TechUnderTwenty is focused on improving youth participation in the business and technology industries. Recently they held the TU20 Hired event from November 27-28, 2021, a two-day event with a panel of professional speakers and an interview day to allow student attendees to interview with 5 companies and receive direct feedback on their performance – as well as the chance to get hired for a software or business internship.
“It’s really important to give youth personal opportunities to get feedback on things like interviews and resumes – especially since most people are finding jobs when they’re young.” – Zahrah Ahmed, a lead for TU20 Hired and an events executive at TechUnderTwenty
Zahrah added “What TU20 Hired did was give youth feedback relevant to the technology and business industries and a chance to be hired through having them interview with several companies. Not many youth can get experience at a technology company, simply because they don’t have chances to get the experience – so TU20 Hired really was a game changer for a lot of attendees.”
TU20 Hired had speakers and interviewers from Amazon, Geotab, Mitra Biotechnologies, Canadian Gap Year, L3 Wescam, Silicon Halton, and more.
“TU20 Hired definitely helped me improve my job search skills. Being a high school student myself, I would’ve never gotten the chance to interview with big technology companies like Amazon and biotech companies, because I just didn’t have the experience.” one attendee stated, “My interviewers gave me really personal feedback on my performance that I would’ve never thought of otherwise. I’d go to TU20 Hired again.”
“Every industry is facing a labour supply shortage, which will only worsen over the next decade. Tech isn’t immune. If you want to attract the next generation to tech and inject a bright youthful exuberance into your company, find a way to engage with TU20.” said Rick Stomphorst, a speaker at TU20 Hired and co-founder of Silicon Halton.
About TechUnderTwenty
TechUnderTwenty, Silicon Halton’s Youth wing, is a student-led organization that dedicates itself to creating events and teaching students more about technology and business through its many initiatives like TU20 Hired, TU20 Ventures, TU20 Cup, and more. TU20 Hired was sponsored by Gatherly, a leading events platform that puts interaction first. Find out more about TechUnderTwenty on their Instagram, and website.
If your career goal is to build commercial applicationsfrom scratch vs maintaining pre-existing apps, then this role may be for you. Additionally, due to the nature of the business, you’re often utilizing the latest tool sets and language versions.
About the Job The purpose of this role and why this role exists.
Senior and Intermediate NodeJS – ReactJS – Javascript Developers for a custom software development company in Oakville specializing in in mobile and web based product development.
They use open source development tools to build scalable solutions. They’re 15 year old growing firm with 150 people, across 4 offices, including software engineers, business analysts/project managers, and creative talent delivering some really cool stuff. They own most projects entirely, sometimes they’re an extension of the client. 50%+ of their products can be found in an app store or publicly on-line.
Perks Our work environment
Flex-hours outside core hours 10-4
Role will be Remote for the foreseeable future, moving to Flexible Working Location when deemed safe to do so
Full Benefits
Cell phone plan reimbursement
Gym Membership reimbursement (or virtually any physical health activity)
Brand new modern office facing the QEW (open as needed)
Office closes during the holidays
We have amazing clients who are fun to work with and appreciate our value to them
Casual, yet professional environment with a Social Club
Top Responsibilities The part that you play in this organization, and specific duties you are measured against
Proactively collaborate with cross-functional teams to define, architect, and full-stack coding of new Products, features and functionality
Full-stack delivery, implementation, development testing, defect investigation and resolution
Provide effort estimates, while identifying and assisting in mitigating technical, schedule, and other project risks
Some of the Experiences & Background we’d like to see All the things you’re good at because you’ve done most of these before
NodeJS, ReactJS, Javascript – 3 years min
HTML5 / CSS3 / Bootstrap
5 years experience (Senior) or 3 years experience (Intermediate) with open-source development and technology foundations, and a pragmatic approach to using the right tool for the job
Successful track record of delivering projects, both individually
MySQL
Experience in the development of RESTful web APIs, Web services and unit tests
DevOps experience with Azure or AWS (nice to have)
Effective communication skills as you will be in occasional contact with the client – great opportunity to further refine your communication skills
Experience working in a Mac and Unix environment
Proficiency with cross-browser/cross-platform issues
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent
Let’s Get to Work!
To learn more about the client, their culture and the opportunity, we invite you to share your resume with us via this job board or to Rick @ SearchVelocity.ca, Subject: Full Stack Developer – Oakville
Have a canned cover letter? Delete it. Tell us why you’re perfect for this opportunity and you’re virtually guaranteed an interview.
About SearchVelocity.ca
We provide recruitment services to technology companies to identify and acquire high-value technology staff. We specialize in complex assignments, roles requiring multiple technologies, skills and/or business vertical knowledge, like this one.
