[IxDA Discuss] A List Apart web design survey results

[Mark Schraad]

 From the inside perspective, and a bit tangental, it seems much more  
difficult to attract and retain talent. Vertical product divisions  
tend to want 'control', meaning that they want dedicated long term  
professional working on their product and only their product. For  
most designer, this is not an optimal situation. In my situation we  
must constantly justify our independence as a shared services group.  
Our frequent challenges to the business' decisions frustrate them.  
There lives would be simpler if we were directly under and reported  
to them. But their product quality would most certainly be degraded.

In addition to the difficulty attracting and retaining talent, the  
resources for staying on top of the profession (time, money, travel)  
seem to me more scarce. That may to some extent be because employee  
visibility is perceived as less important. But most managers see  
conferences as a place for employees to network themselves and be  
visible. This is a terrible perspective.

One last point - many designers are not motivated to participate in  
their profession's dialog. They were done learning when they got  
their first job out of school and are busy doing (an old school craft  
approach). This obviously extends well beyond design. With all  
sensitivity to those displaced, I've recently heard many in the tech  
industry complain as they are laid off from dead or dying product  
divisions. Obviously we can't read the minds of upper level execs,  
but staying apprised of industry, market and professional trends is  
not only part of our job, it is common sense.

Mark


On Oct 21, 2007, at 10:52 AM, Todd Zaki Warfel wrote:

>
> On Oct 20, 2007, at 7:28 PM, Joseph Selbie wrote:
>
>> I'd guess that in every profession most of the professionals are in
>> fact very insulated by the companies they work for and don't
>> actively follow trends in their profession online or off.
>
> Perhaps this is a difference between innies and outies? Or do those
> of you who work for consulting firms also find the same thing in your
> colleagues?
>