How Can you Manage the Shortage of Skilled Workers

We are excited to share with you five expert tips that can revolutionise your employee recruitment approach.

Proactive Employee Recruitment

Under the auspices of the shortage of talent, passive advertising of jobs is no longer sufficient. HR leaders have to develop a proactive, forward-looking recruitment strategy for staff planning.

This strategy will embed the various measures required to help build the necessary skills. There is a trend from recruiting to holistic talent acquisition, which also includes employer branding and employee retention. Adopting such a systematic approach also includes identifying the IT skills available in the workforce as well as those that will be needed in the future. Analytics tools can provide valuable support in this regard.

When recruiting IT experts, direct search activities are increasingly important instead of the classic way of searching. That’s why today’s HR leaders focus on networking in the IT sector. They use specialist blogs, participate in IT communities, and take part in IT roundtables. By building a skills network, their reach is significantly increased.

A Candidate-centric Approach

In the IT realm, the tables have turned – it's now companies seeking candidates, not the other way around. To thrive in this new labor market landscape, HR leaders must pivot towards candidate-centric strategies. Tailoring role profiles and work conditions to the needs of the target group is paramount. Enhancing the employee experience not only boosts retention but also aligns with the evolving demands of the IT workforce.

While salary remains pivotal, it's no longer the sole driver. Today's candidates seek flexibility, work-life balance, and remote work options. Customised growth opportunities and benefits are equally vital. HR leaders can spotlight these compelling attributes as part of an impactful employer branding strategy, while also emphasising the company's commitment to sustainability – a value cherished by modern employees.

Beyond these considerations, the application experience itself is a crucial factor. Simplifying the candidate journey through modern interfaces and smooth processes is essential. Ensuring productive collaboration involves efficient onboarding and offboarding practices. To excel in this shifting landscape, HR leaders should embrace a comprehensive strategy that encompasses culture, purpose, flexibility, and a streamlined application process.

Leverage Untapped Potential: Reskilling and Upskilling

Where there’s a shortage of IT specialists on the market, it makes sense to train your own employees to become IT specialists.

First of all, you should consider your current IT staff for this, as their skills could be adapted to new IT requirements through upskilling. However, employees from other areas can also be retrained for IT tasks. People with the relevant skills but without the necessary (formal) training can be prepared for a new career through systematic IT reskilling.

Of course, suitable incentives should also be created for such programmes. Although the new and improved career prospects that may result are a great incentive in themselves, upskilling and reskilling clearly have a positive impact on employee satisfaction and retention.

Expand Candidate Pool

By retraining their own employees, HR leaders can increase the pool of candidates internally.

This pool can also be increased externally by using different talent channels. In the IT sector in particular, experts from the contingent workforce, such as freelancers and gig workers, are increasingly being used alongside permanent positions. Another option is to make use of temporary staff.

In recruiting, it also pays to have effective diversity and inclusion programmes in place. There are obvious benefits to targeting traditionally atypical groups in the tech sector. These include women, older people, people with disabilities, disadvantaged social groups, and so on. Including them not only helps to increase the pool of candidates; it also brings new perspectives to the organisation. Diversity improves the corporate culture and strengthens the ability to innovate.

Enter into Partnerships

A forward-looking recruitment strategy requires a multi-dimensional approach. This is best achieved in a comprehensive skills and talent ecosystem.

Building this is an important goal for HR leaders looking to attract additional candidates from outside their organisation and identify skills in current IT trends.

Companies can raise their profile as employers in the ecosystem through formats such as workshops, events, or hackathons. Cooperation partners include educational institutions such as universities, colleges, or schools, but also associations, non-profit organisations or possible even competitors. External personnel specialists such as the IT expert Experis are also particularly helpful here.