Strategies to Address IT Workforce Shortage
In today’s job market, Information Technology (IT) talent is hard to find. With over 600,000 unfilled job openings in cybersecurity alone, many organizations have reached the crossroads in addressing severe gaps in their IT resource pipeline. This shortage hinges on a myriad of reasons, from tightening budgets and high turnover to skills gaps and the rate of digital transformation. In response, public and commercial organizations are being forced to rethink their recruitment approach and strategies. To effectively meet this growing challenge, consider a combination of tactics such as strategic partnerships, reframing applicant requirements, reskilling/upskilling current workforce, and targeted automation efforts. In short, a comprehensive approach is needed to address the concern of IT workforce shortage.
Strategic Partnerships, Harnessing Teamwork
IT labor shortage is a considerable issue, and organizations have ample reasons to ask for help. The right partnerships may supplement your capabilities and resources, providing more firepower to identify and onboard desired talent. One of the most efficient options is to partner with a staffing firm such as Seneca Resources who specialize in delivering qualified IT talent and solutions. Professional staffing firms develop large databases and networks of specified resources, particularly for difficult/hard-to-fill positions. Instead of relying solely on internal recruiting teams, who are often stretched thin in the search for IT talent, professional staffing firms provide added manpower, speed, and cost-effectiveness throughout the full cycle recruiting process.
Another partner worthy of consideration is Higher Education institutions. These institutions are teeming with emerging talent prepared to enter the workforce and embark on their professional careers. With Higher Education partnerships, organizations can ensure a steady pool of applicants and even influence curriculums to match industry skillsets, requirements, and technologies, enhancing the volume of qualified IT talent entering the job market. Through relationships with Higher Education institutions, organizations can curate a pipeline of interns, apprentices, and potential employees to assist in meeting their business and technological objectives. Firms like Seneca Resources also partner with specific Higher Education institutions to help bridge the gap with the junior talent pool.
In addition to these options, organizations may want to think liberally about partnerships which align with their specific needs for IT talent. For example, if your organization is stationed near a military base you may want to nurture a relationship to aid veterans in their transition to civilian life. Many military veterans have extensive experience in sophisticated technologies, systems and high-pressure environments, making them an often overlooked yet strong source of qualified IT talent.
Furthermore, organizations may partner with large career fairs, technology symposiums, and professional groups that foster connections to the IT talent community. These relationships provide organizations with increased visibility and credibility to IT professionals seeking their next job opportunity or career pivot. Instead of only sifting through piles of resumes, organizations can foster direct relationships with leaders in these organizations to identify IT professionals who may not formally be on the job market, but open to exploring new roles.
Flexible Job Requirements
As with many industries, employers for IT roles have often held strict requirements regarding education and years of experience in promoting open positions. The 4-year college degree minimum remains a rigid standard, especially for many Government organizations. For certain fields such as law and medicine, it’s reasonable to uphold these standards due to the intensive nature of these professions and the high stakes associated with many of their disciplines. In technology, it’s been proven over time that education level may not be the best determinate of acumen or potential, demonstrated by the unparalleled success of tech leaders who have gathered substantial expertise via outside training, certifications and, ultimately, work experience. Although those may currently represent a smaller sample size of the entire IT workforce, their trajectory is important to consider when dismissing qualified applicants without a college degree.
To widen the pool of qualified applicants, organizations may consider shifting the focus of their requirements from achieved education levels to more apt measurements such as relevant certifications, skillsets and professional experience. By adjusting this criteria, organizations may expand their net of IT job seekers, providing more opportunity to evaluate and potentially hire skilled IT talent. Prestigious certifications in specific skillsets or technologies may be better indicators of a candidate’s fit for a particular role than the general education received from a four-year institution. While this does not apply to every role and requirement, and proper diligence remains needed, reprioritizing education standards may prove helpful.
In a similar manner, organizations may want to consider mid-career switchers or those with a limited IT background but robust ancillary skills which can be properly molded and developed to fit the open role. All organizations require at least a modicum of training for new recruits and motivated career changers are primed to learn and understand as much as they can to adapt to these new opportunities. Mid-career resources carry a deep understanding of professional work environments, key performance indicators (KPIs), and meeting important deadlines. Maybe the applicant has limited experience or education in a relevant technical skillset, but has exposure or some level of expertise in using technologies the open position relies upon. With proper guidance and training, can their baseline skills be bolstered to accomplish the tasks associated with a particular role? It may be a worthwhile option to pursue in the face of sprawling IT talent shortage.
Current Workforce Skills Development
When evaluating the status of your current workforce, especially within your IT organization, you may want to ask: What are the ways we can develop our current staff to help bridge the skills gap, and accomplish our important IT and larger business goals? Does your organization have the capacity to reskill and upskill members of your workforce to meet growing IT demands? If so, lean into your internal training programs and gear them towards skills/technologies your organization is seeking in open job requirements. Sourcing and developing talent from your current workforce not only helps with retention (which is another factor contributing to the IT labor shortage), but it also saves time and financial resources that accompany the onboarding/screening process.
A proven way to build out your internal training program is through mentorship/apprenticeship. Identify highly skilled individuals or leaders in your organization and align them with appropriate internal talent who can shadow, collaborate and learn from their example. This can start small with a one-on-one relationship between mentor-protégé, and eventfully grow to include multiple groups of leaders and learners. Done properly, this can strengthen the skills and morale of your organization, as leaders take a vested interest in the growth and development of their subordinates, but also sharpening their own skills in wanting to provide the correct examples, approach and methods for accomplishing tasks at hand.
If your organization does not have the internal capability to reskill/upskill current workers, you may want to invest in, or encourage the exploration of, third-party training programs. This could manifest in online training courses and certificate programs, which places the onus on individuals to self-start and work through the training materials in their free time. At the end of each lesson or course, a skills assessment is typically provided to test newly learned knowledge.
Another option to consider may be partnering with a technology bootcamp or training center to manage the labor of reskilling/upskilling. This provides a scholastic environment for the development of desired skills, often led by a dedicated instructor and staff who are experienced in training professionals in current technologies, systems and skillsets. This provides more camaraderie and collective ownership in learning new subjects, providing additional support and oversight than choosing to train alone.
Automate Where Applicable
Leveraging the power of automation is nothing new. From assembly lines to email reminders, automation is used to simplify and speed up tasks that may otherwise be considered tedious and time-consuming. Automation may not be able to solve every need for your organization, but it can provide your IT personnel with added capacity and increased efficiency in managing their workloads. Think of using software such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to sync important data and remove large amounts of data entry from your to-do list. You may want to use Ticket Assignment software or ChatBot functions to automate responses and keep easier track of the needs of both internal and external “customers.” Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms can assist in a variety of ways to create content, conduct deep research and analysis, and even fix/generate code. There are also automation tools which harness Machine Learning, Scheduling software, Social Media Managers, etc. The list of tools is expansive, and organizations have much to consider in deciding which automation technologies best align with their needs.
A Comprehensive Approach
As stated earlier in this article, a comprehensive approach is the most effective way to address the challenge of IT workforce shortage. Attacking the issue from multiple directions ensures proper coverage and diligence to support the sourcing of new talent and strengthen the skillsets of your current workforce. Utilizing a combination of the strategies provided, organizations can confidently move forward in accomplishing their critical technology and business goals.
If your organization would like to pursue a strategic partnership with a professional IT staffing firm, please contact Seneca Resources at (703) 390-9099 or info@senecahq.com.