Cloud is now a basic business requirement; every business in some way or another is harnessing the power of cloud to succeed. Some may choose in-house infrastructure or a private cloud environment, while others prefer public cloud offerings. The fact still remains that companies are relying more on their cloud vendors now more than ever for providing the best services at reasonable rates. However, all too often, that’s not always what’s delivered.

Here are some points to keep in mind while you deal with a cloud vendor in order to get the best deal for your corporate assistance.

1. Review Vendor’s Uptime and Downtime Statistic

Uptime statistics define the time that a cloud service is accessible to its users, those who have subscribed for the cloud provider’s services. Companies often claim that they rarely have outages or they are better in uptime statistics. Don’t let these claims go unchecked. A lot of cloud providers fail to deliver a good uptime, in other words, are not giving to the customer three nines (99.9%) of availability. 99.9% uptime means 9 hours of unscheduled downtime per year which does not count the scheduled downtime that the companies organize for maintenance purposes. Along with availability, it is equally important to have a good response time warranty, i.e., how fast the system is operating when it is up and running. It is of utmost importance to get detailed statistics before signing up with a vendor.

2. Get specifics on Support Levels

Cloud vendors pretty much offer more or less the same support levels with few alterations with names like ‘standard’, ‘essential’, and ‘ultimate’ packages. These packages often do not give detailed information as to how much support each level guarantees. Always remember to ask your vendor a full description of these support levels and specific examples and whether these situations would be covered in the support or not. It is advisable to get the guarantee in the form of an agreement to serve as a record if at all required in the future.

3. Find a point of contact

In case of an issue, you must have a designated point of contact with the vendor, who can resolve it. Many companies try to get past this by introducing a ticketing system. ‘Tell us your problem, and we’ll get back to you when we have a fix’, is an example of a pop-up message and is very common in the industry. A Designated POC would be an ideal alternative to such a message in order to address the issue at hand immediately and to make sure the right people are working to resolve it.

4. Avoid Vendor lock-in and know your Separation Agreements

Cloud vendors may try to get an initial long-term contract with lock-in periods varying from months to years and often levy early termination charges. While choosing a cloud provider it is important to evaluate the Separation Agreements in place. While separation maybe the last thing that comes to mind while choosing a vendor, it is still one of the most important things to consider. It may also be crucial to inquire whether the vendor has the capability to retain your data even after your contract has ended with them, in order to avoid any possible data breaches.

5. Check the Service Level Agreements

SLA is the commitment on availability levels and performance of services offered. There are no specific standards to an SLA and thus it varies from provider to provider. Higher the price of the service, better the performance guaranteed, and this is usually negotiable. It is important to go through the verbiage of an SLA to clearly define vendors accountability and service assurances and choose the best plan according to your requirement with matrices that offer discounts on billing and other penalties if it is breached.

Stay Updated

Last but not least, once you have finalized a provider, do not stop looking for better alternatives. Be up to date with the market and what other providers are offering. If your service doesn’t match with the current market trend, be sure to ask your provider for an updated service and also, for them to inform you about changes in terms and conditions, if any, while your service is still intact with them.

Getting the right cloud vendor is essential for a company’s overall growth. Keeping these checks in mind while evaluating your options will not only help you to find the right cloud vendor but also let you manage your company’s operations unhindered and with peace.

Just like any relationship, the employer – employee relationship is delicate and has the potential of ending badly; it requires the soft touch and a stroke of genius to manage these separations gracefully. It is easy for an ex-employee to create a ruckus when they are laid off. It can be a PR nightmare when a former employee starts bad-mouthing the business online or offline, calling the office repeatedly, or even showing up in-person to cause issues. It demeans the company, its management, and its employees. Terminating or letting the employees go is really stressful and might require some skillful hands.

The first line of defense to manage or avoid such scenarios is the Human Resources department. Proactive assessment of future troubles is hard to ascertain but HR should always perform detailed background checks of their potential employee’s past jobs, their behavior both while on the job and after leaving the organization. These checks can last for almost three to six weeks but play a major role in identifying potential threats before they become a direct concern.

Even though the reason might be right enough to let an employee go and the company might have valid arguments to prove the case in the court of law, that doesn’t necessarily translate to a clean image for the company in the public’s eye, once a conflict arises. The actions may be conceived by the public in different dimensions and hence, it is necessary to have a clear and concise strategy to implement the action safely. Preventive measures are always advised.

Data leakage by disgruntled employees is also a very real problem. Employees, while leaving, often try to take confidential and highly valuable data for malicious intent or financial gain. A study conducted by Ipswitch, a Massachusetts based provider of file transfer solutions, showed that:

• Forty percent of employees admit to using personal email to send sensitive information to themselves secretively.
• More than 25% send proprietary data to their personal email accounts so that they can use that information at their next place of employment.
• Nearly 50% of employees send classified information via standard email weekly, putting payroll info, social security numbers, and financial data at risk.
• Forty-one percent of IT executives use their personal external storage devices to make copies of data.

