It has been a busy year in retail IT. The combination of
thin margins, fickle customers and tight delivery schedules is
forcing retailers to get more out of their businesses with
technology. And that has had a knock-on effect on
recruitment.
Chip and Pin projects dominated retail last year as companies
worked to meet the banks' deadline for implementation, but now the
attention has shifted.
"We have been through the chip and Pin installation cycle. Now,
the focus is on SAP," said Adam Stokes, operations manager at
recruitment website the IT Job Board.
Although Oracle strengthened its offering with the acquisition
of retail technology specialist Retek last year, SAP holds the
dominant position in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in
the UK retail IT market and most of the larger retailers are
recruiting people with SAP skills.
"SAP is very hot, that is for sure," said Steve Dargan, director
of the technology division at Imprint Search & Selection.
As well as SAP specialists, there is demand for architects,
project leaders and business analysts.
"Retailers are looking for project managers, programme managers
and strategy people," said Emma Whittle, senior consultant at
Michael Page Technology. "You need to be a person who can get into
a business and understand those issues."
The increased demand for people in jobs such as project
management means retailers are beginning to offer competitive
deals. For example, Dargan said, "With one candidate, one of our
telco clients lost out to retail. It was something that they could
not understand. We told them what the package was and then they
understood. The skills the candidate had were very specific, and he
got a signing-on bonus."
For most, however, pay remains only par for the course and
certainly lower than the salary leader: the finance industry.
Joshua Hanson, recruitment retail specialist at Harvey Nash,
said, "Salaries in IT retail tend to be lower than in other sectors
as it is a tight market operating on low margins."
However, Richard Chorley, associate director at Computer People,
said, "You may not be paid more, but you have the benefits to
consider. Many of the retailers are able to put together good
benefits packages."
A key benefit is the staff discount. "The retailers often stress
the discounts that they offer staff - they tend to be very good,"
said Stokes.
"Free shopping at the weekend - it helps, doesn't it?" said
Dargan. "But, in the main, they are not going to compete on salary,
unlike the telcos or the investment community."
The attraction for IT people is that retail's reliance on
technology has made it an environment where projects keep on
coming.
"It is a fast-moving dynamic environment with a good brand name
behind it," said Chorley.
Experience counts
Retailers are looking to recruit more from outside their sector,
particularly for in-demand skills such as SAP. But retail
experience remains important. "Employers often specify retail
experience, whether web scripters or database developers," said
Adam Stokes, operations manager at the IT Job Board.
The focus on technologies peculiar to retail, such as electronic
point of sale systems, is important, said Jane Kimberlin, IT
director at Domino's Pizza. "Retail can be hard to break into
because you have to know that side," she said. "You have to learn
about it, but it is possible for people to do that."
The preference for people with retail experience is driving big
pay differentials, said Emma Whittle, senior consultant at
recruitment firm Michael Page Technology. "Where people have more
of a retail focus they will be able to demand more as a permanent
or a contract person. You are talking £10,000 bonuses on the
salaries of permanent staff at the higher end if they have
extensive retail experience," she said.
The retail buzz
For Jane Kimberlin, IT director at Domino's Pizza, retail IT is
all about the buzz. But it is not for everyone, she warned.
Kimberlin has spent much of her 25-year career in retail IT.
Before joining Domino's earlier this year, she worked for drinks
and hotel group Scottish & Newcastle.
The attraction of retail is clear. "It is very buzzy, very
fast-paced. There are lots of deadlines and you can't miss them.
And it is an area that everyone will relate to," she said.
In retail, many deadlines are tied to seasonal holidays and big
sporting or entertainment events. Pushing back a project will not
work. Kimberlin said people who are focused more on the minutiae of
planning and ensuring that every detail is implemented probably
will not enjoy the retail IT environment. It is better to have
something "good enough" that hits the deadline, she said.
Retail often offers the chance to look at new technologies as
they come along to see if they fit the business. "Sometimes we are
at the cutting edge, talking to technology suppliers to see if they
can do something if it is not already available," said
Kimberlin.
She underlined the creativity that lies behind many IT projects
in the sector. "IT is very much engaged with the marketing people -
coming up with ideas jointly."
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More information
http://ww.sap.com/industries/retail
http://www.oracle.com/industries/retail