Carrots not sticks...
The IT sector in Malta is booming and more and more people are opting for careers in IT - but as with any rapid growth, there are growing pains.MITTS - known by its acronym rather than by its official name (Malta Information Technology and Training...
The IT sector in Malta is booming and more and more people are opting for careers in IT - but as with any rapid growth, there are growing pains.
MITTS - known by its acronym rather than by its official name (Malta Information Technology and Training Services Ltd) - is facing the same challenges as other IT companies: Its staff are being tempted by jobs offering career progression, chances to travel, good remuneration packages...
You may think that human resources manager Annika Formosa would be very concerned, but this dynamic woman prefers to use her energy more constructively.
"We still have a low turnover compared to the industry averages but the rate is growing not just for MITTS but for all ICT companies in Malta," she said.
"The challenge is both to retain existing staff and to replace those who move on; we have to be particularly nimble to keep the staff happy."
MITTS has one advantage: A considerable percentage of its 300 employees have a strong sense of loyalty, having been employed with the organisation for a number of years.
MITTS manages by keeping work projects challenging, giving people the opportunity to experience new and exciting things and giving them the chance to progress in their preferred career.
"No matter what companies do, change is healthy and people will move around. A very important part of the HR strategy is to have effective knowledge management and retention strategies in place. You cannot always keep team members from moving out; however, you can try to at least keep a good part of the knowledge within the company by encouraging knowledge sharing amongst employees, having mentoring frameworks in place, knowledge repositories, handover frameworks and more importantly creating a culture in which people feel comfortable to share all that they know with their peers," she said. The HR team at MITTS has always been given great importance in the organisation. MITTS has an Investors in People international accreditation for its human resource practices, the only company in Malta currently holding this accreditation.
"We first tried for this accreditation at the beginning of 2003, but did not meet all the criteria. It took us a year to revamp our practices and get things in line. We eventually got accredited in 2004, but keeping to it is a tough challenge. This shows that getting through is not that straightforward," Ms Formosa smiled.
MITTS had its last review in 2006 and passed with flying colours; in fact it met upgraded standards that are to form part of the upgraded Investors in People standard.
The HR strategy focuses on the individual as a human being, the educational process, the work environment and the community at large.
The individual:
The approach is holistic. For example, MITTS has an employee assistance programme run with Caritas, with a psychologist visiting every month to give talks on topics such as dealing with change, building positive rapport, dealing with family issues, preparing for retirement, dealing with the empty nest and so on.
The department also dedicates particular weeks to campaigns like healthy eating and exercise.
Personal job satisfaction and recognition is very important and the company has an awards ceremony, with awards based on nominations coming from colleagues. In addition ongoing recognition is given to employees by means of the department managers' and CEO awards. The gap between academic studies and real life is also bridged through effective HR management.
"It is no use having a tech whizz kid who has no social or interpersonal skills, or who finds it hard to accept supervision or work as a team. We give as much importance to soft skills as we do to technical capabilities," she said. So much for dealing with people at work. What about the work-life balance? MITTS was the pioneer at teleworking, introducing it virtually at the outset. There are currently 13 employees who work from home.
"It requires strong management and clear objectives. You also have to appreciate that working from home does not suit everyone and even those who find it convenient because of family commitments may not want to do it indefinitely.
"However, being able to offer that flexibility to those who have children or elderly relatives to look after is very important. It is an excellent retention tool. We would have lost these people otherwise."
Training:
MITTS invests in training and development opportunities, one of its strong points. Besides the exposure to a large number of different technologies, people are provided with on the job training, attend a number of training courses in both soft and technical skills, attend conferences and seminars both locally and overseas, are sponsored when following vendor-specific certification paths or graduate or post-graduate degrees, and also have access to a training through the resource centre.
"Being around MITTS technical people is a learning experience in itself. MITTS prides itself on employing some of the most able ICT personnel on the island; there is always something to learn by speaking to your own colleagues," she added.
Training is not just for technical people. MITTS launched a management development programme four years ago, with the aim of providing ongoing training for all employees working at a supervisory or managerial level. The most recent element of the programme focuses on emotional intelligence - being sensitive to colleagues' needs s and fine tuning subtle interpersonal skills which are often taken for granted.
Work community:
"Although work at MITTS is extremely team oriented, ICT work may become isolating. It is particularly important for people from different departments to meet and interact, this makes work more fun and interesting and besides, interacting with people working on a totally different area than you are is a great opportunity to learn new things" she stressed.
Team building exercises are held every few years. The last one, held last March 07 was a special edition held at Bubaqra Tower as a two-day "live in". Furthermore, the company organises MITTS Day, a sports day for employees and their families, with a coveted departmental trophy to win!
The community
At Christmas, a fund raising event - MITTS for the Community day - is held which includes fun activities such as abseiling, a car wash, cake sales, MITTS band concerts and even wine-tasting of the employees' home production...
