Banknorth started out as a small regional bank in Maine, but has grown rapidly in recent years, as a result of the company’s aggressive acquisition strategy. In 2005, Banknorth itself was acquired by TD Bank Financial Group, a large international banking organization based in Toronto, Canada, to become TD Banknorth.After a series of acquisitions in the past, and still more to come in the future, TD Banknorth faces a constant and critical challenge to successfully integrate the many disparate banking applications and IT systems of regional banks together into one cohesive whole.

Global Technical Talent’s first engagement was to provide personnel to expand the company’s integration portal. Lacking sufficient internal resources to accomplish this project, TD Banknorth contacted several providers of Technical Services personnel. After reviewing each provider’s rate structure as well as the quality of personnel presented, TD Banknorth determined that Global Technical Talent had proposed extremely qualified personnel at a very competitive cost.

OUR SOLUTION

Global Technical Talent succeeded in providing the necessary personnel for TD Banknorth’s integration software engagement, delivering the same level of expertise, but at significantly less cost than other provider’s solicited. The initial team of two people immediately expanded to six and has grown steadily since. After this success, TD Banknorth started coming to Global Technical Talent with placement requests in other disciplines, and our business with this client has expanded to the point that, today, TD Banknorth is one of Global Technical Talent’s largest clients.

Having its largest offices in Portland, and Lewiston, Maine, poses special challenges for TD Banknorth’s recruitment efforts. The local area is not a hotbed of technology, so there is not a deep pool of qualified talent in the immediate vicinity.

Global Technical Talent’s recruitment process searches nationwide to find people with the appropriate technical skills. However, identifying qualified candidates is only the beginning. Our thorough screening process ensures that in addition to having the necessary expertise, any candidate we refer to TD Banknorth is someone who is also willing to consider relocating to Maine.

In addition to having national reach, being objective outsiders with no affiliation to Maine has proven to be an advantage compared to local agencies TD Banknorth has used in the past. Global Technical Talent’s broad perspective and large, national client base means that prospective recruits view us with greater credibility than if we were from the Portland area and therefore somewhat biased when expounding on the merits of living and working in Maine. Being honest and impartial has enabled us to succeed where a number of local recruitment companies have failed or met with only limited success.

What began as a relatively small software integration engagement has evolved to include half a dozen separate business units, and address a wide range of technical disciplines. In the process of serving the company’s internal IT needs, Global Technical Talent has also helped TD Banknorth raise its own standards for the level of quality and sophistication of its IT personnel, technologies and practices. The client anticipates doubling the size of its technology group over the next four years, to support new acquisitions in process and others on the horizon. Now, every time the company encounters a gap in its skill set, TD Banknorth relies on Global Technical Talent to fill that void.

Filled over 200 positions Since 2001, Global Technical Talent has placed over 125 people at GEICO, including 20 management-level professionals. Some of the more significant positions include:

• Solutions Architect
• Extend Developer
• Perl Developer
• Technical Writer
• Integration Software Developer
• Integration Software Architect
• Project Manager
• Business Analyst
• Security Analyst
• Database Developer
• WAN Analyst