We bring 25+ years of broad experience working in software companies and IT professional consulting firms as hiring management of Technical staff. We can help you find the right people.
Based in Halton Region, Ontario (GTA-West) we specialize on the staffing challenges of tech companies located in Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Halton Hills, Georgetown, Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto. Visit us at SearchVelocity.ca
A growing custom software development company is searching for their first dedicated Technical Project Manager to grow with the company. You will become one of the primary customer-facing people in the company. All our customers will come to know and rely on you.
This role will provide you a broad range of experiences in the business, and experience to work on many different types of projects in varying industries. This role is perfect for a recent College or University grad launching their career (we will train you) or someone who needs/wants the flexibility to work from home. If you program, you will have the opportunity code.
Key Areas of Responsibility
This is a key net-new hire for the organization. We need someone to take on these challenges:
Participate in weekly project meetings with our clients tracking deliverables, follow-ups, takeaways, and commitments. Project Coordination duties.
Creating Presentations and assisting with various documents
Be responsive to prospective and existing clients
Providing Level-1 Support and periodically testing Websites and updates
For the right person this role will grow to assume HR functions.
Your Background
You’re genuinely interested in other people
You bring a technical background, are technically savvy, or have a desire to grow technically
Ideally you bring experience in a software company
Excellent multi-tasker
Attention to detail
Excellent listening and information gathering skills
Knowledge of HTML, CSS, Adobe Suite and web design is a plus
Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills
Recent Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Business-related field (Marketing, Sales, Management, Communications) or Practical Experience
Work Environment
While preference will be given to local candidates, this role can be based anywhere in Canada. If local, eventually this role will be on-site 1-day/week
Flex time – we will strive to tailor to your schedule, building a schedule that works for you
Initially our requirements are part-time and anticipate the roll becoming full-time by 2022
We rely on Discord, Gitlab and Google Productivity Tools (Google Workspace / G-Suite)
Compensation
$25-30/hr
BYOD
Phone reimbursement $50/month
Extended Health Care benefits once Full Time
Car expenses
About the Company
They’re a customer focused, custom software development company who strives to innovate. Based in Oakville and servicing the Canadian and US markets, they specialize in web and mobile apps, website design and web-development, custom software development, and system integration.
“We are looking for people to grow with the company. We want you to grow professionally as well through the diverse projects and experiences you will get with us. We will provide a comfortable work environment.”
N E X T S T E P S
If this sounds like you and you’re looking to build your career, then we want to hear from you. Please email your resume to Rick @ SearchVelocity.ca, Subject: PM
Keywords: ecommerce, e-commerce, account manager, business development, Digital Marketing Consultant, B2B, B2C, WFH, work from home, home office,
About the Job The purpose of this role and why this role exists:
We are growing our consulting team again. You will own the discovery process, requirements gathering and resulting back-end solutions design and integration between numerous legacy enterprise registration systems.
Require Senior Solutions Architects, someone who has demonstrated Technical Leadership, someone with exceptional client-facing communications skills to extract requirements from the various stakeholders and persuade business stakeholders of the pros and cons of various new solutions. We require someone to bring expert-level skills with Java and/or C#.
Searching for both Permanent and Contract resources.
Perks Why we’re a cool company
Recent recipient of Employee Recommended Workplace Awards
On the Branham300 List of Top Canadian ICT Companies, 3x in a row
2019 Globe and Mail’s Top Growing Companies
2019 finalist Timmy Awards for Best Tech Work Culture
Headquarters in NE Oakville. Less than 1km from the QEW, walking distance to cafes and eateries.
If people only knew the great stuff we do here. – Unsolicited quote from team member
Top Responsibilities The part that you play in this organization, and specific duties you are measured against:
Elicit and document tangible business objectives that can be mapped to technology solutions
Meet with technical stakeholders to obtain a detailed understanding of existing capabilities
Lead design meetings to draw out and clearly define development and implementation options
Back-end solutions design and integration between legacy enterprise systems
Working with sales team in a pre-sales technical capacity to advise prospects on technology selection and customization requirements
Document technical solution approach for specific project features. e.g. API access, authentication flows, sequence diagrams, data models etc.
Present technical strategies and methodologies to new clients
Provide Technical mentorship to the development teams
Develop relationships with clients, ensuring their business objectives are met
Some of the Experiences & Background we’d like to see All the things you’re good at because you’ve done most of these before
7-10 years experience with Solution Architecture
Excellent customer-facing communication skills (verbal, written, presentation)
Extensive working knowledge of current technologies, Cloud technologies, and computing architectures including Microservices architecture, Containerization, SOAP / RESTful service design and implementation
Extensive working knowledge of Java and/or C#, SQL Server, DB Design
Experience as a Technical Business Analyst or Sr. Developer / Team Lead
Demonstrated experience analyzing business and technical requirements and solution design
Technical degree in Computer Science or Engineering at University or College level
Travel
Occasional travel to NE USA and Canada when deemed safe to do so
Connect with Us!
