Despite hiring freezes and layoffs, many organizations continue to face shortages in information technology (IT) talent and these shortages are expected to reach critical levels as the economy improves, according to a new survey by Deloitte.
“The IT talent crisis is not a new phenomenon. But when the economy turns around, it will likely worsen as companies scramble to rebuild their workforces and position themselves for growth,” says Heather Stockton, partner in Deloitte’s human capital practice.
“The crisis will be further heightened as a strengthened economy will lead top talent to seek new opportunities unless their existing organizations meet their demands for personal development, challenge, pay, career succession, and in many cases, mobility.”
The survey of 306 IT and business leaders from around the world, including 30 from Canada, found 51 per cent of respondents strongly believe talent issues have limited their organization’s productivity and efficiency.
One-half of the respondents also say the talent shortage is limiting their ability to innovate, which is the core benefit that technology brings to a business.
The talent shortages are also affecting key dimensions of business success, including growth (58 per cent), speed to market (54 per cent), quality (53 per cent) and customer relationships (53 per cent).
The majority of IT respondents expect to expand their workforces over the next three to five years, with 47 per cent expecting to see at least five per cent annual growth in the IT workforce over that period.
The following are some tips to help organizations manage the IT talent gap and enhance their talent strategies and program execution:
• Take care of top performers and critical IT workforce segments. Communicate one-on-one with these employees, as they are attractive targets for the competition. Let them know you value their continued dedication in tough times and they will not be cut. Pre-empt competitive offers by providing them with valuable development opportunities that are worth more than money.
• Hold managers accountable for retention. Make IT leaders and managers explicitly responsible for retention. Tying managers’ performance and compensation to retention can give them a real incentive to keep their employees both productive and happy, and not focus solely on short-term financial performance.
• Offer an engaging career path. Make sure there is a clear career path for IT employees and invest the time to send the formal and informal messages necessary to keep them secure and happy. Although outsourcing or resource supplementation may be necessary during these tough economic times, be aware of the impact of outsourcing on retained employees’ morale.
• Do not kill survivors by drowning them with extra work. After layoffs, do not pile all of the old work on the few people who were lucky enough to keep their jobs. Accept the fact that some of the old work simply will not get done and make sure employees get the training they need to succeed with their new responsibilities.
• Be careful about cutting compensation. Think carefully about your company’s culture and how your people are likely to react before introducing across-the-board pay cuts. Employees in organizations that rely on contributions from people at every level tend to favour a shared approach to the pain of cost-cutting, but employees in organizations that emphasize individual performance might actually prefer layoffs.
• Find smarter ways to develop people. Instead of cancelling all development programs, which can undermine your organization’s long-term competitiveness, consider shifting to less expensive approaches — such as knowledge sharing, job rotations, special assignments, communities of practice and web-based learning. Programs like these keep people learning and growing without breaking the bank.
• Tell the truth. If you tiptoe around the truth, people will spend their time speculating and worrying about what is really going on, and your best people will start formulating exit strategies and contingency plans.
Source: http://www.hrreporter.com/ArticleView.aspx?l=1&articleid=7435
