“Hire people who are smarter than you are—whose talents surpass yours—and give them opportunities for growth. It’s the smart thing to do, and it is a sign of high personal humility.” – Bruna Martinuzzi.
When it comes to hiring the right professionals for your venture, the recruitment process proves arduous for HR professionals. No wonder the digital transformation has been one of the significant elements bringing rapid pace in the operations, yet the set of traditional challenges remain the same.
As per a report by 2019 study, more than 67% of hiring professionals for technology and engineering streams were interested in recruiting candidates with technical proficiency. Such stats are enough to showcase the increasing demand for technical skill sets blended with the current demands of the marketplace.
However, more than 41% of respondents claimed that hunting for tech talent is getting difficult for companies. Furthermore, it adds the complexities of engaging and retaining the desirable candidates. As a result, a study proves that around 70% of the leading companies are experiencing talent shortages in the current corporate world. Now, this scenario is somewhat enough to scare the human resource professionals of the current and forthcoming industries.
Fortunately, there are some effective solutions to hiring problems. All you need is to act a bit smart towards your approach and be capable enough to recruit the right candidate for you. When talking about the biggest challenges of the hiring market in the current scenarios, companies find it difficult to hire the IT staff the most. Blame it on the advanced skill sets required or companies not being able to meet candidates’ expectations; many loopholes are leaving a huge impact on the hiring process and success rate.
Why is it so hard to hire IT professionals in the current marketplace?
Before you run into the tips for hiring the right IT people for your organization, it’s important to understand the insights and be familiar with the problematic areas. Research explains the gap between requirements and available talent as the biggest IT recruitment challenge so far. This requires an IT recruite expert to be familiar with the current domain expectations and requirements. Altering the hiring approach accordingly will help you fill the gap while keeping you up to date with the market needs.
Let’s get started with some hacks on hiring the right IT talent for your company –
1 – Understand the position wisely – As an HR professional, you don’t have to rush into the hiring process right after receiving the recruitment needs. Your first job should be to understand the JD (job description), know the other aspects of the desired position, and then get started. One of the most prominent examples is – many recruiters fail to understand the difference between many positions like – a cloud engineer and a cloud administrator. While you may have been seeing these two designations as one, there is a huge difference between the work nature of both. In-depth knowledge and understanding of the profile will help you wind up the process quickly without compromising quality checks.
2 – Know your ideal customer – Once you have understood the profile’s requirements, it’s time to create an ideal JD (job description). Consult the SME (subject matter expert) or relevant department to jot down the required skill-set. An appropriate job description works as a semi-functional representation of your ideal candidate. When it comes to hiring an IT professional, you should know that the perfect IT candidate should fall under 35 years. This expands the scope of consistent learning and skill set to progress in the near future.
3 – Know what your ideal candidates desire? – The hiring process should be focusing on both’s (candidate’s and organization’s) requirements and expectations. This entitles it as a fair recruitment process. This gives the qualified candidates the chance to see if the opportunity suits their needs or not. As per the surveys conducted by Linkedin and Glassdoor, most IT professionals look upon a string of factors. It includes –
- Company culture – 60%
- Salary offered – 67%
- Work-life balance – 29%
- Employee benefits – 63%
- Job location – 59%
So, whenever you prepare an ideal job description for the next desired role in your organization, ensure that you include all these factors on the priority. You never know which one you let meet your desirable candidate soon.
4 – Networking – You will need to effectively work on your networking skills. That’s the key facet of the IT management domain. The stronger your networking skills, the more you are likely to find a deserving candidate soon. Many HR professionals often refer to this as “the hidden job network.” However, it’s significant to note that many job seekers look upon a passive hiring approach even after having a strong network. As per LinkedIn, more than 70% of qualified applicants are passive job seekers who may not look for the latest job vacancies but are open to working on new opportunities. Therefore, HR professionals should focus on different online communities, including – online forums, industry portals, local technology events, to know about the potential candidates.
5 – Prefer an IT staffing company – If you are one of those business owners who don’t wish to spare time on the HR activities and recruitment process, consider joining hands with a certified IT staffing company in your vicinity. There are a plethora of such agencies and companies available to serve you. All you need is to learn about the best ones and go for them. This saves you from the hassle of planning a pre-defined recruitment strategy and involving the in-house staff in the recruitment process. Plus, this will not let you learn about the current market expectations.
The final takeaway
Working on the recruitment tricks and approaches becomes more accessible and effective when you keep yourself up to date with the current market demands. From the required skill set to the expected advancement in the candidate’s profile, you need to be familiar with it all in one go. This helps you facilitate and alter your recruitment approach from the beginning. As a responsible HR professional, you may need to walk the extra mile and research all about the current market expectations.
