3 ways you can overcome the tech talent shortage

The Great Resignation has affected organizations across industries around the globe. However, with rising demand, the tech industry is among the worst affected. According to a survey conducted by the CNBC Technology Executive Council in October 2022, nearly 60% of participating executives said that their biggest concern is finding the right employees. 

The fact is, there are more tech job vacancies than there are people to fill them. This is a concern for organizations with empty seats, and people are having to be a little bit more creative in their recruitment. Here are three primary ways that you can overcome the shortage without compromising on the quality of your hires. 

Be flexible

For both employers and employees, demand heavily influences what you can expect from each other. In a market where there are more people than jobs, it is the employees that have to make compromises on commute, pay, lifestyle, and position. In a market where there are more jobs than people, the employers have to be more flexible in order to build – and maintain- a strong team.

The job in question will dictate what is first to go or be tweaked. You may have to hire outside of your area and offer remote or hybrid working.  According to the CNBC survey, 70% of respondents said that they had started hiring remotely to fill their staffing gaps. This is great for employees, who now have even more choice, but not so convenient for employers who may be losing local talent to agencies in another state, or even another country. 

Next, take a look at your requirements. Do you specify a college degree and 5 years’ experience? The tech industry is one of the few where a degree isn’t always necessary, and reviewing your essential criteria will have a significant impact on your pool of applicants, so it may be worth reviewing. 

Adding flexibility to what you require as well as what you offer won’t just mean that more people in more locations will see your ad, it shows prospective employees that you are a great company to work for. And anything that you can do to stand out and demonstrate that you are the right choice will help you in a competitive recruitment landscape. 

Invest in success

In any shortage, the savvy businessperson anticipates growing needs and works out how they can fill them before they reach crisis point. A good way to address the growing tech talent shortage is to look at the assets that you already have – in this case, your people — and start upskilling them before you need them. Don’t be content to let less senior employees seek career development in other organizations. Focus on retaining staff, from the most junior upwards, by investing in their training and skills development. Identify areas of strength, offer continual development opportunities, and make it clear that future opportunities will be, and are, available before they start looking elsewhere. A mentoring system can help staff to feel valued which will in turn help to improve their productivity, as well as their loyalty. 

A two-pronged approach: retention of good staff now, and investing in your staff for the future, will allow you to tackle and overcome some of the challenges of the tech talent gap while ensuring that you continue to build a solid workforce. Just as offering flexible employment packages will help to boost your reputation; internal upskilling and reduced staff turnover will go a long way to making your organization look like an attractive prospect to skilled potential staff members. 

Get professional help

Presumably your organization knows what it is doing, and it does it well. You will undoubtedly have goals and strategies for how you will achieve them, and preventing mission drift will go a long way to ensuring your success. Working out how to fill the talent gap is a distraction that you almost certainly don’t need. Even if you have a crack internal recruitment department, the recruitment and hiring process will inevitably place a drain on your time and resources. The secret to success is to understand what you can do, what you should do, and what you should outsource. By outsourcing you have access to a high standard of service without the associated management complications and investment usually required for in house services. 

In the short term, if you have a gap that needs filling urgently, this could include engaging an external contractor to fill a post while you recruit. This approach has multiple benefits. It eliminates the risks associated with an under-resourced workforce, such as overworked staff who then become dissatisfied and leave, further adding to your staffing issues, and compromised quality of operations as there simply aren’t enough people – or enough time – to get everything done properly. Getting a contractor will also give you a little breathing space, which will prevent you from making rash decisions and hiring the first candidate to come along, regardless of their suitability for the role.

Another outsourcing option is to entrust your recruitment strategy and activity to a recruitment agency. Tech recruiters are fully immersed in the digital present and future. They understand the pressing needs of the tech industry and know the best way to help organizations to find – and keep- excellent hires. Your recruiter will take the time to get to know you and devise a strategy that will get your job opportunities noticed by as many people as possible. They will run the recruitment process and ensure that you get good quality hires, because their reputation depends on it. 

The talent gap is undoubtedly a worry but with an adjusted approach and some out of the box thinking, you can improve your work environment and culture while building a happy, skilled, productive team.