How Organizations Are Leading Digital Transformation in Tech Hiring

We have known for a while now that digital transformation is more than just a phenomenon or a phase. We see it as a ‘tipping point’ on the growth curve where organizations step into an entirely different orbit and propel themselves forward with enhanced productivity and a mightier workforce. The biggest challenge in this journey, especially for technology companies has been to ensure this ‘might of people’ stays constant. According to Thomas Handcock’s research at Gartner: “Companies across diverse industries and across the globe are converging on the same talent pools”. Talent Acquisition has, consequently, become akin to an Olympic sport; hiring managers are turning into intrepid talent spotters, trying to run a gold-winning sprint to snag the best candidates.

You may have noticed all the new technology jobs mushrooming around you at a blistering pace but there are just not enough people with the right skills for those roles. Organizations have had to also factor in the current trend of location-agnostic jobs and ‘Work-From-Home’ hours. A looming talent shortage of tech skills and the growing trend of hiring online has led tech companies to create their own cheat sheet of hiring the right person for the right role. Here are some of the tech-hiring hacks we have been able to decipher:

1. Redesign the HR Function
   
   Trigger
   - HR is restricted to a support function and unable to add real value towards linking talent with a go-to-market strategy.
   - Rapid adoption of the Work-From-Home concept, encouraged by remote working mandates during the pandemic.
   - Traditional hiring approaches not working for new-age jobs because talent isn’t where it was earlier.
   
   Digitalization
   - Re-shape HR into a digitally enabled function that is closely aligned with IT and Business Strategy, which now understands the importance of new-age      roles, skills, and the new modes of working.
   - Recalibrate the definition of a 'work environment' to enmesh with technology-hosted workplaces.
   - Help HR implement a tactical org-structure overhaul to keep pace with changing talent trends as well as emerging talent pools by becoming focusing on    the critical challenges that need to be addressed in the role rather than focusing only on the credentials of the candidates.
   
   

2. Prioritize Remote Hiring Skills
   
   Trigger
   - Talent scarcity especially for new age roles like Blockchain Developer, Robotic Process Automation, Developer, Data Scientist, AI Specialist, Full Stack       Engineer, etc.
   - Newly created jobs require diverse technical talent or experience that may not be available in your region or country.
   - High overhead costs of maintaining physical offices, long commutes for employees, more time wasted in office -- all adding to decreased productivity.
   
   Digitalization
   -Re-assess roles, widen hiring criteria and locate ‘alternate’ talent that qualifies for a role and may not have been otherwise considered, thus increasing       volume, quality & diversity of available talent.
   - Open up access to highly skilled talent across geographies and keep unrealistic salary expectations of local talent in check.
   - Decrease overhead costs and increase overall work efficiency by allowing an arsenal of technology solutions for employees to generate more value for      their time

3. Ensure Business Continuity by Refining Tech Talent Requirements
   
   Trigger
   - Unstaffed critical tech roles directly impacting the topline of a company’s performance.
   - Tech candidates holding multiple offers decline your job leaving you stranded after putting in weeks of effort.
   - Unanticipated scale-up in projects or business requiring urgent staffing leading to inaccurate and hurried.
   
   Digitalization
   - Data Analytics predict top trends and roles in the industry to help zero-in on the right talent catchment areas for building a high-quality talent pipeline.
   - Help re-attract former employees and keep passive candidates proactively engaged to enable quick turnaround on open positions.
   - Equip the hiring team with Specialist remote interview & assessment solutions for Tech roles to thoroughly navigate the digital environment to source          smarter, hire quicker, and retain longer.
   
   

4. Build a Learning and Development Culture
   
   Trigger
   - Most organizations were ill-prepared to help employees tackle such volatile conditions like a pandemic.
   - All employees, even the good ones, fear redundancy or retrenchment and start actively looking out.
   - Tech roles are not just specialist roles anymore. They have transformed into business roles that also require soft skills.
   
   Digitalization
   - Offer potential, as well as existing employees a greater, connect with the company by building a stronger brand via virtual communities, chatbot-assisted    and app-based interface with HR.
   - Create transparency in processes, communication channels, and organizational goals and encourages a culture of collaboration and teamwork.
   - Leverage SHL’s Virtual Assessment Center to map individual competencies and put skilling and re-skilling on the fast lane without hampering scalability.
   
   

Tech skills are the ‘goldmine’ of today. You can win this war for talent if you complement your digital transformation journey with a capable HR team that is prepped and ready to roll. Look at tech hiring from new perspectives. Talk the language of your ideal applicants. Observe how the competitive landscape is peppered with innovative and creative ways of attracting them, and it will nudge your own creativity.

There are several examples of companies around the world putting these tips into practice:

• Just a few days ago, Google extended its global voluntary work-from-home option through June 30, 2021 to help employees achieve a better work-life balance during this coronavirus crisis.
• Employer review and job site Glassdoor introduced a ‘hiring surge’ badge so companies could highlight the fact that their doors were still open.
• Media Investment Company GroupM has set up something called a ‘video handshake,’ an online candidate engagement initiative that focuses on discovering what people can be and become, rather than what they do and have done previously in their career.
• Entire countries are lending their support to digital natives; Estonia, Barbados and Georgia have all introduced a ‘Digital Nomad’ visa to encourage remote working as well as to boost their own tourism.

Contact SHL to learn more about how you can put these tech hiring hacks into practice at your company.