As I’m sure you’ve experienced firsthand, our workforce as a whole has seen plenty of ups and downs since the start of the pandemic. It’s a story that emerges in our Technology Workforce Trends Report as we assess the state of the hiring landscape as 2022 comes to a close.
One thing is clear: it has never been more important to get the most out of your technology staffing partnerships.
Technology job openings are up and businesses are still in need of skilled talent, yet headlines about big name IT layoffs and warnings of an impending recession are giving some hiring managers pause. If you’re feeling the pressure to build high-performing teams in this competitive and unpredictable job market or are just looking for a temporary gap resource in order to overcome a tech skills gap within your organization, here is my best advice for leveraging your relationships with staffing partners.
Focus on Need and Speed
It is no secret that demand for technology tools and talent has surged since the onset of the pandemic. For example, Medix contingent technology job openings rose by over 20% from 2020 to 2021, with that upward trend continuing into 2022. In particular, we have seen growth in the areas of ERP, security analysts and digital marketing. While layoffs in the crypto and social media spaces have received outsized media attention, tech unemployment actually remained low in October, coming in at just 2.2%*. All of this boils down to an environment where technology professionals continue to be in high demand.
With that in mind, technology hiring managers cannot afford to lose time to inefficient hiring processes. According to TechServe Alliance, there are still 800,000 unfilled IT jobs in the U.S. today. While job seekers may be seeing fewer job offers than they were at the height of recent tech growth, this shrinkage is only minor – with average job offers received dipping from 6-8 on a given search to 4-6. In our experience, that only gives you about 10 days to capitalize on attracting top talent and completing the hiring process. Rather than taking on this challenge alone, be upfront and honest with recruiting partners about your needs as soon as possible. More often than not, our team will encounter job descriptions that are unclear and cluttered; cut through the nice-to-have information and focus on what’s essential. With clear direction, skilled tech recruiters can tap into a robust talent pipeline which may include job seekers who recently switched jobs, but are once again open to work.
Reset Compensation Expectations
Budgets are being scrutinized more than ever. As whispers of an impending recession persist, there’s cause for caution across employers of all types. However, as the economy has evolved, so has technology. Today, companies are tasked with adding increasingly higher levels of skilled tech talent to their team to take on increasingly complex systems.
For example, let’s say your company is transitioning from an outdated legacy system to a new implementation. When faced with a tech debt scenario, leaders often find themselves in a conundrum. While existing staff have their compensation set at one pay level, new talent skilled in a system that’s in high demand will no doubt be asking for a significantly higher salary. This has the potential to throw an organization’s cost structure entirely out of whack.
While this may be seen as a C-suite challenge, there is no doubt that hiring managers are feeling its effects every day. If salary reviews have not been completed as recently as 2021, it’s time to rethink your pay structure. In the end, to bring on the talent needed to tackle today’s technology challenges, you had two choices: offer above competitive compensation or hire someone with limited experience and develop plans to upskill your team in-house.
Technology Staffing Partners Unlock Full-Time Conversion Opportunities
High-priced consultants rarely convert to full-time hires. As the demand for gap solutions increases, businesses are racing to fill critical needs in areas like cyber security and cloud architecture. Any delay in filling full-time roles or staffing projects is putting the business at risk. Rather than hiring consultants at a premium to fill these gaps, businesses are tapping into contingent talent to get the job done with flexible technology resources. It’s a cost-effective approach to accessing specialized technology talent which allows businesses to stay fiscally responsible in an economy that promises to challenge every budget.
Beyond that, working with your technology staffing partner to fill the consulting level skills gaps on your team gives your organization the opportunity to convert those individuals into full-time employees if there is mutual interest from both sides. In these cases, employers can move forward with more confidence and stability, rather than losing all of the valuable knowledge the hire brought to the table.
For more insights on technology workforce trends, download the Medix Technology Workforce Trends Report.