Dive Brief:
- Despite prioritizing IT, nearly 4 in 5 hiring managers said they don’t think they will meet tech hiring goals for the year, according to a report published Tuesday by IT training company General Assembly.
- HR departments take an average of seven weeks to hire technologists, according to the report, which surveyed 1,000 HR professionals. More than one-quarter of companies spend nine or more weeks filling in-demand software engineering, data analytics, data science and UX design positions, respondents said.
- The struggle to source tech talent and reliance on traditional recruitment methods undercut enterprise DEI initiatives. Nearly 4 in 5 respondents said their company had not adjusted hiring processes to meet diversity goals.
Dive Insight:
IT relies on HR for staffing. Hiring managers depend on technology to ease the process. It’s a symbiotic relationship complicated by a talent pool too small to meet demand, even in the wake of tens of thousands of tech sector layoffs.
Most companies aren’t reaching applicants from diverse backgrounds, despite pledged efforts to do so. Only a little over one-quarter of candidates for tech roles came from underrepresented groups, and only one-third of tech hires in the last two years have nontraditional backgrounds, the report found.
Expanding outreach for talent can bolster the bottom line. Due to difficulties sourcing talent, companies are spending an average of $30,000 to fill in-demand tech positions, the report found.
To overcome recruitment challenges, the report recommends adjusting educational requirements for certain positions and overhauling hiring strategies.
More than half of tech job postings require a four-year college degree, respondents said, and nearly half of companies surveyed rely on referrals from current employees, a strategy that runs counter to diversification.
“Networks are especially important within tech companies and tend to be sharply segregated by race, which limits both awareness of opportunities and access to referrals among people of color,” the report said.
Reaching out to potential candidates on LinkedIn and similar social media platforms was the most common sourcing strategy, favored by 55% of respondents.
