5 of Today’s IT Staffing Challenges and How to Overcome Them

The IT skills gap is a longstanding problem that continues to thwart IT initiatives. There simply aren’t enough qualified IT professionals to meet today’s business demands. Rapidly changing technology contributes to the skills gap, making it especially difficult to find personnel with expertise in cybersecurity, cloud and other high-demand disciplines.

However, the skills gap isn’t the only obstacle. Here are five key challenges organizations face when attempting to fill IT positions:

1. Ineffective Job Descriptions / Requisitions. HR staff seldom have the insight needed to develop effective job descriptions for IT positions, often including a laundry list of unneeded experience while omitting critical skills. IT managers sometimes struggle to convey the skills they need when drafting job requisitions. Incomplete and fluid project requirements add to the difficulty.
2. High Recruiting Costs. The tougher it is to fill a position, the higher the recruiting expenses. Organizations may spend tens of thousands of dollars to bring in a new IT hire, including recruiting fees, and time spent sifting through resumes, interviewing, onboarding and training. The cost of a bad hiring decision is more than 30 percent of the employee’s expected first-year earnings, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
3. IT Department Turnover. High turnover rates in the IT department contribute indirectly to IT staffing challenges and costs. It’s much more cost-effective to retain IT staff, but many organizations struggle to keep their technical teams happy. Unfulfilling and under-appreciated work, lack of opportunities for advancement, inadequate training, and burnout are among the top causes of IT department turnover.
4. Lagging Productivity Levels. In addition to being overwhelmed with work, many IT teams suffer from low productivity levels, creating misalignment between budget and staffing requirements. Lagging productivity can often be attributed to inadequate or outdated systems and poor management, as well as employee dissatisfaction. Remote work has exacerbated the problem — few organizations have all the tools needed to perform administrative tasks offsite.
5. Constant Organizational Change. As IT and business needs continue to evolve, organizational changes become inevitable. However, these changes can delay staffing approvals and make it even more difficult to define and fill positions. They can also contribute to employee dissatisfaction and poor project outcomes if not managed effectively.

Technologent’s Resource Consulting Services

In addition to expert services for the design, implementation and management of advanced IT solutions, Technologent provides staffing capabilities to help you overcome these challenges. Our resource consulting specialists have extensive experience in both IT and staffing, enabling them to help you develop precise job descriptions and candidate profiles. We then tap into our deep, prescreened bench of on-demand resources to find the exact skill sets you need anywhere in the world.

Our thorough prescreening process and all-inclusive oversight minimize staffing risks. Each consultant goes through a minimum of three interviews, including one conducted by an in-house expert in the consultant’s IT discipline and a final interview by the customer. This approach ensures that individuals are assessed for both technical and non-technical requirements.

In addition, consultants have dedicated access to Technologent engineers for problem escalation and advice on best practices. Our customers are generally risk averse and appreciate being provided with consultants who become an extension to their team and work under their day-to-day direction. If you’re struggling with IT staffing challenges, Technologent’s Resource Consulting services can help develop a unique solution. Let us find the right candidates to fill your short- and long-term needs.