CTRL is a team of Information Technology experts dedicated to the optimization of their client’s business processes. CEO Daniel Girard provides us with a unique insight into the firm and how it has come to flourish under his expert leadership.
At CTRL, it is our vision is that any organization can stimulate growth by optimizing and innovating its business processes through efficient operational technologies.
In order to achieve this ambitious goal we implement a number of strategies to ensure client satisfaction. These include using an analysis process and “fast-track” prototyping to quickly assess the match between the client’s ways of doing things and the functional capabilities of our ERP solution.
In addition we have given annual customer satisfaction surveys for over 20 years. Our results show an average of more than 95% satisfaction, with an average response rate of 30% over the past five years. The results that we obtain from these survey are always carefully analysed, as each suggestion about how to improve software or after-sales service can lead to a direct exchange in order to understand and document the client’s wishes.
These surveys ensure that the firm develops in line with our client’s needs. My primary role within the company is to ensure this development and the overall growth of CTRL. In addition to establishing the strategic vision of the company, I address the implementation of the annual action plan, which derives in part from the results of our surveys, with the directors.
Alongside this I also have to ensure a constant strategic alignment in the deployment of this action plan with that established by the department at the beginning. As such my job leads me to involvement in interdepartmental operational issues.
In order to limit such issues, particularly in the operational areas of our business, all of our professionals receive continuous training on emerging standards and the best business practices in our specialty areas, which is ultimately the key to the firm’s overall success.
Alongside this, continued investment in R & D also remains a cornerstone in maintaining our competitive advantage.
This advantage is particularly important as our market continues to grow, as we are up against an increasing number of competitors. CTRL currently operates primarily in Canada, where local competition is often well established, an ERP solution for export strategy must be expertly constructed.
An additional challenge in our industry is that for several years, the IT sector in North America has been facing a profound shortage of specialized workers. This shortage has basically forced our industry to open itself to international recruitment.
Significantly better ‘offshore’ hourly rates led to the effective solution of outsourcing IT services (complete or partial product development, customer support).
However, the pros and cons of offshore outsourcing have now been demonstrated, and the need for a minimum local pool of skilled labourers to support the growth of IT companies has again become a major challenge.
We are lucky to have hired a number of skilled staff, and despite the skills shortage we are highly selective in order to ensure we only hire the best staff the industry has to offer. With regards to selecting staff, we work on different levels with educational institutions that train the specialized resource personnel we need, with the view to creating a marketing presence as a potential employer among successive generations of college and university students.
In terms of the hiring process itself, we refer to standards and internal HR policies covering, among other things, a thorough description of the tasks and responsibilities of the position to be filled. The psychometric personality profile is also used as part of our hiring process. We normally conduct two interviews, one pre-screening and one final to ensure that we defiantly have the right candidate for the job.
Within our industry there have been a number of trends besides the skills shortage which we have had to adapt around.
The ERP solutions industry is often a victim of bad publicity related to cost overruns and significant delays in expected deliverables. Unfortunately, this image has not come about accidentally.
The key to successfully deploying an ERP solution essentially lies in how well the project is managed in terms of methodology and customer orientation. As such we offer specialized and standardized ERP management solutions that deliver an outstanding price/performance ratio. In addition, we use our flexible approach and strong industry experience to ensure we stand out from our competitors and retain our good reputation in the industry.
Additionally, over the past decade, the software solutions industry has been forced to profoundly revise its business models.
In terms of hardware deployment and, on the software side, the SaaS (Software as a Service) approach, the Cloud has completely changed the situation.
CTRL has already taken account of these trends. Over the next three years, we plan to accelerate our development in this direction. The potential of these new business models will allow us to expand and gain a concrete presence in international markets.
Contact Details
Company: CTRL
Name: Daniel Girard MBA
Email: ctrl@ctrl.com
Web Address: www.ctrl.com
Phone: (877) 971-9324
