Businesses across the world face a perfect storm in the talent crisis. Most industries, especially tech-based ones, have been reeling under severe talent shortages. Skill development has not kept pace with technological advancement. Many enterprises go slow or keep in abeyance digital transformation because they cannot afford the high cost of talent. At times, talent is unavailable even if enterprises are ready to pay top wages. A 2021 Gartner survey estimates talent shortage as the most significant barrier to adopting 64% of innovation enabling emerging technologies.

The COVID-19 pandemic made the talent crunch worse. On the one hand, the digital-first work environment delivers better work-life balance. Employees work from the comforts of their homes and commute to the office only occasionally. For the employers, enabling remote work allows sourcing talent from anywhere in the world. But the “great resignation” followed the pandemic. Employees accustomed to working from home began quitting their jobs when ordered back to the office. Even otherwise, many employees had a re-look on life and their priorities, and started leaving jobs even without securing another one. The skill gap in the industry means replacements are scarce. The talent shortage across industries was 34% in 2011, rose to 69% in 2021, and has further shot up to 75% in 2022. Among sectors, IT leads the pack in shortages, with a deficit of 76% across jobs. Tech unemployment is now less than 2% in most parts of the world. The top in-demand career in the world today is IT and data-related jobs, followed by sales and marketing.

Today, almost half of all enterprises have job openings they cannot fill. The talent shortage, if unaddressed by 2030, could lead to 85 million unfilled jobs and about $8.5 trillion in unrealized revenues.

It gets worse. When companies cannot source talent, they try to get things done through the existing workforce. The work pressures get to them, and many quit, making the situation worse. Digital architects, for instance, face double the pressure than normal since the pandemic. Nearly half of them remain hard-pressed to deliver modernization projects.

IT leaders struggle to implement digital transformation amidst such a talent crunch. Here are what CIOs can do about it.

1. Invest in training and development

The straightforward approach to bridge the skill gaps is enterprises training employees in-house. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report shows that 50% of all employees will need to reskill by 2025.

Employers may bridge the skill deficit by offering skill upgrade programs for employees. Many enterprises hire internally before looking outside. The HR shortlists talented and committed employees and works with them on a career investment and reskilling plan. A well-drawn career road map encourages both horizontal and vertical career progression. They may offer career advancement plans for existing employees.

Enterprises may also recruit freshers with the right attitudes and train them for the desired technical skills.

Leading enterprises tie up with universities and institutes to develop employee skill-enhancement programs. They may also tap into several online platforms. Google Cloud, for instance, has committed to train 40 million people in modern cloud technologies.

The Linux Foundation estimates that 50% of enterprises prioritize investment in employee training. Two out of every three developers also want more employer-sponsored training opportunities.

Investment in employee training and development improves employee commitment. This, in turn, leads to reduced turnover and spares the enterprise the scramble to replace talent. Continuity ensures digital transformation goes on uninterrupted. Digital-transformation projects remain dependent on project leaders and the drivers of change. If such key personnel leave, it derails the project.

2. Adopt simple tech stacks

Developing simple and easy-to-execute solutions reduces the need for expertise.

New technologies speed up and simplify application development. It also unlocks new possibilities not viable with legacy technology. But these new stacks are complex at the backend. 

In the near team, to meet the immediate needs. tech leaders could adopt solutions that build on employee’s existing skill sets.

Many DevOps have skills rooted in legacy technologies and require minimum upskilling. Use languages, frameworks and technologies that developers already know.

3. Broad base recruitments

Best in breed enterprises anticipate skill shortage, and plan to overcome the scenario. They:

• Evaluate their current and future workforce needs, and reinforce their workforce supply channels. They strengthen their recruitment processes and spread the net far and wide to attract top talent. The CIO takes an active part in head-hunting for skilled talent. The HR team becomes active in campus interviews to catch fresh candidates with the right attitude and values.
• Re-evaluate the pay packages in tune with market trends.
• Review job descriptions to ensure openness, inclusive and skills-based profiles.
• Expand hiring to include non-traditional pathways. The best recruiters look at certifications, and associate degrees rather than conventional degrees alone. Overall, they give prominence to inherent skill sets, values, and adaptability over degrees. Even experience is no longer as relevant as before, considering the fast-paced nature of changes in the tech field. Successful employees unlearn outdated concepts and ways of working fast to succeed in the new normal of work.
• Outsource hard-to-get tasks. Digital transformation requires a lot of one-off projects or job assignments with time limits. Enterprises could outsource such jobs to relieve the pressure on internal employees. Success depends on the CIO addressing outsourcing challenges proactively.

4. Facilitate talent

Best-in-breed enterprises go all out to source talented employees. They consider their workforce as assets and provide a conducive working atmosphere to ensure they work at their optimal best.

They:

• Adopt a servant leadership style, which is facilitative. Servant leaders provide all resources and facilities to enable team members to work without hindrance. Employees can focus on their core skills without distractions and excel at work.
• Make sure their employees feel valued. Committed employees rarely leave. Some options to make employees feel valued are:
  • Soft benefits, such as remote work, flex schedule, daycare, and other facilities
  • Recognizing the employees’ achievements
  • Fostering team bonding through weekly outings or parties.
• Provide an active mentoring program to engage new employees and foster their commitment.

The trick to ensure new hire commitment is to be transparent with candidates at the hiring stage. Over-promising the opportunity, culture, or experience can lead to high attrition rates. Worse, the ex-employee may speak ill of the company. Word-of-mouth has become critical to attracting talent, not just customers.

5. Promote a culture of learning

A culture of transparency and openness promotes a learning organization. CIOs and digital leaders can radiate positivity in the workplace by

• Making collaboration seamless and easy
• Encouraging employees to share and discuss their work.
• Break down enterprise silos and make knowledge sharing a desirable, positive value.
• Motivating team members through regular one-on-ones with team members
• Taking feedback and understanding workloads to avoid burnout.

These initiatives motivate the workforce to update with the latest technologies and developments. A culture of learning develops, which improves the competence of the workforce.

For many enterprises, digital transformation is an existential imperative. The biggest stumbling block is often talent. Enterprises that cannot access talent become incapable of innovation or facilitating customer expectations. The implication is eventual obsolescence. There are no easy solutions, but enterprises with a focused and determined approach can weather the tide.