For information technology departments already burdened with heavy
workloads, two months may seem too long to wait to replace a worker. But that’s
the reality, according to a new survey conducted by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology
professionals on a project and full-time
basis.
Chief information officers (CIOs) say it
takes an average of 56 days to fill a staff-level position and 87 days to bring a new
manager on board. The national poll includes responses from more than 1,400
CIOs from a random sample of companies
with 100 or more employees.
“One thing that companies can take away
from the results of this survey is that the
fight for talent in the IT world is very real
and will not go away any time soon,” says
Chris Ferguson, division director for the
Columbus office of Robert Half Technology. “Another thing companies need to
realize is that taking too long to make an IT
hiring decision can mean the difference
between having good talent on board and
losing that hire.”
Smart Business spoke with Ferguson
about what business owners can do to
ensure that good IT talent does not slip
away, and what to do to attract and retain
good information technology workers.
Why is there an IT talent shortage at the
moment?
There are not enough IT professionals for
the increased work demand. The IT talent
problem will become heightened in the
next few years because baby boomers are
poised to retire starting in 2012. That talent
is not being replaced by younger workers
because fewer high school graduates are
entering computer science and engineering programs in college. Overall, the unemployment rate for college graduates is low
in general, even more so for those graduating with a degree in computer science.
Couple the talent shortage with the
increased demand for workers who understand and can implement ever-changing
technology in the workplace and you have
an intense demand for IT talent.
What are some of the top challenges in this
environment?
Companies are stealing talent with the
lure of better salaries and other perks.
We’re also seeing a trend where companies are losing good talent because of the
hiring ‘waiting game.’ You need to realize
that IT workers are getting multiple offers
simultaneously. If you want to bring someone on board and you wait too long to
make a decision, you will most certainly
lose that talent. Sure, the hiring manager
wants to make sure that the IT worker is
the right fit and wants to do a thorough
search process — but if that process is too
long or complicated, you can bet that IT
professional will have other job offers waiting in the wings.
Your survey indicated that it takes two
months or longer to fill IT positions. What is
the cost to business of this waiting game?
The primary cost is remaining competitive. The cost of being understaffed is great
in terms of stressing an already overburdened IT staff; then there’s the issue of
missed deadlines, productivity gaps and
dissatisfied customers — which can lead
to lost revenue and business.
An understaffed IT department can mean
unhappy workers — and these workers are
in a good position to find another job very
quickly. It is a fact that the cost of retaining
current employees is lower than finding a
replacement.
What can businesses do to lessen the impact
of this scenario?
They can fill these gaps with temporary
or project workers.
Another option is to view recruitment as
an ongoing process instead of looking for
workers only when the need arises. Hiring
managers need to continually keep a
pipeline open of potential IT workers.
There are a few ways to do this: CIOs can
find top talent through industry trade
shows, conference networking events,
user-group communities, job fairs, and
through college recruitment, as well as
through staffing/recruiting firms to fill
short-term gaps.
Other good sources of IT talent are
through the job boards at HDI (Help
Desk Institute: www.thinkhdijobdesk.com)
and ITIM (Information Technology Infrastructure Management Association:
www.itimassociation.com).
What other advice do you have for CIOs trying to fill IT positions?
Stay networked, utilize referrals and set
up an internal referral bonus to existing
employees who bring in top talent.
CIOs also need to realize that this
demand for IT talent is not going to go
away. Information technology is continually expanding with new products always
coming into the market and new challenges to face. To be competitive in this
landscape, companies must be able to
effectively retain top talent and always be
on the lookout for new IT professionals.
CHRIS FERGUSON is the division director for Robert Half
Technology (www.rht.com) based in Columbus. Reach him at
(614) 221-9300 or [email protected].