[Sussex] Ubuntu used in the fight against AIDS

[Stephen Williams]

On Sat, 2007-03-17 at 01:27 +0000, Geoffrey Teale wrote:
> On Fri, 2007-03-16 at 13:50 +0000, Nico Kadel-Garcia wrote:
> > Oh, it's fun to get good open source (often Linux these days!) working in 
> > clinical environments and research. I did a dozen years of medical research 
> > in the US, where is where I learned Linux and the like. And it's so much fun 
> > to deflate EXCITING! NEW! REVOLUTIONARY! claims. That's why the language of 
> > the language of the cmedresearch site is a bit frightening in its use of 
> > words like "paradigm shift". Using it twice on the same page 
> > (http://www.cmedresearch.com/about/idam.html) is excessive.
> 
> OK, we're stearing way off topic - but we are a Linux based business,
> and I feel duty bound to answer you comments as publically as they were
> made.
> 
> Agreed, the website is terrible - it was put together by an external
> marketing company a while back, we're looking to change it.  I actually
> find that interview candidates who've read the website don't really have
> any idea what we do when they arrive - a key indicator that something is
> wrong.
> 
> Despite the flowery language I'd stand by the underlying claims.  What
> we do really is very different from anyone else in the field.  We're not
> just a technology company but a working, full service CRO.  We don't
> make claims about our technology specualtively - we really are using it
> to deliver complex, adaptive trials using electronic data capture, paper
> and hybrids of the two. 
> 
> > The software and tools may be fine and useful, but the overuse of buzzwords 
> > and lack of anything resembling a technical explanation of their service 
> > is..... troubling. Worse, the "join" web page is full of "Salary: 
> > Competitive" listings, and every single job description says as its first 
> > line "Are you highly motivated" or "We are seeking ambitious".
> 
> Again, yes I'd take the point about the marketing content of the
> website.  
> 
> However, with regards to the job ads, I'll point out that those
> qualities really are important to us -  we recognise that our business
> is entirely dependent on the quality of staff we employ.   I interview
> an awful lot of very clever engineers, but I turn down far more than I
> hire.  It's not good enough just to be clever.  The nature of our
> solution means we have to solve problems that you don't find in the vast
> majority of software engineering jobs.  To be successul you have to be
> clever enough to think up truly original solutions and then have the
> motivation and strength of character to drive them through to completion
> in a safety-critical environment.  To be clear, "motivation" and
> "ambition" do not have to equate to "motivated by money" or "ambitous
> for power" - most of the people within Cmed joined because they were
> "ambitous" to do there job as well as it can possibly done and they're
> "motivated" by working in an evnironment for of like minded people.
> 
> As for the "competitive" salary - I hire people fresh from university
> all the way up to tens of years of experience.   We work very hard to
> ensure that we pay them what they're worth and develop them to their
> full potential.  I don't want people to apply for jobs at Cmed purely
> because they see and attractive figure on the job ad - so we choose not
> to indicate the range.  If, however, a potential applicant contacts me I
> will happily indicate the salary range to them.   Our staff retention
> rates are fantastic - all the evidence I have suggests we're doing ok in
> thie regard.
> 

OK Geoff, our curiosities are piqued now - what are your salary levels?

> > That's always a sign that the company is marketing driven, not service or 
> > product driven. Such environments can be very exciting, but are filled with 
> > risks. 
> 
> I'm sorry you've come to that conclusion, but if anything it tells me
> that the one thing we've not been good at, ironically enough, is the
> marketing.

Well, they do say HR stands for Hopeless Recruiting.

> 
> I've been with Cmed for a number of years and I can guarantee to you
> that what you describe is not the case - the business is entirely driven
> by the quality of our technology and high levels of service we deliver.
> If that weren't the case we wouldn't be growing in the way we are.  Our
> customers come back time and time again because we really do deliver a
> range of great services built on excellent technology.
> 
> ... of course you only have my word for all of that, but there's enough
> people on this list who've known me long enough to vouch that everything
> written above is genuine.
>