Dive Brief:

• The talent shortage is the most significant adoption barrier to the majority of emerging tech, according to Gartner research released Monday. The talent shortage was the most significant barrier to just 4% of emerging technology in 2020.
• Implementation costs impede 29% of emerging technologies and security risk holds back 7% of emerging tech. Gartner reviewed the adoption plans of over 100 emerging technologies from 437 IT organizations.
• But the challenges aren't totally slowing emerging technology investments. Six in 10 executives have increased, or plan to increase, emerging technology investment this year, according to Gartner.

Dive Insight:

Automation efforts demonstrate the relationship between the talent shortage and interest in deploying emerging technologies, according to Yinuo Geng, research VP at Gartner.

Automation skills are highly sought after and challenging to hire for. The lack of automation talent impacts how much progress organizations are able to make on automation projects.

Talent availability was the main adoption risk factor for three-quarters of IT automation technologies, according to Gartner. Only 20% of IT automation technologies have moved ahead in the adoption cycle since 2020.

Leadership could engage other business units to influence emerging technology decisions or create talent development programs that upskill talent for emerging tech projects, according to Geng.

Organizations should focus more on "creating long-term talent plans," Geng said. "That includes obviously recruitment, but also thinking about things like training and development, how to create the right career path for their employees."

Talent development not only provides the business with the skills to manage emerging technology, but can also increase employee engagement and retention. It trickles down into hiring for potential, not just hard skills, and emphasizes training to help a candidate fit the role.

High-potential hires "really ended up impressing our clients, and those were people who stayed around for the long term because they then put their investment back into the company that invested in their growth," Candace Bracher, senior recruiter, information technology at Addison Group, told CIO Dive.