Future Proofing the IT Workforce

Our digital age calls for businesses to utilise both technology solutions and human expertise. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, more than ever businesses must invest in a talent strategy that considers the importance of upskilling within the organisation, the ability to attract the right talent, and the ability to outsource.

Finding, keeping, and growing talent, plays a huge role in an organisation’s ongoing success and competitive edge.

Addressing the skills shortage

As technology develops and the demands on organisations continue to change, so do skill requirements. The last few years have revealed a growing skills shortage in IT across every industry.

According to a recent Deloitte report, 51% of CIOs surveyed cite a significant mismatch between current competencies and future needs. In addition, the World Economic Forum estimates that more than half (54%) of all employees will require significant reskilling by 2022.

Focusing on role requirements, a joint ESG and ISSA survey states that the top roles business leaders want to fill are in cloud solutions (43%), security intelligence (40%), and data analysis (37%). Cloud security and security analysis are among the skills that the survey cited as being in shortest supply.

Gartner has completed significant research in skills demands and shortages. A recent survey asked IT and business leaders to identify the top critical role to establish or improve bench strength over the next three years. The five roles that emerged were digital business designer/architect, data scientist, enterprise architect and chief digital officer cloud architect.

The same survey asked respondents to rank the top three technology domain investments for the next 12 months. Leaders selected data science and analytics, cybersecurity, and API and service platform design. For three years, they ranked machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), API and service platform design, and cybersecurity as top priorities.

Many analysts, including Gartner, encourage organisations to consider their roadmap of technology investments and their current maturity to determine roles and skills required of their IT workforce in the short and long term.

Looking closer at skill requirements

There are clear trends around what skills are in greater demand, including the growing importance of soft skills.

The Harvard Business Review’s IT Talent Strategy for a New Era report highlighted the most in-demand skills. It found the top technology requirements were for data science, analytics and visualisation, cloud, software engineering, AI/machine learning, internet of things and security.

Soft and core skills required were communication (written, verbal, pitching, storytelling), collaboration, consulting, coaching, influence, empathy, networking, and problem solving. Finally, top digital skills were agile methods, design thinking, DevOps, journey mapping, platform model and product mindset.

Meanwhile, the ESG and ISSA survey emphasised the importance of business enablers and social skills. In their new hires, over 40% of executives are looking for analytical skills (47%), communication skills (43%), critical thinking (42%) and creativity (42%). Gartner echoes the sentiment, also noting that decisiveness and the ability to innovate are increasingly important.

Skills once only considered necessary for customer-facing roles are now must-haves throughout the entire IT department. The researchers state that traditional training and talent development approaches won’t be enough because the decade to 2030 will demand flexibility and adaptability on a scale not seen before.

Growing the talent pool: hiring and upskilling

There’s a case to be made for hiring internally or externally, and ultimately it comes down to the business’s needs and resources.

Gartner analysis reveals that IT and business leaders report an average of six months to fill new roles externally, and nine months to develop internal candidates. However, the analysts state it can take longer to recruit externally if the skills are in high demand, and the time spent looking for a suitable candidate is time spent without the skill set.

Making a case for upskilling internally, almost half (46%) of the CEOs who responded to PwC’s global CEO survey said the most important initiative to close a potential skills gap is retraining and upskilling, compared with just 18% who said it’s through hiring.

Many analysts and researchers state that creating a culture of constant learning and upskilling is beneficial to an organisation’s bottom line and can lead to higher engagement, loyalty, and motivation.

Creating this culture can be achieved such as through mentoring programmes, hackathons, job shadowing, external executive coaching or internal coaching, simulation training, on-the-job training, sponsored tertiary education degrees and certificates, apprenticeship programmes, e-learning, job rotation and more.

Attracting talent through branding

Talent acquisition comes down to two priorities: where to find talent and how to attract skilled professionals. Attracting talent can be influenced by an organisation’s ability to offer remote and hybrid working opportunities, being flexible with what degrees and certifications they require applying for the role.

They can develop internal brand messaging and externally. CIOs can use it as a tool to build or enhance the credibility of IT within the business or to redefine its role as the company transforms.

Building an interesting brand and known name increases the chance that top professionals want to work for your team. External branding promotes a strong enterprise mission while also showcasing the business as a place where IT professionals can do interesting and forward-thinking work.

Understanding the role of the CIO

CIOs play a crucial role in both attracting, retaining, and training for talent within an IT team. Today, CIOs must understand evolving technologies, skills requirements, the organisation’s aims, and where these elements intersect. IT leaders must be proficient at knowing when it is best to hire, when and how to upskill within the organisation and when to consider managed services models.

Harvard Business Review states that to sufficiently acquire and develop talent, CIOs must take a more expansive approach and think about how skill requirements will evolve. Gartner states training has moved from top-down to employee-driven, and in this CIOs must empower teams to take ownership of learning while also sharing knowledge through the likes of mentoring and coaching, or broader strategy meetings.

For managed services, CIOs can view this as ‘renting’ skills from professional services firms to gain access to hyper-specialised expertise. According to PwC, nearly 90% of executives use or plan to use managed services, 18% say they’re already realising benefits from managed services, and 49% are starting their outsourcing journey.

The ingredients for success

While a talent strategy looks different for every company, there are some key ingredients. You must be able to invest in the right technology according to your specific business goals. You must know what roles, skills and competencies will be required in the short and long term to deliver on these goals. You must understand when it’s best to hire for a role, when to upskill internally and when to outsource. And you must create a culture of ongoing learning and problem solving to empower your team to contribute to your overall success.

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