Employee Retention of Unisys : Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS), headquartered in Blue Bell,[3][4] Pennsylvania, United States, and incorporated in Delaware,[5] is a global provider of information technology services and programs.
Unisys has a deep heritage in the technology industry. The company traces its roots back to the founding of American Arithmometer Company (later Burroughs Corporation) in 1886 and the Sperry Gyroscope Company in 1910. Unisys predecessor companies also include the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, which invented the world's first large-scale digital computer, the ENIAC, at the University of Pennsylvania.
In September 1986 Unisys was formed through the merger of the mainframe corporations Sperry and Burroughs, with Burroughs buying Sperry for $4.8 billion. The name was chosen in an internal competition when an intern, Charles Ayoub, came up with the UNISYS acronym from United Information Systems. The merger was the largest in the computer industry at the time and made Unisys the second largest computer company with annual revenue of $10.5 billion.[6] At the time of the merger, Unisys had approximately 120,000 employees.
In addition to hardware, both Burroughs and Sperry had a history of working on U.S. government contracts. Unisys continues to provide hardware, software, and services to various government agencies.[citation needed]
Soon after the merger, the market for proprietary mainframe-class systems—the mainstream product of Unisys and its competitors such as IBM—began a long-term decline that continues, at a lesser rate, today. In response, Unisys made the strategic decision to shift into high end servers (e.g., 32 processor Windows Servers), as well as information technology (IT) services such as systems integration, outsourcing, and related technical services, while holding onto the profitable revenue stream from maintaining its installed base of proprietary mainframe hardware and applications.[citation needed]
Important events in the company's history include the development of the 2200 series in 1986, including the UNISYS 2200/500 CMOS mainframe, and the Micro A in 1989, the first[citation needed] desktop mainframe, the UNISYS ES7000 servers in 2000, and the Unisys blueprinting method of visualizing business rules and workflow in 2004.[citation needed]
In 1988 the company acquired Convergent Technologies, makers of CTOS.[citation needed]
On October 7, 2008, J. Edward Coleman replaced J. McGrath as CEO and Chairman.[citation needed]
On November 11, 2008, the company was removed from the Standard & Poor's 500 index as the market capitalization of the company had fallen below the S&P 500 minimum of $4 billion.
The company’s human resources director Sandra Lyall says shortages look set to become a major concern for CIOs and CEOs. She predicts human resources trends including rising recruitment costs, increases in flexible working options and employee retention programmes will all drive change in the ICT sector.Unisys has several roles it is struggling to fill from within New Zealand and, over the last 12 months, finding people for database analyst and IT architect positions has been particularly hard.
Unisys manager of systems and network support centre? Dean? Wyborn runs the company’s Auckland, Kapiti, Sydney and Perth datacentres. He says finding candidates with experience in operational security management and the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) certification is challenging given strong industry demand.
The company is working hard to combat such shortages with both offshore and local searches. The last six months has seen a shift in company focus where more of its Asia Pacific resources are leveraged and, with 12 graduates coming on board this year, its annual graduate recruitment programme is another source of talent.
“Solving the talent shortage across New Zealand will require a number of tailored solutions for individual employees. In 2006, businesses will need to focus on identifying what motivates their employees; otherwise employees will find someone else who does,” says Lyall.
For example, businesses must develop ways to manage flexible work options by balancing face-time with the lifestyle benefits of flexible hours and telecommuting, says Unisys.
Survey results released today by Unisys, the global IT services company, reveal that 16-24 year old workers in the UK are suffering from stress and relationship problems due to inflexible working practices and long working hours.
29% of young workers in the UK have no access to flexible working such as flexi-time, working from home or working a core number of hours throughout the week. Despite government legislation, UK companies are not extending flexible working practices to their young workers, seriously affecting their ability to attract the best employees.
2,000 UK employees were interviewed to establish the adoption of flexible working practices. Unisys was keen to identify UK attitudes to flexible working and understand the effect on its employees.
