Today’s world runs on technology. And as technology is embraced as the means of solving almost every problem, there is a fierce competition for tech talent. As an IT recruitment agency in Singapore, we understand that as the demand for tech talent increases beyond the supply, the people on the spotlight are HR professionals. From technical recruiters to HR executives, tech talent recruitment has never been more challenging. In this article, we list the top 5 challenges HRs in tech firms face in their quest to provide their companies with a competitive edge.
1. Acquiring Top Talent
There is no denying that there is an acute talent shortage facing the tech industry. And with advancements in technology raising the need for appropriate skills, the problem only gets worse. It’s easy to think that high unemployment rates across the globe would result in filling tech positions faster.
But as HR, you know that this isn’t the case. The challenge in acquiring the right talent usually comes down to three things:
Attracting the right talent – the tech industry suffers the most when it comes to skills shortages. Since business growth is being driven by innovation, the success of tech companies largely depends on what its talent can produce. This means that companies need to embrace emerging technologies quickly and capitalize on them to stay ahead of the competition.
Conducting background screening – background screening might look like nothing but an item on the recruitment process checklist. It’s however a critical component of the process and part of the talent acquisition strategy which reduces your company’s risk. Considering that 78% of job applicants lie, this step helps you build a workforce that values integrity. The challenge comes in when it’s not clear what needs to be verified and how to do it.
Creating a positive candidate experience – choosing one job offer over the other doesn’t come down to salary and benefits. Candidates understand that how they’re treated during the interview reflects how they’ll be treated as employees. Since they’re accustomed to great experiences from consumer brands, they expect a pleasant experience from the hiring process. Where this is lacking, IT recruitment in Singapore becomes very challenging because money can’t fill the gap well enough.
It takes more than just the right technology and tools to find the ideal Tech talent. Some recommended articles for you to check out are:
How To: Interview Tech and Cyber Security Candidates in Singapore
Learn more about why it’s hard to find the ideal Tech talent for your organization in Singapore.
2. Retaining Talent
As if hiring and on-boarding new talent isn’t challenging enough, HR is responsible for keeping attrition rates low. In an industry where well-funded startups and multinationals are always hunting for the ever-elusive top talent, retaining talent is not automatic.
LinkedIn recently reported that tech firms have a 13.2% churn rate. According to the report, the occupations with the highest turnover are user experience and design at 23.3% with data analyst and embedded software engineer following at 21.7%.
Retaining talent is a complicated affair because today’s employees—mainly millennials and Gen Zers—don’t value tenure as baby boomers do. Employees now want to work in companies where their efforts are solving real-life problems. They want to know that what they do every day contributes to the improvement of life in one way or another.
Pro-Tip: Looking for ways to retain your Cybersecurity and Tech talent? To retain these employees, you must first understand why Cybersecurity and Tech talents choose to leave their jobs in Singapore.
3. Learning and Development
No matter how skilled tech workers are, they need growth. They need to improve their skills and experience career growth. The moment they see themselves stagnating, they become open to the idea of leaving. Although tech companies invest in R&D, investing in the development of the individual employees is a different thing altogether. With the IT field changing rapidly, reskilling and upskilling efforts might seem expensive and time-consuming but they’re actually a cheaper alternative. In a Deloitte human capital report, 86% of the survey respondents said that improving learning and development in their companies is a top priority. To be successful, HR needs to create a culture which promotes continuous learning, provide incentives to motivate people to improve their skills and help employees identify and develop the needed skills.
4. Ensuring Diversity
The tech industry stands out for its lack of diversity. It’s very male-dominated as there are not enough women graduating with degrees in tech.. Apart from the criticism that has faced the industry, tech companies also lose out on the opportunities which result from diversity and inclusion.
As HR, it’s best to realize that you can address diversity without focusing on the “pipeline” problem that many talk about. Achieving diversity can be as simple as tapping into a broader candidate pool. Once you have an employer brand that shows you value diversity, you’ll attract more high-quality talent, leading to increased creativity and improved performance.
As HR specialists we know how to deal with diversity issues at the workplace. As an industry saturated with men, we encourage women to delve into the realm of Tech and IT. Find out why women should join the Tech industry in Singapore.
5. Creating the Right Work Culture
In many ways, what determines the success of today’s companies is their work culture. As the sum of a company’s values, beliefs, workplace practices, policies, behaviors and attitudes, work culture influences everything from the ability to attract talent to employee satisfaction and retention. With the tech world being fast-paced, it’s not unusual for employees to be expected to work or at least be reachable outside of their working hours. Although various explanations can be given as justification, normalizing this will work against the organization. Without a working policy promoting work-life balance, employees are headed for burnout while the company suffers from high turnover.
It’s easy for tech companies to allow their work culture to form naturally rather than strategically create one. This could be in an effort to create a sense of flexibility and freedom to encourage creativity and innovation. However, lacking a definitive plan will make it difficult to stay in control and achieve company goals.
Solving HR Challenges in Tech Firms
There are different ways HR executives can tackle these workforce challenges. While most utilize market reports and consultants in creating HR strategies, it’s at the implementation stage where things tend to stall. As more and more tech companies come to terms with the dynamics of employer branding, one of the best strategies to implement is recruitment process outsourcing. Having your whole recruitment process handled by an IT recruitment agency in Singapore means you can fill positions faster. You also enjoy reduced workforce management costs and get the time and energy to focus on strategy.
What are some unforeseen challenges faced by HR executives in tech firms? Share them with us in the comments section below.
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