I haved worked with Silicon Reef twice as a contra...

I haved worked with Silicon Reef twice as a contract developer and I really couldn't rate them highly enough - both from a client perspective and as an employer.

If you're a perspective client, Silicon Reef have dedicated teams of very talented people who will look after your case as it passes through their agile-based lifecycle. While each stage has it's own team, the big difference with SR is that there is genuine inter-team communication for each project. As a developer, I've found this extremely refreshing because when your project lands on my desk, I already know what the project is and the overall strategy to get it in place. The chances are I've already discussed the art of the possible with the Discovery team or worked with the Design team if the need is for something completely original. Quite simply, there are no surprises and anything I'm unsure about, I can very easily pass the query through to the right team or back to you, the client, via the PM.

They really have tried to make their project management system as effortless as possible to get the right solution as efficiently as possible. Yes, it is agile and allows for change, but there is nothing more frustrating for anyone in a project than having to redo work just because of poorly communicated requirements or because someone has promised a months worth of work in a week.

Silicon Reef was spawn from a group of individuals who worked for a global consumer goods company believing they could manage and provide SharePoint based solutions in a more efficient way. Personally, I think it speaks volumes that the same company has been using Silicon Reef ever since and that this remit is continually expanding to cover the whole O365 space. The teams continue to grow in a very considered and even way and this cross-spectrum growth allows them to dedicate the right amount of resources to each stage of a particular project's lifecycle. This flexibility has inevitably allowed them to successfully complete projects for a huge range of customers including small start-ups, government agencies and some of the biggest players in sport, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, consumer products and so on.

If you are a perspective employee, you will never have such a supportive management team or work with such great people. Whatever your ideas, you'll be listened to. Whatever your goals, you will have the opportunity to reach them. You will be praised and recognised throughout the company for any good work you do. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate any work you have completed.

Above all else, you will be treated fairly and equally across the whole company. There is absolutely no favouritism of a particular team; I've worked for agencies where they're only interested in the sales team's latest win or only training their developers - that's just not the Silicon Reef way! You are absolutely free to be the individual that you are - and that's far more motivating and satisfying than any "free beer fridge" or other such nonsense that you're likely to be too overworked or stressed to actually enjoy using in other agencies.

If you're offered a job, it's not just because you can do the work but because they recognise that you have genuine potential and can add real value to the company. Take it and run with it!