To learn more about this opportunity, the client, their culture, we invite you to share your resume with us via this job board or to Rick @ SearchVelocity.ca, Subject: Solutions Architect
Have a canned cover letter? Delete it. Tell us why you’re perfect for this opportunity and you’re virtually guaranteed an interview.
Recipient of Employee Recommended Workplace Awards
Flex time, partial work-from-home (all WFH during Pandemic)
Headquarters in NE Oakville, with satellite office in Waterloo. This role can optionally be partially based in Waterloo
HO less than 1km from the QEW, walking distance to cafés and eateries
If people only knew the great stuff we do here. – Unsolicited quote from team member
Some of the Experiences & Background we’d like to see All the things you’re good at because you’ve done most of these before
C# and .NET Core 2.1 and 3.1 development experience with Entity Framework and the use of LINQ
Experience with upgrading solutiond from .NET 2.1 to .NET 3.1 where the solution is impacted with break changes
Strong experience with other Microsoft development tools including .NET frameworks
Experience building applications using Angular or ReactJS (nice to have)
Technical degree in Computer Science or Engineering at University or College level
Connect with Us!
To learn more about this opportunity, the client, their culture, we invite you to share your resume with us via this job board or to Rick @ SearchVelocity.ca, Subject: C# Developer
Have a canned cover letter? Delete it. Tell us why you’re perfect for this opportunity and you’re virtually guaranteed an interview.
About the Company
Our client is a software product company, custom software development and IT professional services firm, based in Oakville and offices in New York and Waterloo. They are on the Branham300 List of Top Canadian ICT Companies four years in a row since 2016. Recently they have also ranked in the Growth500, Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies for two years.
If your career goal is to build commercial applications from scratch vs maintaining pre-existing apps, then this role may be for you. Additionally, due to the nature of the business, you’re usually utilizing the latest tool sets and language versions keeping your skill sets current.
Full-Stack Senior Developer | Javascript – NodeJS – React for a custom software development company in Oakville specializing in in mobile and web based product development. Customer facing role leading a team of 8-10 developers you will architect and manage the development of new software applications.
About the Job
The purpose of this role and why this role exists.
We continue to grow and are now adding another Javascript/NodeJS Senior Developer to our team. Permanent (preferred) or Contract.
They use open source development tools to build scalable solutions. They’re 15 year old growing firm with 150 people across 4 offices, including software engineers, business analysts/project managers, and creative talent delivering some really cool stuff. They own most projects entirely, sometimes they’re an extension of the client. 50%+ of their products can be found in an app store or publicly on-line.
Perks
Our work environment.
Flex hours
Role will be Remote for the foreseeable future, moving to Flexible Working Location when deemed safe to do so
Full benefits package
Cell phone plan reimbursement
Gym Membership reimbursement (or virtually any physical health activity)
The part that you play in this organization, and specific duties you are measured against.
Proactively collaborate with cross-functional teams to define & design of new Products, features and functionality (senior role)
Full-stack coding, end-to-end delivery, implementation, development testing, defect investigation and resolution
Direct interaction with the client
Provide effort estimates, planning out weekly sprints alongside 5-month objectives, while identifying and assisting in mitigating technical, schedule, and other project risks
Some of the Experiences & Background we’d like to see
All the things you’re good at because you’ve done most of these before.
Javascript, NodeJS, ReactJS
HTML5 / CSS3 / / Bootstrap
5 years experience with open-source development and technology foundations, and a pragmatic approach to using the right tool for the job
Successful track record of delivering projects, both individually and as a team member (hint: bring them to the interview!)
MySQL
Effective communication skills as you will be in regular contact with the client – great opportunity to further refine your communication skills
Experience working in a Mac and Unix environment
Experience creating and consuming third-party libraries, APIs and Web services
Proficiency with cross-browser/cross-platform issues
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent
Connect with Us!
To learn more about the client, their culture and the opportunity, we invite you to share your resume with us via this job board or to Rick @ SearchVelocity.ca, Subject: Full-stack JS/NodeJS
Have a canned cover letter? Delete it. Tell us why you’re perfect for this opportunity and you’re virtually guaranteed an interview.
Our client has exclusively engaged SearchVelocity to conduct this search on their behalf. We provide recruitment services to technology companies to identify and acquire high-value technology staff. We specialize in the complex assignments. Our principle Rick Stomphorst brings 25+ years of broad experience with software companies and IT professional consulting firms, more than 1/2 of these years as a hiring manager of Technical staff. He knows high-value talent. Learn more at www.searchvelocity.ca
If your career goal is to build commercial applications from scratch vs maintaining pre-existing apps, then this role may be for you. Additionally, due to the nature of the business, you’re usually utilizing the latest tool sets and language versions keeping your skill sets current.
