark trophy for International Cricket Council [ICC] purposes, and an indicator of the ‘best of the rest’ outside the Test cricketing family. So far this year, we have had the better of a rain-affected draw against Kenya in July and performed well again against Scotland this week.”
Barring a win against England on Thursday, the highlight of the year for Irish cricket will remain June’s world T20 tournament in London, where Ireland beat Bangladesh to make the Super 8 stage.
Doherty said a successful qualification for next year’s World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies in April, was now expected of the Irish team.
‘‘We are determined to qualify again, and we will have all our top players available,” he said. ‘‘We are in no way complacent though, as aT20match can hinge on one good performance from one player on either side. Our T20 skills are being honed all the time and we hope to have the players at peak performance level, mentally and physically, come February’s qualifying tournament in the UAE.”
Off the field, the major development at Cricket Ireland this summer has been the recruitment of Mark Garaway as the sport’s new director of cricket operations, a position funded by the ICC to improve the standard and profile of cricket in Ireland.
‘‘Although only 35,Mark is vastly experienced at playing, coaching, analysis and cricket administration,” said Doherty. ‘‘In the England camp, he was responsible for providing specialist technical support to successive coaches, including Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower.
‘‘We are confident that, as well as improving participation, development and coaching throughout Ireland, he will be a precious asset to coach Phil Simmons and the playing staff. We are excited about him coming on board.”
Garaway’s brief will include preparing Ireland for possible elevation to the ranks of full Test-playing cricket nations, said Doherty.
‘‘Test cricket is not feasible in Ireland in the short term due to logistical considerations, such as stadia, quality of pitches, core support for the game and working capital,” he said. ‘‘In the medium term, however, many of these issues could be addressed. The future structure of Test cricket is by no means set in stone.
‘‘Our medium-term goal is to be ranked in the world’s top eight by 2015,up from our position of tenth,” said Doherty. ‘‘Our strategic plans reflect the steps necessary to achieve that goal and we are undergoing a review of our domestic game to get the basics right.
‘‘Next year we will host Australia in another ODI, and we have negotiated an arrangement to alternate visits from the ‘big two’ from now on. Mark Garaway is joining us at the perfect time.”
He added that the rising profile of the Irish cricket team, especially since the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, had led to an increase in the numbers playing the game.
‘‘Participation levels have definitely increased since 2007, and organised cricket is being played again in parts of Ireland where it had never been formally played or where it had lain dormant for more than a century,” he said.
‘‘We are currently providing development support to groups in counties Roscommon and Sligo and in the city of Derry, for example, where cricket had been in decline since the outbreak of the Troubles. We need to expand the core base of participation and active interest to give us a chance of recurring success at international level, competing, as we do, against countries with vast cricketing populations.”
Attaining test status would help to halt the steady flow of Irish-born players, such as Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan (who is in the England squad for this week’s match) to other countries, said Doherty.
‘‘In the short term, the loss of players like Ed and Eoin will continue to be a challenge, but we respect our young cricketers’ healthy ambitions. For those two, England was the only Test show in town,” he said. ‘‘Until and unless we can offer meaningful Test or ‘new Test’ status to our players, that anomaly will continue to exist and frustrate us.”
No break for travel industry
Sunday Business Post - Recruitment - Aug 23 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here. 
A spate of redundancy announcements has rocked the Irish travel industry over the summer months, traditionally the busiest period for holiday-makers at home and visitors from overseas.
Last week, Sunway Holidays announced plans to close three outlets in Dublin, with the loss of nine jobs. The move followed 95 job losses at Budget Travel, which announced that it was to close 14 of its 31 Irish outlets earlier this month. The high-profile staff protests that followed Thomas Cook’s move to halt Irish operations, with 77 redundancies, pointed to wider unrest in a sector hit hard by the fall in consumer spending.
The numbers employed in the travel business have fallen significantly in the last year, according to Simon Nugent, chief executive of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA).
‘‘The pattern this year has been about companies shedding staff, not recruiting,” said Nugent. ‘‘While the leisure travel side has dropped away a bit, the corporate travel side has dropped significantly. I would say pretty much all ITAA member firms have reduced their staff since last autumn.”
Falling employment According to the most recent available CSO figures, overseas visits to Ireland fell by 114,000, or 15 per cent, in June compared to the same month last year. Eamonn McKeon, chief executive of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, said further job losses were inevitable.
‘‘We reckon that, overall, jobs in the travel and tourism industry fell by about 10 per cent last year from a peak of 310,000,” he said. ‘‘Our ‘guesstimate’ is that it will reach about 250,000 this year, based on what we hear from our members. I am not aware of any sector of the travel or tourism industry, with the possible exception of family-run B&Bs or farmhouses, which has not had to let people go. The numbers are down everywhere, from hotels and restaurants to cruising companies and car rental firms.
‘‘The Dublin Airport Authority has been talking about rationalisation, as have the airlines. Every sector either has let staff go or did not take on the additional summer staff they would normally have taken on.”
Valerie Sorohan, marketing manager of Jobs.ie, said there had been a noticeable drop in the number of travel and tourism positions advertised online this year.
