What made me fall in love with the IT industry is how quickly it changes.
That may sound strange. Often when we hear about “change” it’s paired with the adage that change is difficult: a burden we must muscle through. But for me, the constant evolution, innovation, and metamorphosis of the IT industry made change something to be excited by instead of feared. Change is an opportunity to keep learning and growing — to do better. Change is a call to adventure that means the next great journey is just around the corner.
IT leaders recognize the constant transformation (and sometimes volatility) of their industry and understand the power of having a workforce that is able to adapt to meet the moment. As the CEO and founder of an IT staffing firm, I’m often asked how to build a team that is designed to serve the needs of today and all the twists and turns that are yet to come. After more than 20 years in the industry, I’ve realized that change is at the heart of the solution. A company’s ability to future-proof its workforce comes down to its leadership’s relationship to change and willingness to embrace it.
A Season of Change
Staffing and recruitment professionals, by nature, live in a season of change. Whether switching careers, expanding their team, or looking for their next great opportunity, many clients and candidates only interact with staffing firms when they’re making a change. But at McCann Partners, our ability to embrace and thrive in an evolving environment goes a step beyond. Our ease with change is a fundamental piece of who we are, in part because we’ve seen so much of it!
Thirteen years ago, when I gathered my courage and took a leap of faith to found McCann Partners, I chose to build our team by recruiting directly from my network of seasoned staffing professionals. From day one, I knew that I wanted to work arm-in-arm with those who had experienced the evolution of the IT staffing industry firsthand so we could confidently guide our clients through uncharted territories.
I also saw the value in offering the clients and candidates we worked with a sense of stability. The IT staffing industry constantly transforms, but over the past decade our team has remained constant, specifically because the tenured experts at McCann Partners have chosen the IT staffing industry as the place to nurture their careers in the long term. By eliminating the “revolving-door” factor, our partners know that the same dedicated team of professionals will be here to greet them whenever they work with us.
Strong Relationships Fuel Creative Solutions
Ask a handful of people to chart “creativity” and “IT” on a spectrum and chances are they’ll be plotted at opposite ends. In the recruiting world it’s not surprising given the traditional process for delivering staffing solutions: a client states their needs and their staffing partner seeks to fulfill them, precisely as described. While this transactional approach often works in the short term, the key to building a workforce that will thrive today and tomorrow requires creative, relationship-based solutions to staffing challenges.
At McCann Partners, our mission is to foster relationships where trust and honesty flow from both sides. Our clients expect that we’ll go deeper than asking what the need is: we work to understand why there is a need in the first place. We address the transformative nature of the IT industry from the word start, guiding our clients down avenues that will set them up for success in the long run and helping them learn to embrace changes as they come. With this approach, we go beyond matching skills and degrees. The candidates we place are true culture fits for each organization, primed to adapt and grow as the IT landscape evolves. We’re also vulnerable enough to admit when their needs fall outside our skillset, which means when we say “yes” our clients know that we’ll deliver.
And this relationship-first mentality extends to our candidates, as well. Through our work with the American Staffing Association, TechServe Alliance, Chicago Innovation, Chicago Tech Academy High School, i.c.stars, and many other organizations, we’re committed to our community in the Midwest and beyond. Our team fosters relationships with seasoned and up-and-coming IT professionals alike, even if we don’t have an immediate need for their talents. Just as with our clients, we look beyond their surface skills and experience to recognize their full potential. This diverse extended network means we can meet the needs of our clients no matter what the future brings.
Navigating the Future, Together
At McCann Partners, we don’t just navigate change: we embrace it as an integral part of our DNA. And it’s okay if our clients aren’t looking forward to the next tech disruption that will upend their carefully laid plans — we have the experience, creative approach, and pipeline of talent to make sure they don’t just survive the change, but that they’ll thrive because of it.
As I look back on the journey we’ve taken over the past thirteen years, I’m reminded of the countless transformations the IT industry has undergone — and the countless more on the horizon. Yet, amidst this whirlwind of change, our unwavering commitment to helping our clients and candidates reach their full potential remains constant. At McCann Partners we put IT in everything we do, and no matter what the future holds, we have the ingenuITy, creativITy, and communITy to navigate the future, together.
