86% of CIOs are Struggling to Hire: Future Proof Your Tech Team
Gone are the days when tech merely played a supporting role in businesses. Today it’s the heartbeat of innovation and the driving force behind competitiveness. As organisations dive deeper into data and AI to drive efficiencies, enhance decision-making and create new value propositions, the need for a tech team that’s not just skilled, but adaptable and forward thinking, capable of navigating AI projects, is absolutely critical. But let’s face it, ensuring your tech team is future-proofed and ready to tackle tomorrow's challenges is no walk in the park.
Recruiting and retaining tech talent has become the new business battleground. Driven by the push to digitise, innovate and harness data-led strategies, demand for technical roles has skyrocketed, outstripping supply. In a 2022 survey of almost 2000 digital leaders, 70% said that a digital skills shortage was preventing them from keeping up with the pace of change.1 Is your dream of digital greatness being thwarted by a shortage of skills and talent?
Keeping up with the pace of change
Tech moves at warp speed, and so do the skills it demands. Many organisations are struggling to find candidates with the specific skills and expertise they need, especially in emerging fields like artificial intelligence and data science. Even when candidates are found, keeping them onboard is a whole other battle. Candidates with sought after skills wield more choice and more power. A staggering 86% of CIOs surveyed by Gartner in late 2022 said they faced increasing competition for hiring top tech talent, with 71% also concerned about talent attrition.2 Ultimately, retention and reskilling are paramount for survival in the competitive tech sector.
Diving into the talent pool
Hiring graduates is a smart move and relatively straightforward. Not only do they bring a fresh outlook and diversity to your talent pool, they are keen to learn and be forward thinking. The downside of course is that they lack experience and business acumen and require significant investment in training and support.
Tech graduates are also typically ambitious, seeking opportunities for career growth and advancement. With numerous job opportunities available, it’s very easy and all too common for them to switch jobs if they find a better offer and opportunity for professional development.
Then there are the seasoned pros. Hiring and retaining experienced tech talent poses multifaceted challenges. The scarcity of skilled tech professionals gives them significant bargaining power. Offering competitive compensation and benefits is vital, which is where smaller companies often come unstuck. Instead, they must emphasise unique growth opportunities. Craving purpose and opportunity, seasoned tech talent continuously seek to be challenged and motivated by the problems they tackle. That means you must provide stimulating work environments that keep them engaged and fulfilled in their roles – a challenge for most organisations in itself.
And let’s not forget the re-trainers. These are people who have reinvented themselves for the digital age. They are workplace veterans who have dedicated their time and money to mastering complex new skills. Why wouldn’t you want to employ someone with career experience and career-ready skills? They understand the importance of the pursuit of knowledge, but don’t be fooled into thinking that just because they come with an extensive CV, they can be left to their own devices. It’s hard to thrive in an industry like ours and they’ll initially need plenty of mentoring and support.
Building your tech dream team: Are you ready?
So how do you future proof your tech dream team? Leaders in every industry recognise that investment in their tech teams is crucial to unlocking the myriad opportunities created by digital disruption. But with demand outstripping supply and technology moving at a pace that organisations can’t keep up with, cultivating a skilled and adaptable tech team is no mean feat.
What if your solution provider doesn’t just design and deliver your strategy, or your platform, or your AI solution and then leave you to build the right tech team? What if part of the solution included identifying where you’ve got skills gaps, selecting the right talent – people that aren’t just a good technical fit, but the right cultural fit for your organisation? And what if your solution provider was to train and mentor that talent with the single ambition of shaping them as they learn and develop with the project, until the day that they become a permanent and valuable member of your team?
Whilst technology is our toolbox and developing solutions at lightning speed is our speciality, at FOIL we recognise that it’s the human touch that drives real change. That’s why our solutions include finding the tech talent you need and developing their skills as they work alongside us on your project, leaving you with a future ready data team capable of managing and enhancing the technology we implement.
Are you ready to build your tech dream team? Do you have a clear view of your organisation’s technical vision and roadmap? Do you have a solid understanding of your current team’s skills and capabilities? Can you identify where you have skills gaps?
These questions that aren’t easy to answer. We get it. But we can work on it together, and with a focused strategy and talent that grows with your project and your technical aspirations, you can stay ahead of the game on the journey to Enterprise AI.
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