Long hours and stressful workloads are blamed for 30% of young workers losing contact with friends and 31% agree that work commitments affect relationships with a partner. Furthermore, UK employers are encouraging an 'acceptance culture' - 52% of young workers agreeing that employers expect them to work beyond their core, contracted hours. 70% agree that something could be done to make sure that work and home life are blended more effectively.
The research highlights changing priorities for young workers when choosing an employer. Whilst salary remains a key priority (39%), increasing numbers of young workers appreciate progressive working opportunities with 1 in 4 (26%) prioritising flexible working, part time options and holiday benefits when looking for a job. This suggests a shift away from materialistic work values towards lifestyle and holistic work choices.
Bob Illingworth, HR Director, Unisys outlines, "Blend and flexibility, not just balance, are imperative for employee retention. Companies should offer a host of options for each employee so that they can mould and adapt working patterns to suit their needs, providing tailored solutions for workers whatever their home situation, family or lifestyle.
"First jobbers often move to a new city in order to begin their working life and a blend of work and home life is imperative to allow time to create and maintain friendships. Young workers are a critical element and source of fresh ideas for an organisation and should be nurtured and encouraged in order to grow into effective and productive employees."
Employee satisfaction in terms of defining goals, a good pay package, and a positive work culture assured Unisys a place in the BES Top20. Unisys, boasts of a rich legacy of 136 years and believes that its employees are its biggest brand ambassadors, while employee engagement programs and internal communication initiatives keep them motivated.
Unisys India has designed and developed a comprehensive competency management program that enables employees to be market ready and project ready. Unisys University, the in-house training engine has over 4,000 training programs, both e-learning and instructor-led, which helps bridge any gap in employee competencies.
A pain area is the non-recognition of special initiatives and efforts at the time of appraisal. The company believes that due to the economic downturn, managers across all verticals have become more cautious and are taking into consideration long-term growth and development rather than short-term incentives. Unisys India also believes that since IT being a relatively new industry, management maturity in Indian IT companies has not been able to keep pace with the exponential growth. To cover up this pain area, Unisys has put in place a holistic competency assurance framework that lays special emphasis on training and development of first-line managers. While the appraisal parameters are not well thought out and relevant, the company says it is committed to shape up the working conditions and provide business directions that will maximize employee ability to solve client problems.
The survey suggests a high attrition and low retention rates, which the company refutes stating that such attrition and retention rates need to be viewed in the context of the services industry in which Unisys India operates.
New research sponsored by Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) and conducted by International Data Corp. (IDC) reveals surprising gaps in readiness by global IT organizations to manage, support, secure and ultimately capitalize on the rapidly growing use of consumer technologies and tools in the workplace1.
The “Consumerization of IT” research was conducted in two phases. A Unisys-sponsored study of 2,820 workers in 10 countries found that tech-savvy information workers are blurring traditional lines between home and work in their use of readily available consumer devices and Web-based social media applications. These “iWorkers” report that they are investing their own time and money in advanced consumer devices and applications – technologies often more powerful than those provided by their employers – and are using them interchangeably for business and personal activities.
At the same time, a separate Unisys-sponsored survey of nearly 650 global IT decision-makers reveals that their organizations frequently are not aware of what technologies their employees are using and how the technologies are being used; are providing poor IT support for consumer technologies being used by employees for business purposes; and are not integrating those consumer technologies in their enterprise.
“This research raises important questions as to how well prepared today’s organizations are to weather the tsunami of consumer technologies and products flooding into the workplace and to capitalize on new ways of doing business, connecting with customers, and attracting future workers,” said Sam Gross, vice president, Global IT Outsourcing Solutions, Unisys.
“We are at an inflection point in the history of global computing, as important as the invention of the personal computer and the Web,” Gross added. “The ‘consumerization of IT’ revolution is being driven not top-down by corporate IT departments, but by tech-savvy iWorkers who are hungry for information and rich with ideas on new ways to innovate, serve customers, and operate more efficiently. Our research indicates that organizations have miles to go to get ready for this wave and risk being left behind as fresh competitors exploit the consumer IT tidal wave and upend old business and IT models.”
