The Information technology industry has been rapidly evolving and changing to meet the diverse and growing needs of businesses around the globe. Hiring talent in the IT business can have challenges of its own due to the nature of business. Technology today sees a high level of innovation with the need to accommodate the changing needs of the customer among other things. Finding people with the required skillset to cater to this dynamic industry can be a daunting task.
It requires adequate preparation and time to tackle the skills shortage and to meet the staffing needs of your business. Finding the right fit can be tough and IT departments tend to struggle to meet the demand of recruiting the right candidate with the appropriate IT skills. Let us understand on what basis to hire an IT staffing company during a skills shortage.
Reason for Skills Shortage
Understanding the root cause of the problem usually helps us understand and consecutively resolve the issue at hand. Similarly understanding the cause behind a Skills Shortage can help us solve the larger problem of engaging quality talent. Skillset is just one of the factors that make finding the right candidate difficult.
IT Staffing can be a complex area to predict, as discussed previously that the rate of innovation in the IT sector is high, it’s impossible to foretell which device, technology or platform will be the next game-changer. With new technology advancements, new jobs are created which can be a risk for the organization, as they are unprepared and understaffed for even a small change in their department. Let us understand how to manage IT staffing without compromising experience and skills.
While the demand for IT skilled professionals in the market goes up, employers need to re-examine their staff recruitment strategies to be ready for the tough job market. Aggressive strategies to seek out talent to fill the gaps in the business are necessary, just posting about a job opening on a message board might not be fruitful.
Staffing agencies play a crucial role in identifying talent and helping companies find the right fit.
Here’s how to choose an IT Staffing agency that can make a difference for you.
Improved Quality
Choose a firm that covers both the passive and active talent market as they would be in a better position to provide quality candidates. Any IT Staffing agency would have a portfolio of their best candidates, ask them what strategy was used to successfully recruit these candidates. Comparing these practices and the candidates currently being interviewed at your firm will help you decide if the particular recruitment company is right for you.
Passive Candidate Recruitment
Hiring passive candidates can be a challenging task and IT Staffing companies need to have outstanding recruiting skills to deal with passive candidates. In-house corporate recruiters might not be able to invest time into recruiting skilled passive candidates due to their workload. A successful IT Staffing agency would excel in this scenario to fill in the gap of a high-skilled professional in your organization.
High potential passive candidates with years of experience under their belt tend to engage leading third-party staffing agencies to be aware of job opportunities at different firms. This creates a good talent pool that can be utilized when compared to corporate recruiters who represent and are bound to one company.
For example, your team needs a developer, but your HR is not very knowledgeable about coding thus shortlisting the best candidate might not be easy. In such situations a recruitment consultant that specializes in a particular market can suggest fair compensation deals, tell you about the realistic expectations from the job market, and most importantly get you candidates who are a right fit.
Cost and Time Benefit
From the accounting standpoint, a recruitment consultant can be useful as the agency fees can be accounted for as business expenses which will go a long way in helping the organization’s bottom line. As per LinkedIn, only a small percentage that is 12% of professionals are actively searching for a job while 85% of the professionals are open to know about job opportunities available in the market.
The primary benefit of hiring job placement agencies is the speed of hiring. While the organization might take a month to get a candidate, IT Staffing companies might do the work in a matter of a few days. It can help your company get a long term employee if you have good recruitment strategies in place and effectively using them can make recruitment a stress-free process.
Author Bio: Swapnil Uchil
Swapnil has 7+ years of experience in e-learning and corporate training. He has expertise in learner-centered pedagogy, skill development and training need analysis. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science and believes in the principles of life-long and experiential learning. In leisure, he enjoys trekking and sketching.
I agree with your opinion that passive candidates can be difficult to hire and that they cannot be completely ignored due to their potential and the skill sets that they bring to the organization. I have first-hand experience of how IT staffing has successfully helped us hire passive candidates.