Full-Stack Senior Developer | Team Lead | Javascript – NodeJS – ReactJS for a custom software development company in Oakville specializing in in mobile and web based product development. Customer facing role leading a team of 8-10 developers you will architect and manage the development of new software applications.
About the Job
The purpose of this role and why this role exists.
We continue to grow and are now adding another Javascript/NodeJS Developer Lead to our team. Permanent (preferred) or Contract.
They use open source development tools to build scalable solutions. They’re 15 year old growing firm with 150 people across 4 offices, including software engineers, business analysts/project managers, and creative talent delivering some really cool stuff. They own most projects entirely, sometimes they’re an extension of the client. 50%+ of their products can be found in an app store or publicly on-line.
Perks
Our work environment.
Flex hours
Flexible working location when required
Full benefits package
Cell phone plan reimbursement
Gym Membership reimbursement (or virtually any physical health activity)
The part that you play in this organization, and specific duties you are measured against.
Proactively collaborate with cross-functional teams to define & design of new Products, features and functionality (senior role)
Full-stack coding, end-to-end delivery, implementation, development testing, defect investigation and resolution
Direct interaction with the client
Provide effort estimates, planning out weekly sprints alongside 5-month objectives, while identifying and assisting in mitigating technical, schedule, and other project risks
Some of the Experiences & Background we’d like to see
All the things you’re good at because you’ve done most of these before.
Javascript, NodeJS, ReactJS
HTML5 / CSS3 / / Bootstrap
5 years experience with open-source development and technology foundations, and a pragmatic approach to using the right tool for the job
Successful track record of delivering projects, both individually and as a team member (hint: bring them to the interview!)
MySQL
Effective communication skills as you will be in regular contact with the client – great opportunity to further refine your communication skills
Experience working in a Mac and Unix environment
Experience creating and consuming third-party libraries, APIs and Web services
Proficiency with cross-browser/cross-platform issues
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent
Connect with Us!
To learn more about the client, their culture and the opportunity, we invite you to share your resume with us via this job board or to Rick @ SearchVelocity.ca, Subject: Full-stack JS/NodeJS
Have a canned cover letter? Delete it. Tell us why you’re perfect for this opportunity and you’re virtually guaranteed an interview.
Our client has exclusively engaged SearchVelocity to conduct this search on their behalf. We provide recruitment services to technology companies to identify and acquire high-value technology staff. We specialize in the complex assignments. Our principle Rick Stomphorst brings 25+ years of broad experience with software companies and IT professional consulting firms, more than 1/2 of these years as a hiring manager of Technical staff. He knows high-value talent. Learn more at www.searchvelocity.ca
If your career goal is to build commercial applicationsfrom scratch vs maintaining pre-existing apps, then this role may be for you. Additionally, due to the nature of the business, you’re usually utilizing the latest tool sets and language versions.
About the Job
The purpose of this role and why this role exists.
Python + Django / Flask Developer | Senior or Intermediate level for a custom software development company in Oakville specializing in mobile and web based product development. They use open source development tools to build scalable solutions. You will architect and manage the development of new software applications. Potentially a customer facing role.
They’re a 15 year old growing firm with 150 people, across 3 offices, including software engineers, business analysts/project managers, and creative talent delivering some really cool stuff. They own most projects entirely, sometimes they’re an extension of the client. 50%+ of their products can be found in an app store or publicly on-line.
Perks
Our work environment
Flex-hours outside core hours 10-4
Role will be 99.9% Remote for the foreseeable future, moving to Flexible Working Location when conditions return to normal
Full Benefits
Cell phone plan reimbursement
Gym Membership reimbursement (or virtually any physical health activity)
Brand new modern office facing the QEW (open as needed)
Office closes during the holidays
We have amazing clients who are fun to work with and appreciate our value to them
Casual, yet professional environment with a Social Club
Top Responsibilities
The part that you play in this organization, and specific duties you are measured against
Proactively collaborate with cross-functional teams to define & design of new Products, features and functionality
Review peer code and architecture to ensure the products you build exceed client expectations
Provide technical leadership within the project and developments teams
Ability to work with tight deadlines
Full-stack coding, end-to-end delivery, implementation, development testing, defect investigation and resolution
Direct interaction with the client (Potentially)
Provide effort estimates, planning out weekly sprints alongside project objectives, while identifying and assisting in mitigating technical, schedule, and other project risks
Some of the Experiences & Background we’d like to see
All the things you’re good at because you’ve done most of these before
5-years+ experience in web development roles with open source technologies in a SaaS environment
Backend: Python + Django and/or Flask
Frontend: Bootstrap, Sass, CSS, HTML, VueJS
IDE such as Pycharm
HTML / XML parsers like Beautiful Soap
Git code repository
Experience working in a Mac and Unix environment
Effective communication skills
Proficiency with cross-browser/cross-platform issues
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent
Nice to haves
ReactJS + NodeJS
MySQL/PostgreSQL
Let’s Get to Work!