Unisys has a deep heritage in the technology industry. The company traces its roots back to the founding of American Arithmometer Company (later Burroughs Corporation) in 1886 and the Sperry Gyroscope Company in 1910. Unisys predecessor companies also include the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, which invented the world's first large-scale digital computer, the ENIAC, at the University of Pennsylvania.
In September 1986 Unisys was formed through the merger of the mainframe corporations Sperry and Burroughs, with Burroughs buying Sperry for $4.8 billion. The name was chosen in an internal competition when an intern, Charles Ayoub, came up with the UNISYS acronym from United Information Systems. The merger was the largest in the computer industry at the time and made Unisys the second largest computer company with annual revenue of $10.5 billion.[6] At the time of the merger, Unisys had approximately 120,000 employees.
In addition to hardware, both Burroughs and Sperry had a history of working on U.S. government contracts. Unisys continues to provide hardware, software, and services to various government agencies.[citation needed]
Soon after the merger, the market for proprietary mainframe-class systems—the mainstream product of Unisys and its competitors such as IBM—began a long-term decline that continues, at a lesser rate, today. In response, Unisys made the strategic decision to shift into high end servers (e.g., 32 processor Windows Servers), as well as information technology (IT) services such as systems integration, outsourcing, and related technical services, while holding onto the profitable revenue stream from maintaining its installed base of proprietary mainframe hardware and applications.[citation needed]
Important events in the company's history include the development of the 2200 series in 1986, including the UNISYS 2200/500 CMOS mainframe, and the Micro A in 1989, the first[citation needed] desktop mainframe, the UNISYS ES7000 servers in 2000, and the Unisys blueprinting method of visualizing business rules and workflow in 2004.[citation needed]
In 1988 the company acquired Convergent Technologies, makers of CTOS.[citation needed]
On October 7, 2008, J. Edward Coleman replaced J. McGrath as CEO and Chairman.[citation needed]
On November 11, 2008, the company was removed from the Standard & Poor's 500 index as the market capitalization of the company had fallen below the S&P 500 minimum of $4 billion.
The company’s human resources director Sandra Lyall says shortages look set to become a major concern for CIOs and CEOs. She predicts human resources trends including rising recruitment costs, increases in flexible working options and employee retention programmes will all drive change in the ICT sector.Unisys has several roles it is struggling to fill from within New Zealand and, over the last 12 months, finding people for database analyst and IT architect positions has been particularly hard.
Unisys manager of systems and network support centre? Dean? Wyborn runs the company’s Auckland, Kapiti, Sydney and Perth datacentres. He says finding candidates with experience in operational security management and the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) certification is challenging given strong industry demand.
The company is working hard to combat such shortages with both offshore and local searches. The last six months has seen a shift in company focus where more of its Asia Pacific resources are leveraged and, with 12 graduates coming on board this year, its annual graduate recruitment programme is another source of talent.
“Solving the talent shortage across New Zealand will require a number of tailored solutions for individual employees. In 2006, businesses will need to focus on identifying what motivates their employees; otherwise employees will find someone else who does,” says Lyall.
For example, businesses must develop ways to manage flexible work options by balancing face-time with the lifestyle benefits of flexible hours and telecommuting, says Unisys.
Survey results released today by Unisys, the global IT services company, reveal that 16-24 year old workers in the UK are suffering from stress and relationship problems due to inflexible working practices and long working hours.
29% of young workers in the UK have no access to flexible working such as flexi-time, working from home or working a core number of hours throughout the week. Despite government legislation, UK companies are not extending flexible working practices to their young workers, seriously affecting their ability to attract the best employees.
2,000 UK employees were interviewed to establish the adoption of flexible working practices. Unisys was keen to identify UK attitudes to flexible working and understand the effect on its employees.
