It’s a fiercely competitive labor market right now, especially for technical talent. Many companies worry that because they cannot match the wages on offer from other firms, they won’t be able attract or retain the workforce they need. When companies have the mindset that it’s a SHOW ME THE MONEY market, they can feel like […]

If you follow the news about the labor market, you know that the unemployment rate is extremely low. Job creation continues at a strong pace. Even people who weren't previously looking for work have taken notice—and they are feeling optimistic enough about their chances that they, too, have started applying for jobs. These factors cut […]

Is Custom Software Right for your Business? I know, I know… Not another buy-versus-build article. But wait. What if the buy-versus-build decision could be boiled down to a few simple yes/no questions? Well, it can! Question 1: Is there a software package, Web site or mobile application that comes close to delivering what you need? […]

Which of these descriptions best fits your software development team? (1) The team is highly integrated with the rest of the company and its customers. (2) The team is shoved off in a corner. If your circumstances more closely match the first scenario, well done you. By design or by accident, your structure is helping […]

The DICE Tech Salary Survey was released late in March. I've been behind on my reading, so it wasn't until recently that I got a chance to dig into it. One of the most surprising data points in it was: "Overall technology salaries in the U.S. were essentially flat year-over-year (-1%), at $92,081 annually from […]

I had a conversation recently with a C-Level executive of a small, but very successful company. He was bemoaning his relationship with software teams over the years. In so many words, he said to me, “When I oversaw software projects, I was always irritated. Either they were working intensively on a project, racking up costs […]

There is no doubt about it...the demand for technical talent far exceeds the currently available supply. As a result, many companies are struggling to land the talent that they desperately need. In an effort to maximize their chances for success, we see an increasing number of organizations reaching out to professional recruiting partners for assistance […]

Recently, a client told me, “As I’ve become familiar with other businesses in this area, I have to say that I am very impressed with your outreach and community involvement. The company I work for could take a lesson from you.” While it was flattering, the funny thing is that I feel Stout can and […]

If you think about it, in any state that has passed at-will and right to work laws, a company can fire an employee at any time for any reason. So why the profusion of contract-to-hire job offerings lately? Why not just hire people and fire them later if they don't work out? In a typical […]

You’ve got a project that’s just gotten approval. You helped develop the estimate and based on that estimate...