To learn more about the client, their culture and the opportunity, we invite you to share your resume with Rick @ SearchVelocity.ca, Subject: Python
Have a canned cover letter? Delete it. Tell us why you’re perfect for this opportunity and you’re virtually guaranteed an interview.
About SearchVelocity.ca
We provide recruitment services to technology companies to identify and acquire high-value technology staff. We specialize in complex assignments, roles requiring multiple technologies, skills and/or business vertical knowledge, like this one. We bring 25+ years of broad experience working in software companies and IT professional consulting firms as hiring management of Technical staff. We can help you find the right people. Based in Halton Region, Ontario (GTA-West) we specialize on the staffing challenges of tech companies located in Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Halton Hills, Georgetown, Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto. Visit us at SearchVelocity.ca Keywords: job, jobs,ReactJS, React Native, Halton, Oakville, Milton, Burlington, Hamilton, Mississauga
Sport and Business Share Common Ground when it comes to Performance.
On April 29, 2019, a unique event was held on the floor of the Mattamy National Cycling Centre (Velodrome) in Milton on Leadership Lessons In Sports (read about the event here). This event was held by the Town of Milton and the Milton Education Village Innovation Centre and produced by Silicon Halton. The presenters provided almost three hours of valuable leadership lessons.
We’ve captured the salient points below.
Keynote Presenter
Dr. Nicole W. Forrester
Dr. Nicole Forrester is an Olympian, 8-Time Canadian Champion, Commonwealth Games Gold and Bronze medalist, and a Pan American Games Silver and Bronze medalist. She is an assistant professor at Ryerson University, specializing in sport psychology and high performance. She is also a registered consultant with the Canadian Sport Psychology Association.
Lessons Learned:
Top medalists performance is 90% mental and 10% physical
Strategically tie short term goals that you can control with long term big goals; think of it as a process
“Everyone on your team has to know the Goal (your mission)”
To improve performance, in athletics (in life and business!), establish an IST (Integrated Support Team); use same approach to teams that Jim Collins talks about in Good to Great
Belief in your ability to make the challenge your faced with
Dr. Simon Taggar, Professor of Management, Wilfrid Laurier University, BSc, MBA, PhD.
Simon is Professor of Management in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University. Dr. Taggar researches leadership, creativity and strategic human resources management. In addition to his research, Simon’s experience includes working as a management consultant and as a commercial Banker.
Lessons Learned:
“A Leader’s ‘Mission and Vision’ has to win the hearts & minds (of employees, customers, the board, etc.)”
The essence of Fit = 1) do you have the same values and 2) do you have skills that are complementary to the team?
Better leaders focus on visible performance outcomes
Competence as team is critical to success
The great leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. She the one who jets the people to do the right things
Leadership is defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals.
Obviously we all want great players, but find the ones who think team first – that’s a challenge
Winning is a habit. Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs. Watch your beliefs, they become your words. Watch your habits, they become your character.
A series of short sprints from a cross-section of industry speakers, covering a unique aspect of their business or market, and a leadership and team techniques that works well in their company or market, or by them personally.
Ben Zimmer, Founder & CEO, Enable Education
Enable Education helps local business onboard, upgrade, and engage their staff by creating custom training experiences at their innovative facilities in Milton, Ontario.
Lessons Learned:
“If you don’t live your values, they are meaningless”
Values is not just words they have to be lived. Enable’s values is: RECIPE (Revolutionary, Effective, Curious, Inclusive, Passionate, Ethical)
“We added a company values video to Job Postings and overnight it changed the quality of candidates (we received)”
Michelle Stanford, Senior Vice President, Industry Services, Canadian Welding Bureau
CWB Group is a non profit regulatory body overseeing the welding sector in Canada. They provide certification, education and consulting services to companies and ensure the quality and safety of welding in manufacturing and construction and has their head office in Milton.
Lessons Learned:
“High performing welding teams know the big picture”
“Welders take pride in their work and they’ll even brag about it. They’re reinforcing when they do something good and right”
Seconded importance of “IST”that Keynote Nicole Forrester referred to.
Everything you need personally and professionally is available to our employees in the Town of Milton.
