According to Cybersecurity Venture, there were 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in 2021. The number stood at 1 million back in 2014. This translates into a 350% increase in unfilled cybersecurity positions from 2013 to 2021. One of the primary reasons for this is the lack of qualified candidates. Only 25% of candidates applying for those jobs are actually qualified to fill in those roles.

Combine that with the great resignation, work related stress and aging IT workforce and this problem becomes even more complex. Experts think that this problem will even get worse in the future so how can businesses overcome this issue to keep their business protected server deals from cybersecurity attacks.

In this article, you will learn about ways to get over talent shortfall problems in the IT industry.

How To Get Over IT Talent Shortfall In 2022?

Here are some of the ways you can use to overcome the IT talent shortfall in 2022.

1. 
   

   Get Better at Spotting Talent

The first thing you need to do is to assess your needs. Once you do that, the next step would be to identify roles you are hiring for and what skills you need to fill in those roles. This will make it easy for you to find and hire the best talent for your business. You should not only look at your current business requirements but should also consider your future needs.

For example, if your business is embarking on a digital transformation journey, you should hire a candidate that fits in that role. Instead of solely focusing on technical skills, you should also consider candidates with soft skills. Make sure you estimate the time you might need to hire a perfect candidate so you don’t have to make this decision in a hurry. You don’t want to hire a wrong candidate for a crucial position as it can cause more harm than good to your business.

2. 
   

           Focus On Internal Mobility

If you are struggling to find new talent, you can train your existing talent so they can wear multiple hats at once. You can even facilitate cross departmental collaboration and even migrations for employees. This means that an employee working in one department get the opportunity to learn from an employee working in another department or see how another department operates. This will broaden their horizon by giving them more exposure and help them learn new skills in the process.

3. 
   

           Use an Omni Channel Approach

When it comes to finding new talent, it is highly recommended that you adopt a multi channel approach. Use a combination of traditional and emerging channels to source new talent. You can visit universities and colleges but can also use online channels such as Linkedin. Attend technology fairs and competition or tech bootcamps in search of the best tech talent. You can even form partnerships with niche service providers such as best vps server providers and industry partners for talent hunt. 

4. 
   

           Hire Before The Demand Arises

If you are waiting for a vps server in Singapore with a cybersecurity employee to leave your organization before you could run the hiring process, you are bound to get into trouble. Finding the best cybersecurity talent in an environment where there is acute shortage of talent could take weeks or even months. That is why it is highly recommended that you take an proactive approach to hiring cybersecurity talent instead of a reactive one. Create a long term IT workforce plan with long term objectives in mind.

5. 
   

           Prioritize Sustained Investment Over Opportunistic Involvement

When it comes to making an investment in employee development, you should always think about long term and sustainability. You should not focus too much on opportunistic involvement. Always put organization welfare over improving the perception of the organization. Consistency is key to success and you should make it an integral part of your organization charter. Even if you are making smaller strides, you should do it regularly to achieve the success you are looking for.

6.        
   

   Take a Holistic Approach To Workforce Development

If you want to succeed in today’s highly competitive talent market, you need comprehensive collaboration and coordination between different functional units of the organization such as human resource, finance, marketing and information technology as well as the third party providers your business is associated with. You should have a shared ownership of IT workforce development. The better the collaboration between different functional units, the easier it would be for you to arrange workforce development initiatives and make them successful too.

7. 
   

           Location, Location, Location

Your location also plays a crucial role in influencing employees’ decisions whether to join your company or not. You can have a flexible location policy or offer your employee remote work facility to increase your chances of attracting the right talent. When creating a long term location strategy, you should consider factors such as talent availability, operations, viability and related issues. 

Once you decide on a location, you should stick to it for a long haul. That is why it is important to choose the right location in the first place. Selecting the wrong location can backfire as you might have to move your location more frequently, which can disturb your entire organization. As a business, you don’t want that.

8.         Laser Focus On Productivity and Efficiency

Inflation, talent shortfall and great resignation are three factors that are pushing the cost of IT staffing up while making talent hunt even more complicated. As a result, many small and mid-size businesses have started working more on improving productivity and efficiency instead of hiring new talent. They are implementing measures to boost their efficiency and productivity so they can achieve more with fewer employees.

Organizations can achieve their goals by integrating productivity improvements with workforce planning. It can bring stability to your workforce pipeline and makes your organization more resilient. This means that your organization will be well placed to absorb shocks such as great resignation in a much better way as compared to other counterparts.

What steps do you take to overcome the talent shortfall problem in the IT industry? Share it with us in the comments section below.