In a recent survey conducted by Indeed, which involved more than 1,000 hiring managers and recruiters, it was revealed that over half (53 percent) of the respondents have hired tech professionals even when they did not meet the job description requirements. This trend could prove beneficial for companies seeking to address shortages in their IT talent pool. While this indicates that businesses are actively exploring innovative approaches to meet their IT talent needs, here are five strategies that businesses can adopt to bridge the gaps in their IT resources and talent pool.
#1: Training People with Transferable Skills/Hiring Recent Grads
Businesses can address their IT requirements by leveraging individuals within the organization who possess transferable skills. For instance, an employee with a strong IT background who can acquire proficiency in a new programming language to meet job prerequisites. Additionally, organizations can consider bringing in interns as a means to assess their cultural compatibility, adaptability, and potential fit within the existing team.
Another approach for businesses to fill tech positions and address talent shortages is by investing in internal training programs for recent college graduates, whether they hold two- or four-year degrees in computer science or come from technical trade schools. This entails nurturing their growth into mid-level technicians who can deliver value, a process that may span a year or longer.
#2: Support and Mentor Programs
Companies facing challenges in locating tech talent can benefit from establishing a mentorship program and collaborating with junior IT team members to guide them along a skills development trajectory. During the initial six months of the mentorship program, there is a focused investment in team members who rapidly acquire new skills. As they reach the six-month or one-year mark, they start contributing value to the company. However, they still require guidance from senior leadership to further their growth and navigate potential pitfalls successfully.
#3: Internal Training, Certification
When you have capable IT generalists but require them to acquire specialized training, it can be advantageous to invest in the certification training they need, provided they possess the aptitude, ambition, and a long-term alignment with the company. However, it’s essential to consider the potential downside, which is that investing in IT personnel training doesn’t always guarantee a lasting payoff. There’s a possibility that they may choose to depart for another, higher-paying job, taking the training you provided with them.
#4: Sharing IT Talent with Other Businesses
Another potential approach is to explore collaborations with non-competitive businesses you have relationships with, such as vendors or companies sharing the same premises, that may employ part-time tech staff. In such arrangements, the consulting-time costs can be shared with their respective employers. This option might be viable for smaller businesses with basic IT requirements.
However, it does come with certain drawbacks. These part-time tech staff members may not always be available when issues arise, even if they are on call. Additionally, they may possess general IT knowledge rather than specialized expertise, limiting their capacity to address more complex IT needs effectively.
#5: Strategic IT Staffing Through Augmentation.
These solutions can indeed entail significant costs, and depending on your specific IT requirements, it may take a considerable amount of time before you reach a point of return on investment or break-even. In today’s digital age, IT needs encompass a range of aspects, including ongoing network and IT system maintenance, monitoring, and management. Furthermore, it involves the development and execution of IT strategies to implement technology solutions that align with future business needs. This holds true irrespective of your business’s size. Therefore, even with part-time IT staff or an in-house IT team, their skill sets and numbers may not be adequate to effectively bridge the IT resource gap.
Gaps in IT can lead to major problems in terms of network downtime, slow business technology processes, and cyber attacks due to poor security patches and software update scheduling. With today’s deadline-driven IT demands and time-compressed project cycles, the ability to augment a core IT staff with on-demand advanced-skills professionals can dramatically increase a company’s competitive advantage.
By having an external managed IT services partner (MSP) to deal with day-to-day IT support, as well as long-term evolution, the organization can tap into highly skilled IT consultative support. The best of these MSPs provide a broad and interconnected suite of services that are bolstered by an understanding of how to develop and fulfill a defined IT strategy that is aligned with business goals and culture.
Engaging the services of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can be a highly effective means of bridging the IT resource gaps within your organization. MSPs can address personnel shortages and provide essential tools for monitoring, maintenance, security, and vendor relationships, which are essential for investments in new IT solutions. The right MSP can offer specialized personnel as required, all under a predetermined price contract that can be adapted to accommodate both expansion and temporary needs.
Additionally, an MSP can serve as a valuable consultant, assisting you in crafting a robust IT, cybersecurity, and virtualization strategy. Such a strategy helps prepare your business for future requirements, fostering qualities like agility, growth, and flexibility.