Key traits of high performance people and teams: 1) Character, 2) Competence and 3) Commitment
Matt Cavalieri, MBA, P.Eng. Plant Manager, LVDA at Eaton
Matt joined Eaton in 2010 as part of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) and has held a number of Operations & Engineering Leadership roles within the Milton Low-Voltage Distribution Assemblies (LVDA) operation. In June 2018 Matt officially became the youngest Plant Manager in LVDA history!
Dixon Lee, Product Manager, Residential, Retail & Light Commercial. Joining Matt will be Dixon Lee who joined Eaton in 2008 as Product Specialist, Automatic Transfer Switches & Power Quality, leveraging his unparalleled passion to quickly advance through the ranks of the Canadian Marketing organization.
Lessons Learned:
“Our company is ‘values driven’ with ‘passion’ being one (of the values) and the glue that marries strategy with the hearts and minds of the people that care deeply about the things they do”
Expect leadership to think strategically
“We interview for EATON values”
“Collaboration 2.0” – EATON leverages Yammer for online collaboration to reduce barriers to collaboration across borders and functions.
Augmented Reality is used on the factory floor. One benefit is faster onboarding of new employees
“We only have to walk across the street to get talent” (once Wilfrid Laurier University starts classes at MEV Innovation Village)
Lisa Macneil, Divisional President of Ontario, Gordon Food Service
From the beginning, Lisa’s career has spanned across three major corporate acquisitions. Her diversified professional experience has taken her through many key positions within the organization, ultimately leading to her current role as the President of the Ontario. Within this role Lisa oversee’s all aspects of the Division from Operations to Sales, Marketing, HR & Finance.
Lessons Learned:
We have a Values driven leadership (values posted on their website).
Shared how they communicate to each person that “Your role has a purpose and impact”
Imagine finding the right candidate in your own backyard?
There are 1000’s of job boards and ~dozen Tier-1 job boards. We’re not one of them.
Job searchers don’t want to browse through irrelevant job postings. We’re a niche job board focused on one segment: Halton hi tech companies and their hi tech roles. Our target is to help you find the right resource your own backyard.
Today’s knowledge workers are increasingly selective about who they want to work with. You know that. Our niche job board helps you identify the right candidates while also wowcasing you and exciting career opportunities here in Halton.
The Silicon Halton Job Board allowed us to find the right candidate in Halton, a short commute to our Oakville office
Our Postings:
Allow you to include a Video profile of your company. A powerful tool in attracting talent.
May include any/all of the social media outlets of company, including your LinkedIn company profile. The candidate may already have a connection to your company. Include your company logo in all posts.
Are Tweeted from @SiliconHalton (3,000+ followers). Many followers will naturally retweet to further broaden the message.
Have a summary cross-posted to our Silicon Halton LinkedIn group (The number of members are displayed at the top of this page)
Postings typically receive 250-500 views and rank on the first page of Google search results.
By doing this we discovered that you will receive better and higher qualified candidates, spending more time speaking with the right candidates, vs. weeding out the wrong ones.
The job posting on Silicon Halton was mentioned as the source for several job applications.
Lets Get to Work!
We use a low per-day rate. You can leave your posting published for 5 days, 5 weeks, or 5 months. You’re in control.
By: Ian Cook, Head of Workforce Intelligence Solutions at Visier. This article first appeared on Visier’s Clarity blog
Business agility is no longer for the brazen few. In fact, 94% of business leaders and CHROs say that “agility and collaboration” are critical to their organization’s success, according to Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report.
Rapid technology change, shifting demographics, competitive markets, and other trends have necessitated new types of business structures that are optimized for adaptability. This is supported by a critical element that is often overlooked: agile workforce planning.
In short, to have a responsive workforce, the process that supports this (workforce planning) needs to be adaptable itself.
Typically, workforce plans are executed on an annual basis, with budgets firmly set for the year. This may have been sufficient in an era when markets were more predictable. But when there are sudden changes in immigration policy, or a new digital-driven competitor emerges mid-way through the fiscal year, it can be difficult to change course.
Agile workforce planning practices enable organizations to minimize risk (such as talent shortages) and capitalize on upside opportunity in an era of disruption.
The 4 Critical Elements of Agile Workforce Planning
What are the main elements of agile workforce planning? Continuous activity, awareness, collaboration, and flexibility. Here is why each is important to your business and what you can do to get more agile:
1. Continuous activity
Why you need it:
When workforce planning marches to the drum of the fiscal year, businesses often need to set aside money for extra budget “just in case” people end up costing more than expected. One large organization I worked with had allocated 5% of its compensation budget to cover any overage resulting from an imprecise budgeting process.
Such a fund may always be necessary in an unpredictable market, but when workforce plans are refreshed on a shorter cycle, they are more accurate, and this type of budget padding can be significantly reduced. This frees up funds for other critical projects, such as learning and development. When planning is done on a shorter cycle, it also enables HR to quickly realign resources to different projects as they become more critical.