‘‘Jobs.ie has five different categories of travel and tourism jobs: chef jobs, hotels, pubs, bars and clubs, restaurants and catering, and travel and tourism,” said Sorohan. ‘‘This year, the number of jobs posted has decreased across all five categories by 50 to 70 per cent year-on-year.”
Study and training
Nugent said the shortfall in available positions had prompted candidates in the sector to consider new training and study options. Overseen by the ITAA, the Travel Professionals Skillnet has introduced several new courses this year, including a DIT-accredited Travel Professionals Higher Certificate and shorter training programmes focused on specific aspects of the travel business.
‘‘The Skillnet has been extremely important, as it allows us to improve staff skills and help travel companies put their best foot forward,” said Nugent. ‘‘Consumers have become more demanding, and people working in our sector now need an encyclopaedic knowledge of routes and destinations, the legalities and complexities of travel, visas and passports and insurance issues.”
McKeon said upskilling was a viable route for candidates unable to secure work in the sector.
‘‘There are lots of terrific courses available from Fás, and more directly tourism-related ones from Fáilte Ireland,” he said. ‘‘Some are distance learning, some are six weeks, others six months. There is something there for every skill. In all jobs, even craft-based professions, there is always a further level you can go to.
‘‘Courses that teach supervisor’s skills are a relatively attractive option for people. It is hoped that they can come away with a better CV and, when normal times return, they should be more employable and able to command a higher salary.”
Related sectors
Sorohan urged candidates to consider looking for work in a new or related sector or profession.
‘‘In these sectors, customer service is of huge importance, and people can perhaps transfer their skills Individuals could look at customer service jobs, waiting staff positions or others,” she said.
Nugent said other consumerfocused sectors, such as retailing or marketing, could offer employment opportunities to individuals with a professional background in travel or tourism.
‘‘To work in a travel environment, you have to be an extremely good ‘people person’ with a broad range of knowledge,” he said. ‘‘Having worked in the travel sector is very good training for any customerfacing role.”
Nugent said many of the candidates who have lost their jobs as a result of the downturn in travel and tourism were relatively recent arrivals to the country.
‘‘In 2006 and 2007, our members found it more or less impossible to recruit the staff they needed here,” he said. ‘‘They found very talented travel agency staff abroad, and lots of people had good experiences employing them. There is certainly then some mobility in the sector.”
Sorohan said the number of candidates applying for positions posted on Jobs.ie had fallen.
‘‘This January, employers could have expected to receive 66 applications, but in June this year that went down slightly to 45,” she said. ‘‘That would suggest that non-Irish workers unable to find a job in these industries this year have moved to seek employment elsewhere.”
Protecting jobs
Nugent said employers in the sector were keen to protect as many jobs as possible.
‘‘Companies have negotiated reductions in salaries and different part-time or other working arrangements with their staff,” he said. ‘‘Staff are entirely aware of the realities of the sector and have been quite understanding.”
Staff unhappy with the redundancy terms offered by Thomas Cook, following the closure of its Irish branches, with 77 redundancies earlier this month, staged a high-profile sit-in at the company’s Grafton Street branch.
However, Nugent said most redundancies in the sector were proving less contentious.
‘‘We provide a legal advisory service for our members that covers employment law and personnel management and doing right by your staff,” he said. ‘‘It is a difficult area, but in most cases things tend not to become confrontational.”
Further redundancies
McKeon said that, with no end to the downturn in sight, employers in the travel and tourism sector could announce further redundancies.
‘‘Travel people tend to be optimistic and hope that a recovery will come,” he said. ‘‘The problem is that we are now entering the off-season, and companies will not have built up the strong cash flows this summer to get them through next winter.
‘‘Huge discounting has been great for the consumer, but has only kept things ticking over. The lack of availability of credit is really going to test the survival capacity of lots of good businesses this winter.”
Despite this, the number of hospitality positions advertised on Jobs.ie in the first six months of the year were up on the same period last year.
‘‘From January to June, there was actually an increase in jobs being posted across all the five travel and tourism sectors by an average of 44 per cent, which is promising,” Sorohan said. ‘‘It suggests that these areas were hit hardest by the recession last year, but this year there are signs that each of these areas are picking up.
‘‘At present, the hotels category has the most number of jobs listed, and chef positions are also quite popular.”
Government cuts
Last month’s Bord Snip Nua report recommended a €12 million cut to the government supported Tourism Marketing Fund and a €15 million slice off Fáilte Ireland’s budget.
McKeon cautioned the government against implementing either measure.
‘‘The only thing that will keep jobs within the tourism sector is if visitors keep coming, so governments need to keep their marketing budgets in foreign markets,” he said. ‘‘It is a viciously competitive world out there, and if Ireland disappears from websites, trade promotions, media advertisements and all of that, we will lose market share.”
McKeon said discussions were under way with the government to give tourism companies access to the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund, which was announced earlier this month.
‘‘Foreign tourism is an export business, although domestic tourism is not,” he said. ‘‘We would be anxious to have the scheme extended to the travel and tourism sector.”
Future recovery
Nugent said the travel industry would recover quickly, once the wider economy stabilised.
