What IT means to us: Skill mix
Experts from three leading corporate communications companies talk to Skillset about what IT means for their business - here, focusing on the skill mix.
- Richard Cobourne, Director, On Screen Productions Ltd
- Stephen Watson, Managing Director, and Chris Templeton, Producer, CTN Ltd
- Paul Tarplee, Chief Technical Officer, Twofour Group Ltd
Skill mix
Richard Cobourne: "We all have specialist skills, although most of us could handle any task. We're all pretty good at networking and day-to-day computer stuff. However, we do use an outside IT company to look after our computers. We add skills on an ‘as needed' basis, which keeps overheads tight and focused. When a project demands it we augment our core full-time team with up to 200 freelancers - and that's not to say they'll be the same 200 people one day as on another. We've probably got 30 projects on the go at any moment."
Stephen Watson: "Because we're working on platforms like business radio and streaming media, there isn't an external industry we can just draw on, like the old video facilities business. We've had to bring skills in house. That has changed the profile of the people we employ, and our capitalisation in terms of equipment. We do a huge amount of editing on laptops, to a very high quality. In the past, we'd have a writer, director, cameraman, producer and an editor. Now one person can do all those things."
Paul Tarplee: "We can't pay freelance rates and put them on training courses - especially when our staff editors are earning less than the freelance day rates. But what we have offered to freelancers is access to our Final Cut Pro systems when they're not being used. If they're in the area in the evening or on a Saturday, it's in all our interests that they learn to use these facilities."