What gets in the way:
Planning is often spreadsheet-based, with HR pulling information from many disparate systems (covering everything from compensation and performance data to financial targets). This can take a significant amount of time, which means that rapid-cycle planning is simply not feasible.
Top Tip:
Look to reduce the amount of time your team manually pulls data from disparate systems. When this process becomes automated and analytics-based, you can look ahead at how many open positions need to be filled, when they must be filled, and where in the organization they are needed the most. This gives you the necessary time to either move budget around or talk to the manager about delaying the hire until budget accumulates. Now you can hire on genuine need, and respond more quickly to market shifts, while forecasting more accurately.
2. Awareness
Why you need it:
CFIT accidents happen when perfectly good airplanes, under pilot control, are unintentionally flown into obstacles such as a mountain. Many of these types of crashes are the consequence of poor situational awareness. Pilots must know at all times what their position is, and how their actual position relates to their environment.
Just like a seasoned pilot, an HR leader always needs critical awareness. It’s important have a solid understanding of how the business is doing in relation to planned hiring targets, compensation budgets and other key business objectives. With an awareness of where deviations may be happening in the plan, HR can best support the organization’s goals.
What gets in the way:
HR needs an accurate snapshot of the current situation to make a starting point for the plan and to compare actuals to the plan. But often, the manual process to get headcount and Total Cost of Workforce (TCOW) takes too long. The snapshot is obsolete by the time the planning team gets it.
Top tip:
To get an accurate snapshot, it is not enough to view analytics from several individual systems. Look for software that uses the unified data from your HRIS and financial systems to give you an accurate picture of your current headcount, organizational structure and total cost of workforce as a starting point for your workforce plan. Functionality that helps you easily keep track of how headcount and cost targets vary from plan is also a critical asset. This enables you to see how actuals for headcount and costs compare to their values in the plan to keep track of how well your plan is being executed.
3. Collaboration
Why you need it:
Skills requirements are evolving at an increasingly rapid pace. Consider all the high-paying jobs (such as data scientist, sustainability director, or mobile applications developer) that only emerged within the last few years.
When workforce planning is done in a vacuum, HR and senior leaders can miss crucial feedback from line managers and other subject matter experts about key skills that are on the horizon. To stay ahead of critical skills gaps, the planning team needs input from people on the front lines: What do we do to get those skills? Can we train our own people? Plan for an aggressive recruitment strategy? Or is it better to look at contingent labor as a short-term solution?
What gets in the way:
When it takes too long to collect feedback, HR makes assumptions that end up being inaccurate, and there is a lack of buy-in from managers to execute the workforce plan.
Top tip:
Make it a priority to have all levels of business quickly give input and collaborate on the creation of a workforce plan. Track whether your plan contributors are completing their assignments to let you assess project progress and help you determine what to do in each individual case.
4. Flexibility
Why you need it:
A significant event, such as a merger or acquisition, can dramatically alter your staffing and skills requirements within a very short time. The level of unpredictability also increases when external players are involved: prized M&A deals often fail to go through or can even threaten the business. Consider how Toshiba’s future was put in jeopardy after it bought Westinghouse Electric Co., a nuclear services company. The volatile nature of business deals means HR needs to be prepared for multiple scenarios.
What gets in the way:
Oftentimes, information is spread across the organization in siloed systems within various departments and is difficult to aggregate and reconcile. This makes it difficult to create one plan, let alone multiple.
Top tip:
Look for technology and tools that enable you to create and compare different workforce planning scenarios (each with different workforce movement and cost assumptions) so that not only can you choose the best option for your organization, you can have contingency plans in place.
Change the Conversation to Eliminate Surprises, Reduce Costs, and Drive Performance
“It is not the strongest who survive, but the most adaptable.” Contrary to popular belief, Charles Darwin didn’t actually say this, but it does speak to a certain truth about the requirements of businesses today.
With the ability to accurately adjust the plan on the fly, the plan is also more precise. This has a direct impact on costs, but more crucially, has tangible impacts on productivity and business performance.
About Ian Cook Ian Cook is a recognized expert in the field of workforce analytics and planning. For the last 10 years Ian has been involved in driving forward the datafication of HR and is a frequent speaker and blogger on the subject. Prior to joining Visier, Ian built Canada’s leading source of HR benchmark data. His background includes years of international experience solving strategic HR problems for leading brands in the Fortune 500 and FTSE 100. Ian heads up the workforce domain for Visier and in this role is committed to delivering workforce intelligence that impacts business results.
You’re happy in your job. The calls, emails or LinkedIn messages are annoying. However, imagine if you are not receiving calls? If you’re not, your skills are no longer required, or they’re hidden and you cannot be found.
