Dive Brief:
- Organizations across industries cite digital-talent shortages as a serious recruitment challenge, according to a Robert Half Technology report. Research findings are based on responses from 2,500 CIOs in the U.S. and 500 technology professionals with hiring authority.
- According to the research, 77% of technology leaders said that finding professionals with up-to-date digital skills was very challenging; 53% said they were somewhat or severely understaffed in such areas as programming and systems analysis, business analysis, security and project management; and 65% cited the scarcity of tech-savvy leaders at the top as a barrier to a successful digital marketing strategy.
- Finding in-demand digital skills is a top challenge, including web and user-experience design, data science and analysis, content creation and marketing and growth engineering.
Dive Insight:
CEO support for organizations' technological advancement is critical. Leadership can allocate the resources needed for hiring digital talent, funding high-tech initiatives and enlisting support from functions like marketing and communications.
The problem, however, is that the demand for this type of talent is spread across all industries, meaning employers face stiff competition in finding the best talent.
To find and bring onboard more highly skilled IT professionals, HR may need to work closely with IT managers and experts to screen and select the most qualified candidates or invest in training to upskill current staff to meet demand.
Every aspect of the workplace is dependent on technology, and it will take a cross section of disciplines to create a digitally advanced workplace. As the people manager, HR can take the lead in coordinating this effort.