It is critical that employees only have access to what they should have access to; an ex-employee’s orphaned account should not remain open and accessible after they leave the organization.

How to handle disgruntled employees, here are some Do’s and Don’ts that can be helpful:

Don’t Drop Everything for One Ex-Employee

Don’t let their claims take all your energy, efforts, and your management’s attention. Assign a person to handle the situation, so others can continue with their work.

Keep Calm and Stay Professional

Discrediting the ex-employee or sharing juicy stories seems like a viable retaliation, but it could indeed prove to be bad; studies have shown badmouthing someone has a boomerang effect making the tale-teller look bad. Thus, it’s important to maintain your cool and stay professional.

Bullying for Submission May Have Severe Consequences

Just because he/she is an individual against the might of a company, bullying them into submission can have repercussions. Let’s take the case of an Ex-Tesla employee Martin who claims the company intimidated and harassed him after he was fired, under allegations that he is a hacker and has transferred secret information to third parties. This has caused company goodwill, forming some negative perception among its employees that the company harasses its ex-employees.

Just Being Legally Right Is Not Enough

Last month Home Depot fired their staff member Maurice Rucker, a 60-year-old black man after he reacted to an irate customer who hurled racist expletives at him. He was fired because he failed to follow the protocol “disengage and alert management about a customer confrontation”. It doesn’t matter if the company had proper grounds for his termination, the truth is that Home Depot has been facing serious boycott issues from the thousands of angry supporters of Maurice Rucker. Your bylaws and legal arguments may be enough for the court of law, but it is not necessarily enough when it comes to public opinion.

A Small Gesture Goes a Long Way

A slight concession makes you look empathetic and generous. Loose some battles to win the war, let them win something in a small way, it makes the situation deescalate faster.

Be Quick to Respond to Rumors and Keep Moving Ahead:

Rumors have a way of feeding the frenzy, slurs should be pacified with an accurate and persuasive response. The response should be able to explain the counter-narrative without repeating the insult. It is also important to keep moving ahead - don’t let this clog your wheels, it becomes more essential to keep them turning. Make announcements and plans for the future, restoring the status quo and bringing back things to normal.

And finally, Learn, Adapt and Overcome. Facing such scenarios are inevitable for any business - some terminations will be sour - it comes to learning what needs to be learned and fixing what needs to be fixed, to avoid any problems in the future of similar nature.

For most organizations, human capital is often considered one of their biggest assets. With the rise of gig economy however, companies have been adopting a more flexible and fluid model and have begun to depend more on contingent workers and independent consultants. Now a functional dilemma arises before hiring this contingent workforce - considering the need is for a temporary resource, should it fall under procurement or does the human element make it the responsibility of the HR department?

Since the end of the 2001 recession, hiring contingent talent like freelancers, contract workers and consultants working under temporary agreements, has become an effective strategy for employers, especially during a period of sluggish recovery. Procurement is involved in obtaining quality goods and services for the company. It is the entity authorized to issue contracts, invitations to bid, requests for proposal and quotations in order to procure a certain commodity or service. It also specializes in contracting across the supply chain, managing vendor profiles by selecting them and then undertaking regular and frequent reviews using detailed evaluation methods. Companies usually invest in procurement to modernize the source-to-settle process. However, often the problem is that procurement has very little experience in managing and recruiting ‘people’ and tracking their activities, while HR is historically known to do this job more efficiently, utilizing tools designed for people management. HR professionals are responsible for hiring and administration of the overall workforce. There is a need for unidirectional efforts from both departments in order to make the entire contingent process more successful.

Collaborating and Creating Value

Creating value with temporary staffing is not as easy since it requires an effort in bringing both the Procurement & HR teams together to collaborate. The teams must set up a strong working relationship built with a foundation of mutual understanding that respects one another's capabilities. Procurement and HR teams must interact with one another without one trying to dominate the other. Procurement should understand the requirements of HR, directing them towards temp-to-permanent employee hires or may even support them through strategically sourcing staff members; while, the HR team should learn from procurement on how to properly manage, suppliers, vendors and market intelligence when it comes to temp resources.

An iCIMS study shows that temporary workers significantly contribute to the productivity of the company as they can provide a quick fix for sudden turnover, long-term leaves, and special projects. With the ever-changing business scenario, a flexible working approach may further boost the efficiency of temporary employees; however, it brings with itself more challenges for those concerned with the management of contingent staff, as companies move towards non-traditional styles of working.