Before dismissing a call outright, consider these salient reasons why you should at least consider the new opportunity. Your career deserves the 45 seconds to read these.
You have the time to investigate and qualify the new opportunity and company to determine if it will help you grow professionally.
This is the best time in your career to take your successes and accomplishments to test what they’re worth to another company.
Opportunities appear more attractive than they really are when you’re currently unsatisfied in your role or company.
You are more likely to settle for a lesser position or salary when you are unhappy, than they would have if they were satisfied in their current role.
In today’s corporate world, the only job security you have is the security you provide for yourself.
There is no better time to objectively evaluate an opportunity and company, with a clear mind, without any negative outside influences or external pressures (e.g. if you have just been restructured out and need a job now).
Actively looking for a job can be a full-time job itself and can also be also be very stressful to you and your family. People who get ahead don’t wait until there is something that they don’t like in their current role to have an open mind. They are proactive and keep their options open.
Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. In business, repetition of processes with the purpose of achieving the same result is the desired outcome. Standard results are valued as a predictor of success over random results achieved through inconsistent practices. Properly thought out and executed processes are the tools by which business operations can best position themselves for success. As an owner or an operator seeking a potential buyer, processes and procedures are integral and here’s why:
Consistent results. A properly prepared set of processes and procedures will lead to consistent business operation results. Consistency adds value since the company will continue to operate whether you, as the owner are there or not.
Error reduction. Adherence to processes and procedures minimizes the possibility of error. Recognizing that errors warrant expense to rectify the situation, profitability is then enhanced.
Reduced training costs. Documented processes facilitate an easier training process for new hires when they can follow prepared collateral on how to perform their tasks.
Reduced reliance on employees. Defined processes and procedures reduces the risk of over reliance on any given employee. Following established frameworks minimizes upheaval during staff changes or vacation occurrences.
Fraud protection. A properly designed set of processes and procedures ensures specific checks and balances to reduce the company’s exposure to fraudulent activity.
Review your business practices for consistent application of processes and examine how they flow together. Assume a staged, logical approach that takes into consideration the different functions and operational streams within your company but remember that you do not have to do everything at once.
For example, start with invoicing. Document how the invoicing system is currently being done and then look at it from a critical standpoint to identify how it can be done better. Consider what controls can be included to reduce the risk of errors or fraud. Conduct the same evaluation and documentation on your other systems, and continue to refine the procedures until everything has been reviewed. This approach will provide a valuable foundation for your business operations and a solid approach for continual improvement updates as the company evolves.
Einstein would be proud!
Greg Clarke is a Partner with SB Partners, a client focused accounting, tax and business advisory services firm. He can be reached at gclarke@sbpartners.ca or via their website at www.sbpartners.com.
The Halton HiVE (Burlington HiVE’s new name) has recently moved to an expanded location to 901 Guelph Line, Burlington – on the South-East corner of Guelph Line and Harvester, one block south of the QEW. The move was made possible as local entrepreneur and founder of the HiVE, Shaun Pennell, collaborating with leading property development and management company, Emshih Developments Inc.
The new space offers members free parking, reduced membership rates, more meeting rooms, large separate presentation room (suitable for 40 attendees), much larger games room with pool table, including significantly larger kitchen and lounge.. The new space also provides potential growth by 30% with the property’s 18,000 sq. footage (up from 6,000sqft) and a possibility to expand to 100,000 sq. feet. This is a creative office that already has a unique energy, and is bringing the community even more vibrancy and growth.
HiVE members often collaborate with one another, making the HiVE the home base where new and established businesses alike can grow and thrive. It is not unlikely to see two people who were once strangers, now working alongside each other as business partners, clients or mentors. With the rapidly growing community membership, there are far greater opportunities for successful businesses and the happy humans that run them.
Join the community with memberships starting at $29/month. The drop in rate is $30/day.
About the HiVE
Halton HiVE is a shared co-working space, giving a working home to a community of entrepreneurs, freelancers, professionals and start-ups! The idea of the HiVE grew out of noticing the need to avoid the commute to Toronto and provide a creative place to work in the Halton Region. Halton HiVE is the connecting space that brings both talented people and ideas together.
Founded in 2013, is a growing and thriving community of tech professionals, startups, freelancers and entrepreneurs. We offer a shared office space that encourages professional growth and collaboration while learning from other creative professionals in a fun and light co-working atmosphere.
TechUnderTwenty is focused on improving youth participation in the business and technology industries. Recently they held the TU20 Hired event from November 27-28, 2021, a two-day event with a panel of professional speakers and an interview day to allow student attendees to interview with 5 companies and receive direct feedback on their performance – as well as the chance to get hired for a software or business internship.
Sport and Business Share Common Ground when it comes to Performance. 
Dixon Lee, Product Manager, Residential, Retail & Light Commercial.