‘‘What is good for the economy at large is good for the travel sector,” he said. ‘‘If the overall economy gets righted, it will kick-start growth for travel companies.”
When it emerges from the recession, Nugent said the sector would be leaner and more technologically advanced.
‘‘Travel is a very dynamic sector, and has been long before the recent fast economic growth and then sudden economic decline,” he said. ‘‘Our members are transforming their business models all the time and investing in the online capacity of their staff. ‘‘That is the way the sector is going.”
Irish have strong chance in Berlin World Championships
Sunday Business Post - Business of Sport - Aug 16 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
The Irish squad competing at the World Track and Field Championships in Germany is one of the most experienced sent to a major championship, according to Liam Hennessy, president of Athletics Ireland. Leading track stars such as David Gillick, Derval O’Rourke, Paul Hession, Eileen O'Keeffe and Robert Heffernan are all part of the 14member squad at the championships, which began yesterday in Berlin.
‘‘The majority of these athletes competed in the last World Championships in Osaka in 2007, and again last year at the Olympics in Beijing, so we are lucky in that respect,” said Hennessy. ‘‘There are some great athletes on the team - and you look to the likes of Paul Hession (200 metres) and David Gillick (400 metres), who have been so impressive this year.
‘‘Derval O’Rourke (100 metres hurdles) showed what she is capable of when winning a medal at the European Indoors, so she is hopefully going to be up there,” said Hennessy. ‘‘Then you have Rob Heffernan and Olive Loughnane in the race walking and Eileen O’Keeffe in the hammer. Rob and Eileen were both top six in Osaka and Olive was our best performer in Beijing, with a seventh place finish. I think we could see some great performances in Berlin.”
The team for the championships was decided following the Woodie’s DIY National Track and Field Championships earlier this month at Santry Stadium. It also includes Roisin McGettigan in the 3,000 metres steeplechase, Alistair Cragg in the 5,000 metres, Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin in the 50 kilometre walk, Deirdre Ryan in the high jump, Deirdre Byrne in the 1,500 metres, Michelle Carey in the 400 metres hurdles and Thomas Chamney in both the 800 metres and 1,500 metres.
However, Hennessy said that, given the standard of competition at the World Championships, the majority of the Irish team would be concentrating on improving their performances, rather than winning medals.
‘‘Getting a medal would be a great achievement, but we have to look at it realistically,” he said. ‘‘When you compete at this level in athletics - whether it is the World Championships or Olympics - it is extremely tough to win a medal. Everything has to go perfectly for an athlete, and we have to remember that this is a world event, so we are up against the best athletes from across the globe.”
He said that, if the Irish team could get a range of finalists and see some personal bests, ‘‘we would be very happy’’. ‘‘That would represent a very successful championship,” he said.
Funding
The focus on track performances this month is welcome for Athletics Ireland, after another year marred by familiar political struggles and funding controversies in the generally eventful world of Irish athletics administration.
Hennessy said that Athletics Ireland was happy with the government funding received this year, although the total amount fell from €1.34 million in 2008 to just over €1 million.
‘‘The money is down from 2008, but that is the same for the majority of national governing bodies and we just have to get on with it like anyone in business,” he said. ‘‘The economic downturn has affected everyone and sport is no different. We are lucky in that [Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism] Martin Cullen fought hard to ensure we were still able to get a similar amount of Irish Sports Council (ISC) funding in 2009, considering the amount of cuts that are happening across the board.”
According to widespread reports earlier in the year, the ISC suspended Athletics Ireland’s annual funding after disagreements over internal staffing and administrative issues between the two bodies, while former Athletics Ireland chief executive Mary Coghlan has alleged that ISC chairman Ossie Kilkenny and chief executive John Treacy were behind her removal from the position in June.
Coghlan is currently pursuing an unfair dismissal case in the High Court, and Hennessy said he could not comment on this issue. However, he maintained that any strains in the relationship between the ISC and Athletics Ireland had been exaggerated by the media.
‘‘There are no issues with the ISC and we have our full funding for 2009,which has helped us to invest in a range of programmes - from high performance right down to grass roots and participation level,” he said. ‘‘We work very closely with the ISC on all aspects of athletics. It has been integral to establishing the programmes and structures we have implemented and the success we have achieved in recent years.”
Brighter prospects
After the World Championships conclude on August 23, Hennessy said that Athletics Ireland’s focus would switch to the European Cross Country Championships, being held in Santry in December.
‘‘Hosting the Spar European Cross Country Championships is a huge honour for Irish athletics,” he said. ‘‘We are hoping to put on a great event for the athletes and the spectators. It is a huge undertaking, but everyone is fully committed to making this a huge success, from Fingal County Council to the Irish Sports Council and Dublin City Council. We are all working together on the event, as we have been for nearly two years now.”
He said that Ireland would have a strong team at the event, with a possibility of success for the home team.
‘‘What makes the event even more exciting is the strength of the Irish team we are going to have there,” he said. ‘‘With athletes of the calibre of Martin Fagan, Mary Cullen and Fionnuala Britton we will have a team capable of winning medals. For these athletes to be able to compete in a European Championships in front of their home crowd will give them a huge boost."