• For more information about MITTS Ltd visit the website on www.mitts.gov.mt
MITTS - known by its acronym rather than by its official name (Malta Information Technology and Training Services Ltd) - is facing the same challenges as other IT companies: Its staff are being tempted by jobs offering career progression, chances to travel, good remuneration packages...
You may think that human resources manager Annika Formosa would be very concerned, but this dynamic woman prefers to use her energy more constructively.
"We still have a low turnover compared to the industry averages but the rate is growing not just for MITTS but for all ICT companies in Malta," she said.
"The challenge is both to retain existing staff and to replace those who move on; we have to be particularly nimble to keep the staff happy."
MITTS has one advantage: A considerable percentage of its 300 employees have a strong sense of loyalty, having been employed with the organisation for a number of years.
MITTS manages by keeping work projects challenging, giving people the opportunity to experience new and exciting things and giving them the chance to progress in their preferred career.
"No matter what companies do, change is healthy and people will move around. A very important part of the HR strategy is to have effective knowledge management and retention strategies in place. You cannot always keep team members from moving out; however, you can try to at least keep a good part of the knowledge within the company by encouraging knowledge sharing amongst employees, having mentoring frameworks in place, knowledge repositories, handover frameworks and more importantly creating a culture in which people feel comfortable to share all that they know with their peers," she said. The HR team at MITTS has always been given great importance in the organisation. MITTS has an Investors in People international accreditation for its human resource practices, the only company in Malta currently holding this accreditation.
"We first tried for this accreditation at the beginning of 2003, but did not meet all the criteria. It took us a year to revamp our practices and get things in line. We eventually got accredited in 2004, but keeping to it is a tough challenge. This shows that getting through is not that straightforward," Ms Formosa smiled.
MITTS had its last review in 2006 and passed with flying colours; in fact it met upgraded standards that are to form part of the upgraded Investors in People standard.
The HR strategy focuses on the individual as a human being, the educational process, the work environment and the community at large.
The individual:
The approach is holistic. For example, MITTS has an employee assistance programme run with Caritas, with a psychologist visiting every month to give talks on topics such as dealing with change, building positive rapport, dealing with family issues, preparing for retirement, dealing with the empty nest and so on.
The department also dedicates particular weeks to campaigns like healthy eating and exercise.
Personal job satisfaction and recognition is very important and the company has an awards ceremony, with awards based on nominations coming from colleagues. In addition ongoing recognition is given to employees by means of the department managers' and CEO awards. The gap between academic studies and real life is also bridged through effective HR management.
"It is no use having a tech whizz kid who has no social or interpersonal skills, or who finds it hard to accept supervision or work as a team. We give as much importance to soft skills as we do to technical capabilities," she said. So much for dealing with people at work. What about the work-life balance? MITTS was the pioneer at teleworking, introducing it virtually at the outset. There are currently 13 employees who work from home.
"It requires strong management and clear objectives. You also have to appreciate that working from home does not suit everyone and even those who find it convenient because of family commitments may not want to do it indefinitely.
"However, being able to offer that flexibility to those who have children or elderly relatives to look after is very important. It is an excellent retention tool. We would have lost these people otherwise."
Training:
MITTS invests in training and development opportunities, one of its strong points. Besides the exposure to a large number of different technologies, people are provided with on the job training, attend a number of training courses in both soft and technical skills, attend conferences and seminars both locally and overseas, are sponsored when following vendor-specific certification paths or graduate or post-graduate degrees, and also have access to a training through the resource centre.
"Being around MITTS technical people is a learning experience in itself. MITTS prides itself on employing some of the most able ICT personnel on the island; there is always something to learn by speaking to your own colleagues," she added.
Training is not just for technical people. MITTS launched a management development programme four years ago, with the aim of providing ongoing training for all employees working at a supervisory or managerial level. The most recent element of the programme focuses on emotional intelligence - being sensitive to colleagues' needs s and fine tuning subtle interpersonal skills which are often taken for granted.
Work community:
"Although work at MITTS is extremely team oriented, ICT work may become isolating. It is particularly important for people from different departments to meet and interact, this makes work more fun and interesting and besides, interacting with people working on a totally different area than you are is a great opportunity to learn new things" she stressed.
Team building exercises are held every few years. The last one, held last March 07 was a special edition held at Bubaqra Tower as a two-day "live in". Furthermore, the company organises MITTS Day, a sports day for employees and their families, with a coveted departmental trophy to win!
The community
At Christmas, a fund raising event - MITTS for the Community day - is held which includes fun activities such as abseiling, a car wash, cake sales, MITTS band concerts and even wine-tasting of the employees' home production...
• For more information about MITTS Ltd visit the website on www.mitts.gov.mt