GIS Client Staffing Services

Key Operating Principles

We extend successful support to mapping programs by adhering to the following key operating principles:

• Strong Management: Sanborn’s ability to leverage a proven management team and hiring processes provides high quality candidates for on-site positions when needed.
• Focus on Results: Our team’s operating principles link authority with accountability to ensure a focus that empowers staff to maximize both results and productivity. Our commitment to high quality results is the key focus of the project management and quality control training we provide to all of our off-site project managers and technical staff.
• Client Relationships: Our team philosophy is based on maintaining long term relationships with our clients.
• Local Presence: With offices in three US locations and one overseas, our management team can meet with the clients on a short notice.

Staffing Plan, Employment Screening Process, and Retention

In order to most effectively meet client requirements, Sanborn has developed a proven hiring process specifically for on-site contracts. Our program management staff partners with our corporate Human Resources team to define the qualifications, skills, experience and personal attributes required to ensure a successful hire. We then post the position internally and externally, and tap our vast network of candidates. In initial candidate telephone screens, Sanborn will determine not only candidate qualifications but also their availability to begin work, ability to relocate, legal eligibility to work in the US, and compensation requirements. Our goal is to ensure that both the candidate’s qualifications and his or her logistical factors are a match, prior to presenting the candidate to clients. We then begin the official interview process. This typically entails a telephone screening by a manager followed by a group interview, either via phone (or face to face if possible). Sanborn chooses the best candidates to include in our proposals for new task orders.

Employees are hired from all regions of the country and from a variety of disciplines – many have degrees in both natural resources and geo-technology fields. Sanborn offers a competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits program, and is vitally interested in the professional advancement and training of its staff.

Training

Our training opportunities include access to the Esri Virtual Campus, enabling our employees to stay current with primary technology and software advances. During our annual performance review process, we work with each of our employees to identify training requirements and to establish and document a training plan. To promote knowledge sharing across the company, we hold “GeoGeeks” sessions, available to all employees. In addition, we send employees to professional conferences and events. These significant investments in our team highlight our commitment to further the proficiency and education of our employees.

Program Management

We engage a dedicated team of existing employees to form core management teams. This team is responsible for all aspects of successfully integrating Sanborn on-site resources. This team will ensure that staffing, training, and program reporting work tasks are expedited during the early stages of project start-up to ensure that performance standards for each function outsourced are achieved in the shortest timeframe possible.

The start-up team is comprised of two groups: Sanborn senior management staff and Sanborn program management staff. Our program management staff will be assigned to the program for the life of the contract. The senior management staff members will be fully dedicated during the program start-up to ensure that all decisions relevant to staffing, contract and performance can be quickly addressed. Further, they act as additional resources to address the large volume of actions and work tasks required during start-up. The senior management members of the start-up team begin to disengage from full time involvement in the program during transition of the implementation from start-up to full production ramp-up, and as daily project management work tasks begin to normalize.

Technical Approach to Project Management

We leverage our extensive experience in designing and implementing successful GIS production workflows, and our approach to providing on-site production services focuses on a process-based implementation plan. Each program implementation involves four distinct phases:

1. Project Start-up
2. Production Ramp-up to contracted Performance Standards
3. Maintenance of Performance Standards
4. Continuous Measurable Improvement

The following provides an overview of an organizational plan, including staff requirements and work activities that we have developed for each phase of implementation. Utilizing a structured like this allows us to greatly reduce the risk of front-end delays and ensures customer success.

The Program Manager’s responsibilities include:

• Developing and implementing the overall program plan
• Development of the Quality Management System
• Ensuring adherence to contracted performance standards
• Monitoring the financial performance of the program
• Monitoring personnel management for all on-site locations
• Monitoring work activities and reporting
• Coordinating and facilitating briefings
• Reporting on program status to client and Sanborn executives