Monday 10 August 2009
Peachy chance to solve staff issues
Sunday Business Post - Recruitment page - Aug 9 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
A Donegal company has developed an innovative online service to help companies to manage staff in different locations. Due to launch this month, Nvolve’s PeachyPeople.com website combines three tools for communication, training and people management.
Barry Harper, chief executive of Nvolve, said the product would appeal to companies with far-flung, mobile workers.
‘‘The whole concept of teleworking and the distributed workforce is very prominent at the moment,” Harper said. ‘‘Many companies are cutting costs and have people working from home. If companies want to grow, they have to go into Britain or Europe. Peachy People.com has been developed to meet these trends.”
Harper drew on his own personal experiences to design the Peachy Performer element of the site, which also includes Peachy Learner and PeachyConnect.
‘‘I used to be HR manager for Nortel in Galway,” he said. ‘‘We did an annual performance appraisal, which was seen as a form-filling exercise and just got over as quickly as possible.
‘‘With PeachyPeople.com, managers or individuals assign different objectives, which can be reviewed or updated every week or every month. Managers can run reports showing the progress of all outstanding objectives, giving an overall snapshot of how the business is performing.”
The Peachy Learner toolset helps employees to share knowledge more effectively. It also provides access to Nvolve’s e-learning products.
‘‘It allows users to share learning objects such as web links and reports, videos or webcasts, while also having a catalogue of 500 e-learning courses that users can take at any time,” Harper said.
Peachy Connect facilitates communication between employees with free peer-to-peer phone calls, video conferencing and online collaboration.
‘‘I can hit a couple of clicks and everyone gets an e-mail with the correct number to dial and the password to enter the teleconference,” Harper said. ‘‘If I want a web conference, it is the same - only everyone clicks on a URL. If I want to see your computer screen, I can.We can collaborate together on a document. It is all about saving people time, making them more productive.”
Harper launched a test version of PeachyPeople.com late last year, and was spurred on by the response it received.
‘‘It got picked up by some prominent blogs, and we now have over 500 companies registered - spread across retail, hospitality, professional services, finance, biotech and many others, including the Hilton Hotel Group, Fexco and Digiweb,” he said.
Peachy People is delivered using the software as a service (Saas) model, which means that it is accessed on internet browsers.
‘‘I am here in Donegal and you could be in America, but with SaaS it makes no difference,” Harper said. ‘‘The information is displayed extremely fast and your browser is turned into a desktop-like application.”
Users can access the basic package for free, while additional functionality is available to buy.
‘‘Every account gets 100MB of free storage space, but once people start using the application, they will generally need to purchase more storage space from us,” said Harper. ‘‘Twenty user web conferences are free, but if you want 50 users, there will be charges. The e-learning courses in the ‘knowledge bank’ element will be offered at a cost. Some companies may never need to move into the paying versions, however.”
Peachy People users are encouraged to provide feedback and suggest ideas to improve the service.
‘‘If users come to us and say they want a recruitment tool, then we will look to add that,” he said. ‘‘Eventually, the user community will determine the feature-set.”
Harper established Nvolve in 2006.The company has six staff at its headquarters in Letterkenny and 15 developers based in India. Recently shortlisted for the Small Firms Association’s Innovation Award, Nvolve has also received equity funding under Enterprise Ireland’s high performance startup scheme
‘‘We are looking at going to the market for venture capital funding later this year,” said Harper. ‘‘We already have companies registered from Germany, South Africa, Australia, South Korea and Japan. Our aim is over one million daily users within the next 12 months.”
Monday 13 July 2009
Mayo firm signs New Zealand deal
Sunday Business Post - Done Deal page - Jul 12 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
Mayo company Surface Power has agreed a NZ$30 million (€13.5 million) deal with a New Zealand-based distributor. Under the terms of the five-year agreement with Solar Distribution, the company will establish a distribution and training centre in Tauranga, New Zealand, creating 12 new jobs.
‘‘The training and development centre will deploy our system to tens of thousands of utility customers, managing quality control and the whole exercise effectively,” said John Quinn, founder of Surface Power.
Surface Power makes solar thermal heating and cooling systems to help large-scale utility companies and governments to offset CO2 emissions.
Quinn said the company would announce a number of international deals over the next 12 months on the back of product approval it had secured in over 25 countries.
‘‘We are scaling up from a product development business,” Quinn said. ‘‘We have distributor approaches from most countries in the world at this stage, but we are concentrating on the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.”
Surface Power is seeking external investment to fund its expansion plans.
‘‘Several US-based investors have visited us and we would hope to have funding in place within the next three to four months,” said Quinn
Last month, the company signed a €20 million distribution deal with Irish partner Moritz Group. Established in 2003, with backing from Udaras na Gaeltachta and Enterprise Ireland, it employs 15 staff in Ireland and Britain.
‘‘Our 2007 [turnover] was €500,000. In 2009, we are expecting revenues of between €2 and €2.5 million,” Quinn said. ‘‘Next year, we expect to be in the US and Canadian markets, so the figure will grow significantly again.” Surface Power licenses production to a manufacturing partner in China, but plans to locate all activities in Ireland in the future.
