Staying Ahead In A Digital Skills Shortage

05.08.2021

In our previous post we talked about the ‘Digital skills shortage disaster’ which is hot on everybody's lips at the moment. Next up, let’s look at the challenges this presents for hiring managers, and the steps businesses can take to ensure they stay ahead of the curve.

What are the challenges for hiring managers and businesses?

There’s no escaping the fact that demand for digitally-skilled talent is far greater than supply, and the gap is increasing. If demand remains unfulfilled, there will be a long-term skilled workforce deficit, which will ultimately affect the ability of businesses to control their own growth and success. This brings detrimental impact on the economy as a whole, and we could be staring down the barrel of a stark new reality of a digital skills shortage.

So how is this affecting hiring managers? Simply, they’re hitting a brick wall when it comes to recruitment, especially in the areas of cyber security, cloud-based development and the sexy-new-kid-on-the block - AI. Why? There are simply not enough candidates out there to go around. The UK doesn’t produce enough highly-skilled tech and digital specialists, and competition for candidates who are available is stiff. 

According to The Open University Business Barometer report, the effect this is having on the recruitment process is enormous - 56% of UK organisations are experiencing skills shortages, and in 2020 organisations spent £6.6 billion to plug short term gaps (an increase from £4.4 billion spent the previous year). The recruitment process is taking much longer and the onboarding of new employees has been delayed by an average of one to two months. This has increased the cost of recruitment exponentially - 64% of surveyed respondents confirmed increased recruitment spending, with costs increasing by as much as 49%.

The staggering increase in the cost of recruiting fresh talent is a huge concern for businesses. Larger companies are in a better position to cope as they can flex their financial muscles but smaller companies are less able to compete. Companies must therefore think of new and innovative ways to attract talent or retain and upskill their current workforce in order to survive and thrive in what is a fiercely competitive environment. 

So, what can hiring managers actually do? 

Swim outside of the usual talent pool

Organisations must get creative and develop new approaches to attracting talent. With remote working now the norm, businesses now have access to a much wider pool of talent and can in theory recruit people from anywhere in the world. Another way to widen the talent pool is to hire people from more diverse backgrounds, or people without a university degree who may have previously been overlooked.

Invest in the face of the business

With candidates having so many opportunities to choose from, organisations must do their best to stand out and become an attractive proposition. They must build a strong employer brand, create clear and accurate job descriptions and engaging job adverts that will stand out from their competitors, have an effective onboarding process, and provide an environment and opportunities that will make people want to stay. 

It’s not all about fresh blood

A report by Gartner TalentNeuron highlighted how many organisations focus solely on hiring new talent to get the skills they need. However, the 2020 survey also revealed that 74% of businesses put an immediate halt on hiring when Covid hit. Alison Smith, Director at Gartner HR said “In today's environment, hiring is not possible for many organisations. Instead, companies must look at current employees who have skills closely matched to those in demand and utilise training to close any gaps.”

Invest in existing talent, starting now!Reskill. Upskill. Repeat. To address the skills shortage problem, companies must invest more in enabling their workforce to upskill or reskill, whether this is done internally or outsourced to external training providers. 

Retention retention retention...

With the difficulties faced in hiring new talent, companies are turning their attention to retention. Retention can be a better long-term solution to recruiting, onboarding and training new hires in terms of time and cost saving (it can cost on average 25% more to hire rather than retain). Companies must provide job security and a clear path for development, offer competitive packages and encourage and support a flexible work-life balance. It’s imperative to foster a positive company culture, one where people will want to stay (this will also help attract future candidates), and invest in the right tools and technologies so employees can do their jobs effectively. It’s increasingly important to hold regular reviews and provide feedback, provide performance incentives, and put data to work from employee exit interviews, identifying any patterns relating to when and why employees leave. 

Identify, understand and prioritise skills adjacencies

Gaining an insight into skills adjacencies (the disparities between employees' existing abilities or skill sets and those that they need to learn) will enable managers to identify secondary and tertiary skills and map out areas for development. 

Embrace apprenticeships

Technology-related apprenticeships have been highly praised and are now seen as an effective way to attract much-overlooked talent, as well as encouraging social mobility and recruiting people from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Invest in non-technical training and development

It’s just as important to invest in employees' non-digital strengths. As employees will be expected to adjust to ever-changing roles, adapt to new technologies and continually learn new skills, the development of human skills such as creativity and imagination, and emotional and social intelligence will be key to ensuring workers have the flexibility to adapt and grow as their roles require.

Don’t stop there!

As skills continue to evolve, organisations must prepare for continual change. Just as business is constantly changing, the skills people have and the way they work is constantly evolving, too. It will be necessary to ensure a workforce can engage in continuous learning, and it must be seen as an ongoing process rather than a one-off event.

If organisations want to thrive, they need to invest in the skills of their current workforce, now! It will be a tough challenge, especially at a time when budgets are restrained or frozen. But it’s a challenge all businesses must not only recognise, but respond to, and the time to start is now!

There is one last thing organisations can do that will help them no end...

Partner with a trusted recruiter

Partnering with a reputable and trusted recruitment specialist can be invaluable when it comes to identifying and attracting difficult-to-find candidates. NuFuture is an IT & Tech recruitment specialist dedicated to finding the right talent for our clients. We’re specialists in our market and our knowledge runs deep. 

Connect with NuFuture today to find out how we can help you. 

Call us on 01344 289224 or email info@nufuture.co.uk.

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