Companies should build a collaborative team that is responsive and utilizes the best of what both departments have to offer. It should make sure that both procurement and HR teams are involved in setting parameters and processes which are beneficial for the company. Let them do what they do best, Procurement Team should handle the management of the Staffing vendors and MSPs, while HR team could assist with developing strong and productive relationships with the Contingent staff, utilizing Contingent Workforce Management (CWM) and other tools that are at their disposal. Clear division of responsibilities will ensure that the relationship with staffing vendors and the contingent staff is managed in a productive and workable way, adding value to the firm and enabling smooth running of its operations.

It is always a struggle to find that right contingent talent to join your team. Are you worried whether he/she would be a right fit? Would the employee leave before the contract ends or when something more permanent comes up? You are constantly worried that whether he would take his role seriously or not.

Looking for temporary staff who are committed, passionate and diligent can be a cumbersome task for any business, particularly in those busy seasons with peak demand and workload. Well, there are many ways that can help you scout the best talent you need and to keep them around. Adding a trustworthy and hardworking temp staff could add value to your business.

Identify What You Are Looking for & Make It Clear to Your Resources

Considering the fact that the temporary worker will possibly be engaged only for a short period of time on the project, there is a need for clear job requirements and pre-defined project deliverables. Finding great temporary talent is much more than just finding someone who can stick to the time frame. It is about finding someone who can contribute positively to your company. You should have a clear Idea of what skills your ideal temp talent must have and what needs to be accomplished within the timeframe given. Also, it is important that the temporary talent also understand what your expectation of them is. They need to know what that job is exactly and how much time they have, vague descriptions could be counterproductive and can lead to low productivity and ‘I didn’t sign up for this” attitude. Good candidates will be confident that they can do the job within the timeframe provided.

How well do they understand your business?

A candidate who is really interested in the project or the profile will, perhaps, do some research on it. It may be difficult for businesses that might not have enough information out there for the candidates. However, you should still be able to identify whether an applicant is indeed interested in the role/position.

While hiring the temporary talent you usually spend less time and resource on additional onboarding and training, similar to hiring a permanent employee. Finding the right talent depends on identifying individuals that have specific skills that enable them to quickly transition into their new roles and provide immediate assistance with little or no training. You have to make sure they have the skills and expertise that the job requires and the ability to quickly fit in and be productive in the team.

Do they have a passion for the industry?

How do you make sure that you are attracting the right people for temporary positions? One way is hosting your job advertisement on industry-specific portals, that will attract people with who have a genuine interest in the field. It is important that you discover someone with enthusiasm. Your candidate can be attracted to these temporary roles in order to grow in the respective field and you could be providing them with the perfect opportunity to grow. Pick up on verbal cues

An obvious warning sign of a candidate that isn't a right fit is a change in the willingness and confidence during the initial weeks on the job. You need to pay attention to the verbal cues that indicate whether they have started to feel that they have made a wrong decision.

Work with a Staffing Company

The process of finding the most suitable temporary candidate can get overwhelming at times. Staffing firms specializing in temporary contracts are one of the best solutions available for companies that are looking to hire temporary workers. Out of many advantages of working with a staffing firm, the most crucial is that they actively seek out the best candidates, pre-screen everyone who registers with them, and give access to the very best temporary talent available in the market. The best temporary workers are those who can bounce into the position quickly and ensure that the project is done in a timely manner. High turnover amongst temporary workers can slow down the process and add on to the amount of administrative work you will have to do—the exact opposite of what you need.

So, what we can do to make them stay?

It is important you keep your temporary talent engaged and motivated, to ensure overall productivity. There are several ways to motivate temporary employees to be more efficient on the job:

Treat them like you would treat any other employee

Keeping their short-term affiliation aside, they should be treated with the same degree of welcome and acceptance as any other employee joining the team. Introduce them to their new colleagues, orient them show them around, make them feel welcomed.

Make them a part of the team

Try to make them feel like they are a part of the team, whenever you can, include them in meetings and ongoing activities of the company without divulging sensitive or confidential information; encourage co-workers to socialize with them, invite them to office celebrations and events.

Provide reviews and feedback

Ignoring the fact that they are here for a short-term, you should provide them with honest feedback and performance review. Provide them with an open and honest assessment of how effectively they are completing tasks and ways to improve their performance; give positive and constructive feedback with about their performance and make sure you recognize any extra efforts were taken and outstanding achievements they have had.

An opportunity of converting to a full-time role

Various American companies use temporary staffing as a tool to find great talent and eventually bring them onboard in a full-time capacity. Benefits and perks of a good full-time role is a motivational factor that interests many temp workers encouraging them to perform better. Do not make promises you can’t keep, but whenever possible, give them an idea of what additional opportunities you can provide them with.

Temporary staff are a quintessential part of the American workplace fiber, they help pick up slack during peak times, cover for someone on leave, or provide expertise on projects and assignments. If you make an effort to maintain a positive relationship, they will appreciate and speak highly of your firm wherever they go and be willing to come back for future mutually beneficial opportunities.

May it be a single consultant or an entire team, we will find the perfect match to help meet your business goals.

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