‘‘We plan, in the next 12 months, to manufacture in Ireland to service the European market, particularly Britain,” Quinn said. ‘‘We will also establish manufacturing centres in North America and Australia.”
Monday 15 June 2009
Ronaldo to make his Madrid debut in Ireland
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to make his Real Madrid debut in Ireland. The Portuguese star is expected to complete a €92 million transfer from Manchester United in time to line out alongside his new €65 million teammate Kaka´ for a friendly against Shamrock Rovers at their new Tallaght Stadium next month.
Ronaldo and Kaka´ will be accompanying their new team-mates – including Spanish internationals Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, and Dutch stars Arjen Robben and Ruud van Nistelrooy – on a ten-day preseason training camp at Carton House in Maynooth, organised by Fintan Drury’s sports management company Platinum One.
‘‘The Ronaldo story was fantastic news for us,” said Eamon McLoughlin, head of football at Platinum One. ‘‘We knew from speaking with them early on it was their intention to bring in some top, top players. We’ve done Barcelona in Scotland for the last two years, and all the top players were there: Messi, Henry, Xavi and Iniesta. We cannot know what will happen with injury or illness, but 25 players from Real’s first team squad will be in Maynooth.”
McLoughlin said that Real Madrid would play one match against an Irish team during their trip, but could not yet confirm the date or opposition.
‘‘We are talking to the FAI and the clubs and to South Dublin County Council, before we can release details of the date and the match times,” he said.
It is understood, however, that the game will take place on July 20, and that extra temporary seating will be installed at Tallaght Stadium to allow a 10,000 attendance.
McLoughlin said that Madrid’s Irish trip – which takes place from July 13 to 22 – would form a key part of new first team coach Manuel Pellegrini’s preparations for Madrid’s 2009-10 Primera Liga and Champions League campaigns.
‘‘It is the hardest part of their pre-season, with twice daily intensive sessions,” said McLoughlin. ‘‘It is too warm to do those in Madrid at that time of the year. The new manager’s fitness coaches were in Ireland this week.”
McLoughlin said that Platinum One would be covering all of Madrid’s costs for their time in Ireland.
‘‘We will cover everything from chartering the flight to the training pitches, to the food, civic engagements in Ireland, security and everything else,” he said. ‘‘From the minute they get on the plane in Madrid, to the minute they touch down on return to Madrid, we will control everything. Quite a bit of planning has gone into it.”
In return, the company gets to market all the team’s activities during the training camp, including TV rights for the game, McLoughlin said.
‘‘All management, commercial and media issues around the game would be covered by Platinum One,” he said. ‘‘We will run daily press conferences at Carton House, where we would expect 100-plus media from around the world. The game will be live in Spain and, with the sort of players they are signing, there is a fair chance it will be live in quite a few countries.”
IFI to get €1.7m facelift and redevelopment
Sunday Business Post - Done Deal page - Jun 14 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
The Irish Film Institute (IFI) has announced plans to invest €1.7 million in the redevelopment of its premises in Dublin’s Temple Bar.
As part of the project, said IFI director Sarah Glennie, the Eustace Street facility will get a new 60-seat cinema to screen films and documentaries. The institute already has two cinemas as well as onsite retail, pub and restaurant facilities.
‘‘This is much-needed work for the IFI. We are very tight at the moment, with two screens. This will really let us expand our activities and show new films for longer, as well as different seasons and sorts of programmes,” said Glennie.
The new cinema would have digital projection technology enhancing historical and independent screenings from the Irish Film Archive and emerging Irish filmmakers, Glennie said.
‘‘We are the home of the Irish Film Archive, which is an incredible resource of Irish heritage. We will be able to really expand the amount of material for people to experience. We will also look at more education programmes and courses,” she said.
The design for the revamp, by O’Donnell & Tuomey Architects, follows an earlier upgrade to the Eustace Street facility by the same architects, dating back to 1992.
‘‘The feeling of the merging of the modern with the old listed building will remain, but the experience will be better,” said Glennie. ‘‘On entering the building, you will come into a dedicated film and bookshop, which will really signal what the IFI is about. The bar, which is a very important source of income for us, will have a much-needed facelift, and there will be new washroom, box office and information facilities.”
Glennie said that funding for the €1.7 million project had come from a mix of public and private sources.
‘‘We were awarded an access to capital grant of €1.2million from the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism in 2007. We then had to secure matched funding. We got an anonymous private donation, and the remaining amount came from ourselves,” she said.
"Building work will commence on the site on July 6.The cinema will remain open for the duration of the project. We will be open throughout the summer in the evenings and all weekend. The build work will be revealed in stages and finally complete by the end of October,” said Glennie.
The IFI’s most recent published accounts, for the 12 months of 2007, show turnover of €1.7 million. It employs 60 staff.
The IFI is preparing to host the ‘Stranger than Fiction’ documentary festival, which opens on June 18.
