Being in the Identity Management consulting business, we are approached all the time by various consulting firms looking to fill their clients IDM needs. A large percentage of these firms are looking to address their clients’ needs with cheap resources. When I say cheap, I mean well under the $100 an hour mark.
The question is are they really addressing the clients’ needs by obtaining cheap resources versus spending a bit more money to obtain truly qualified resources? My observations are no, they really are not meeting up to the clients expectations. You may wonder how I can make such a statement, but time and again I see requests coming in for the same project after just a couple of months.A few things could be happening here:
1. The resource is not qualified and is asked to leave
2. The resource recognizes that they are not qualified and leaves due to pressure
3. The resource leaves to obtain a better rate for their skills
4. The client may not have been truly ready to start the project and needs to do a reset
Regardless of the reason, the one being affected here is the client. I guess if you’re running a body shop you really don’t care about client satisfaction too much. You have collected your margin for the time the resource was there and it’s on to the next one. You may have lost that client, or at least the trust of the particular person you were working with at that company. But you can always blame it on the actual individual that was doing the work because really they aren’t an employee of your company after all.
I don’t believe that all the companies that are contracting for resources are looking for the cheapest, but more likely the best rate for qualified resources. I suppose the real gray area in these circumstances is what does qualified resource mean? Apparently in some cases it means having the right buzzwords in a resume, in others, individuals can pass a 5 or 10-minute interview. But does that constitute a qualified resource, I think not.
The complexities associated with Identity Management require skilled and experienced resources to successfully accomplish a majority of the required tasks. Skilled resources have extensive experience, are high in demand, and can command a decent salary.
By stepping away from the body shop approach, the end client has a lot to gain. At Nyedis, our folks support each other the moment a need arises. We have a repository and knowledge base that our employees have access to and contribute to. We have weekly calls by practice and discuss unique challenges and determine the best approach for resolution. We have tightly knitted internal support fabric that can be the lifeline in challenging situations. The bottom line is that we ensure success by the nature of our company culture.
So I guess if your goal is to save money initially, you can go the body-shop approach. But in the long run, your cost will be more and overall value will be greatly reduced.
Mark my words, by paying a little more up front, you are much more likely to recognize success the first time around. At Nyedis, you are buying into a full support structure of deeply talented IDM professionals. By working with body shops, expect the job to be “shopped” and consider yourself lucky if you obtain a truly qualified resource that will last the duration.