Long hours and stressful workloads are blamed for 30% of young workers losing contact with friends and 31% agree that work commitments affect relationships with a partner. Furthermore, UK employers are encouraging an 'acceptance culture' - 52% of young workers agreeing that employers expect them to work beyond their core, contracted hours. 70% agree that something could be done to make sure that work and home life are blended more effectively.
The research highlights changing priorities for young workers when choosing an employer. Whilst salary remains a key priority (39%), increasing numbers of young workers appreciate progressive working opportunities with 1 in 4 (26%) prioritising flexible working, part time options and holiday benefits when looking for a job. This suggests a shift away from materialistic work values towards lifestyle and holistic work choices.
Bob Illingworth, HR Director, Unisys outlines, "Blend and flexibility, not just balance, are imperative for employee retention. Companies should offer a host of options for each employee so that they can mould and adapt working patterns to suit their needs, providing tailored solutions for workers whatever their home situation, family or lifestyle.
"First jobbers often move to a new city in order to begin their working life and a blend of work and home life is imperative to allow time to create and maintain friendships. Young workers are a critical element and source of fresh ideas for an organisation and should be nurtured and encouraged in order to grow into effective and productive employees."
Employee satisfaction in terms of defining goals, a good pay package, and a positive work culture assured Unisys a place in the BES Top20. Unisys, boasts of a rich legacy of 136 years and believes that its employees are its biggest brand ambassadors, while employee engagement programs and internal communication initiatives keep them motivated.
Unisys India has designed and developed a comprehensive competency management program that enables employees to be market ready and project ready. Unisys University, the in-house training engine has over 4,000 training programs, both e-learning and instructor-led, which helps bridge any gap in employee competencies.
A pain area is the non-recognition of special initiatives and efforts at the time of appraisal. The company believes that due to the economic downturn, managers across all verticals have become more cautious and are taking into consideration long-term growth and development rather than short-term incentives. Unisys India also believes that since IT being a relatively new industry, management maturity in Indian IT companies has not been able to keep pace with the exponential growth. To cover up this pain area, Unisys has put in place a holistic competency assurance framework that lays special emphasis on training and development of first-line managers. While the appraisal parameters are not well thought out and relevant, the company says it is committed to shape up the working conditions and provide business directions that will maximize employee ability to solve client problems.
The survey suggests a high attrition and low retention rates, which the company refutes stating that such attrition and retention rates need to be viewed in the context of the services industry in which Unisys India operates.
New research sponsored by Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) and conducted by International Data Corp. (IDC) reveals surprising gaps in readiness by global IT organizations to manage, support, secure and ultimately capitalize on the rapidly growing use of consumer technologies and tools in the workplace1.
The “Consumerization of IT” research was conducted in two phases. A Unisys-sponsored study of 2,820 workers in 10 countries found that tech-savvy information workers are blurring traditional lines between home and work in their use of readily available consumer devices and Web-based social media applications. These “iWorkers” report that they are investing their own time and money in advanced consumer devices and applications – technologies often more powerful than those provided by their employers – and are using them interchangeably for business and personal activities.
At the same time, a separate Unisys-sponsored survey of nearly 650 global IT decision-makers reveals that their organizations frequently are not aware of what technologies their employees are using and how the technologies are being used; are providing poor IT support for consumer technologies being used by employees for business purposes; and are not integrating those consumer technologies in their enterprise.
“This research raises important questions as to how well prepared today’s organizations are to weather the tsunami of consumer technologies and products flooding into the workplace and to capitalize on new ways of doing business, connecting with customers, and attracting future workers,” said Sam Gross, vice president, Global IT Outsourcing Solutions, Unisys.
“We are at an inflection point in the history of global computing, as important as the invention of the personal computer and the Web,” Gross added. “The ‘consumerization of IT’ revolution is being driven not top-down by corporate IT departments, but by tech-savvy iWorkers who are hungry for information and rich with ideas on new ways to innovate, serve customers, and operate more efficiently. Our research indicates that organizations have miles to go to get ready for this wave and risk being left behind as fresh competitors exploit the consumer IT tidal wave and upend old business and IT models.”
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