‘‘There is a very strong programme of new international and Irish documentary films. The highlights include the Irish premiere of the Michael Moore-style corporate infiltration documentary, The Yes Men Fix The World,” said Glennie. ‘‘It will also mark the world premiere of a very interesting film called ‘The Liberties’ by young Irish film-makers, which looks at the history and key characters of Dublin’s Liberties area.”
Trusting open source
Sunday Business Post - Computers in Business Magazine - June 7th 2009
Ten popular commercial open source applications...
Alfresco
Alfresco is an open source enterprise content management system, which includes content management functionality, along with collaboration and interoperability tools, and a menu of services and training options. It is available in community (free) and enterprise (paid-for) versions.
Canonical / Ubuntu
Canonical is the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, a communitybased operating system based on the original Linux open source OS. The company offers paid-for 24/7 support and professional services, engineering services, and hardware and software certification around the Ubuntu system, which itself is free to download and use.
JasperSoft
JasperSoft's open source business intelligence suite includes reporting, analytics and integration tools for SMEs. It's available in either standalone or SaaS editions, and offered in community (free) and enterprise (paid-for) versions.
Liferay
Liferay Portal is an enterprise open source portal framework, offering integrated web publishing and content management, an enterprise service bus and SOA for application integration, and compatibility with all major IT infrastructures. The standard edition can be downloaded free, the paid-for enterprise version comes with support, training and services.
Magento
Magento is an open source enterprise-grade eCommerce application for managing online stores, which includes marketing and catalogue management tools. The community version is free, while the paid-for version with extra functionality, services and support starts at $8,900.
MySQL
MySQL is the world's most popular open source database. It's free to download and use, and many companies (including Sun, which ownsMySQL) offer a range of paid-for support and services - Sun's MySQL Enterprise Server and Production Support product costs $599.
Onepoint
Onepoint's open source project management software integrates project planning, controlling, monitoring and reporting into a single web 2.0-based project leadership software solution for project-oriented companies. Onepoint Project 8.1 for a single user costs €149, while five-user versions cost €1,499. Meanwhile, larger enterprise solutions are costed on a peruser basis.
Openbravo
Openbravo is a fully functional open source integrated web-based open source enterprise resource management (ERP) system, with procurement, financial, reporting, sales and project management and many other modules. SME users pay €1,500 plus €400-€500 per concurrent user, while the enterprise edition costs €500-€700 per concurrent user.
Red Hat
Red Hat provides Linuxbased operating system software along with applications, management, and middleware solutions.The basic subscription to Red Hat Enterprise Linux costs $349 and offerings range up to the premium Subscription (24/7 phone support, web support, unlimited incidents) at $2,499.
Sugar CRM
Sugar CRM is the world's largest provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software. Sugar Express costs $499 for one to five users, while the Sugar Enterprise edition is $600 per user.
This list was a panel for a longer piece I wrote for CIB looking at the increasing availability of business-ready open source applications. Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
Monday 25 May 2009
Start-ups ‘gridlocked’ by lack of funds
Sunday Business Post - New Business Section - May 24 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
Start-ups and other small companies are "gridlocked" by a lack of available finance, according to Eilis Quinlan, the newly elected chairperson of the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (Isme).
‘‘The absolutely crucial issue overriding everything else at the moment is cashflow,” said Quinlan. ‘‘That, teamed with the late payments issue, is absolutely grid locking a lot of companies. The money is just not moving out there.”
Quinlan, who has run her own accountancy practice in Naas for 17 years, said her primary objective in her new role would be to help Isme’s 8,500 member companies to get money flowing through their businesses again.
Stilted cashflow was forcing otherwise viable companies out of business, according to Quinlan.
‘‘Bad businesses will always fail anyway, unless they are particularly lucky,” she said. ‘‘They do not deserve to succeed. Good businesses, which have been operating for ten to 15 years, with fundamental good business models and tight ships, and which are not operating in areas of the economy that are defunct, cannot get paid. Their debtors are taking longer and longer and the banks will not extend their overdrafts.”
Quinlan said small businesses in Ireland faced a number of other challenges.
‘‘The loss of competitiveness is also a major issue,” she said. ‘‘The cost of doing business in Ireland has become massive - labour costs, local charges, fuel costs. For exporting businesses, the fall in sterling is an issue.”
Quinlan said start-ups, and entrepreneurs who might otherwise opt to set up in business, needed forceful action from the government.
‘‘General economic uncertainty is a problem. People do not know what the government’s plans are, or even what government is going to be there in six months. There is no idea in place of any sort of overall master plan.”
Quinlan established her own independent firm of chartered certified accountants and registered auditors in Naas in 1992.The practice employs ten staff to provide auditing services, taxation advice and management consultancy, primarily to SMEs.
Quinlan is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, holds a certificate in computing from Dublin City University and has an accredited commercial mediator award from the Mediation Forum of Ireland.
Quinlan is also a committee member of Naas Chamber of Commerce, a member of Mensa and a member of the government’s SME Management Development Council. In her new role with Isme, Quinlan succeeds outgoing chairman JJ Killian, managing director of Clonmelbased Flancare Distribution.
‘‘I am a qualified commercial mediator, and I am an experienced liquidator, but more important than any of that is that I am actually an SME myself,” said Quinlan.
‘‘I am a small-time employer and a risk-taker. I understand the business risks, and I hope this will stand in my stead very well in my new role.”
Quinlan said there had been a rise in the number of new businesses formed so far this year, particularly by entrepreneurs made redundant as a result of the recession.
‘‘There are huge amounts of sole traders and small companies starting up, as people do not just want to lounge around on the dole,” she said.
‘‘People are taking the opportunity to set out on their own. A lot of these are highly educated and highly skilled people, who have been thinking about taking the leap for the last ten years.”
Redundancy may turn out to be a positive event for many of those now starting out on their own.
‘‘There are really positive aspects about owning your own business, so this push could be the best thing that could have happened for them,” she said. ‘‘Any SME owner manager will tell you that there is not much work-life balance during the start-up phase, but in the medium and long-term the payback is huge.”
Quinlan advised potential entrepreneurs, with viable business ideas, not to be disheartened by the current difficult-looking business climate.
‘‘My advice would be to go for it if you have a good idea,” she said.
‘‘Entrepreneurs have always been brave and willing to take calculated risks. There are always opportunities out there and there still are. HP and Nokia were both set up during recessions.”
Quinlan added difficult economic times could be advantageous for some new businesses.
‘‘The cost base, in some ways, is now relatively low,” she said. ‘‘Insurance costs can be found cheaper. You can shop around for things like fuel, and rents can often be negotiated down in the current climate.”
Quinlan added, however, that it was imperative that new businesses secured sufficient funding to get off the ground. Access to start-up bank credit was an issue for entrepreneurs at the moment, she said.
‘‘At the time I was setting out, it was easier to get bank support than at present. A bank will want to see the paper, and they will want to see the figures. I can totally understand that as even in the good times banks are entitled to reasonable projections and a master plan.”
Quinlan advised new business owners to seek support and guidance and not feel they had to do everything themselves.
‘‘Do not try and be everything to all people,” she said. ‘‘Reach out and get help. If you have an excellent idea that is your unique strength, do not be embarrassed if you do not know the financial rules or the legal end of things.
‘‘One phone call or e-mail to Isme and we can comeback with the right answer. The support that is available from us is worth ten times the cost of the membership.”
Quinlan said new start-up companies would create the momentum to lift Ireland out of the economic doldrums.
‘‘Small businesses are the lifeblood of this economy,” she said.
‘‘When things get rough, your corner shop or local boutique or garage does not up sticks and move to another country. We are very adaptable and we can change direction quickly.
‘‘We can take setbacks on the chin and come back for more. In a way, we are much better poised to react to things as they happen than bigger business is.”
More government assistance is needed to improve credit access for small and medium-sized businesses, said Quinlan.
‘‘A government commitment to promoting SMEs would help,” she said. ‘‘The banks say they are lending, but we have seen no examples of that, I am afraid. Isme was instrumental in securing €350 million from the European Investment Bank, but it is just not being passed on. ‘‘The lip service paid to an SME stimulus provision in the last budget was pathetic and heart-breaking.
[Minister for Finance] Brian Lenihan had one line about €50 million being given through Enterprise Ireland, but how much of that will filter down to SMEs?
‘‘Then you have to go through hoops and piles of paper to get anything. In the meantime, new and small businesses are failing. Liquidations are coming across my door every day of the week, including good, serious businesses.”
Tuesday 19 May 2009
Keep your career moving in the interim
Sunday Business Post - Recruitment Section - May 17 2009
Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.
"There has been a significant increase in the numbers of people approaching us, many of whom are more senior than might have been coming to us before,” said Robert Wasson, managing director of Watershed Interim Management.
"We have a flood of people at the moment, people who have been made redundant recently and others who feel they are about to lose their jobs. The seniority of some of the people coming to us has been a bit of an eye-opener.”
The increase in candidates seeking interim opportunities echoes the growing popularity of this option for employers, according to Patrick Dwyer, managing director of Executives Online.
‘‘We have seen a number of Irish companies, which cannot hire permanently owing to hiring freezes, take someone on in an interim capacity,” Dwyer said. ‘‘There has been a rise in the use of interims for projects that are a direct response to the economic crisis. Demand for interims to work on cost reduction - such as financial directors or procurement professionals - and sales improvements, are up.”
Career choice
When Michael Cowan decided to enter the interim market in 2005, he already had 18 years’ experience as a marketing director under his belt in the FMCG field. Among Cowan’s previous employers were multinationals, including Proctor & Gamble, Diageo and PepsiCo in Ireland, Britain and Central Europe.
‘‘It was pretty much a deliberate career choice,” Cowan said. ‘‘My wife and I decided to move back to Ireland. At the time, I looked at my CV and felt that interim management just suited my long-term career aspirations.”
Cowan said the move into the interim market was relatively straightforward.
‘‘The first role I had was working for a well-known Irish drinks business which was looking to launch a new product,” he said. ‘‘With my background, the functional skills and experience were there. It was just a matter of focusing on the assignment at hand and delivering a certain project brief.”
He said that the interim management projects he had so far worked on had been varied and interesting.
‘‘I am on my fourth interim assignment in five years,” Cowan said. ‘‘I have worked for drinks companies, an international sports body on a particular tournament, a financial institution and now an iconic Irish retail business.
‘‘Typically, I would be with a client for six months. Quite often, you are replacing someone who has a very specific skill set that might take longer to recruit long-term.
‘‘Also quite often, as in my current role, you are brought in to fill a void that is not just one particular job, but work across the organisation to sort out some fundamental issues and devise the best way forward.”
Working as an interim manager allows Cowan to focus on the project to hand, while avoiding long term management issues and the potential to become involved in company politics.
‘‘Working this way is about meritocracy,” he said. ‘‘You are very much rewarded for getting the job done, rather than being part of a department and getting established within the company politics and infrastructure. You are just there to do a job, which helps keep you focused, and helps you to be much more effective.
You can switch in and out of different companies and challenges. It helps to keep fresh that way.”
The flexible nature of interim work suits Cowan’s personal circumstances. ‘‘I come from New Zealand and this allows me the flexibility to, if I want, take three months off without it interfering with the business,” he said. ‘‘It suits our family lifestyle as well.”
Candidates who make the move from full-time roles into interim management tend to a mass to an established wealth of professional experience, said Was son of Watershed Interim Management.
‘‘Clients tend to select people who are slightly over-qualified for the position,” he said. ‘‘Typically the people we would place would have significant managerial experience, generally greater than ten years in senior management positions.”
Dwyer said interim management work suited people who were flexible in their approach and confident in their own abilities.
‘‘A successful interim manager needs to be very self-directed and resilient, and have a strong track record of delivering results,” he said.
‘‘Interim managers must be able to find their own assignments - although agencies can help - and cope with the on-off pattern of work, live out of a suitcase where necessary and be held to a very high standard for the results they are being asked to produce.”
Lifestyle change
Lifestyle is an important issue for anyone considering a move into interim management, Wasson said.
‘‘Some people may not want to work at certain times of the year, or may not want to work five days of the week,” he said. ‘‘They may want to keep a few days a week to work on something else, or for family purposes.
That is quite a common thing, especially with senior professional women who often want to work three days a week.”
Interim management and consultancy are not the same thing, according to Wasson.
‘‘The main difference is that consultants come in and advise people what to do,” he said. ‘‘Interim managers come in and roll their sleeves up and do it. Not everyone who is a consultant can be an interim manager, and vice versa, but you do get people who can do both.”
Interim roles
Many different types of organisations use interim managers - and for many different reasons, according to Deirdre O’Shaughnessy, business development manager with Inter IM Executives.
‘‘There is no ‘typical’ client,” O’Shaughnessy said. ‘‘Opportunities come from all sectors of the economy - private, public, and non-profit - and cover all managerial functions and qualifications. Interim managers can support one off projects, such as integrating mergers or acquisitions, product or market diversification or IT initiatives.
‘‘Interims can also be taken on to support organisational change, such as the introduction of new processes or management strategies, or to take over a critical role where a senior executive is absent through illness or pending the replacement of an outgoing executive.
‘‘An interim manager can even test a new or changing role in advance of a permanent candidate being appointed.”
Salary prospects
Senior executives could increase their annual power by working as an interim manager.
‘‘Successful interim managers can earn orders of magnitude more than they did in permanent employment,” Dwyer said. ‘‘If they replace a salaried role paying €100,000 per year, with interim roles where they earn €1,000 per day and are on assignment just 75 per cent of the year, they could easily double their earnings.”
Wasson said that interim managers working with Watershed typically earned between €750 and €1,200 per day plus Vat. He warned, however, that working on an interim basis did not automatically guarantee a high annual wage.
‘‘Interim may not suit someone who expects a very high salary, because of the rates available in Ireland and the number of days you can expect to work,” he said. ‘‘There are 220 days available and we would say that 150 days is fantastic. Therefore, you will have difficulty earning more than €150,000 through the interim route.”
Cowan said his yearly earning capacity as an interim equalled fulltime employment.
‘‘I operate through a limited liability company and my interim management services are part of a broader marketing services agency that Iown,” he said.
‘‘There are benefits to doing that versus being a PAYE worker. There are risks though. You do not get sick pay or paid holidays and there are no bonus schemes or share options. The rate takes that into account, so it probably evens out in the long run.”
Market trends
Wasson said there were more interim managers seeking roles than there were positions available. He said, however, that companies driven to interim management by the downturn were likely to stick with the model when the economy picked up.
‘‘Just at the moment, the stream of opportunities is drier than we would like,” Wasson said. ‘‘Having said that, we are seeing signs that companies are looking to interim managers as the way to start to reemploy people again.
‘‘We are convinced that will be an increasing trend and that the recession will be very good for the interim industry. It will break the permanent-only idea in people’s minds.
‘‘When companies think about taking on a senior executive, they will think about what they really need, and more often consider taking on someone for just six months, or just three days a week.”
Despite the downturn, Cowan said he would continue to work as an interim manager.
‘‘With the risk of the gap between assignments, there is a temptation if an offer came along of a permanent job, but at the moment I am pretty comfortable for the future of interim management,” he said.
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