Hiring is broken (especially in IT), let's fix that!

Would you buy anything if it broke close to half the time? Would a process or system that is no better at predicting success than a coin flip be acceptable? What if I told you, that the systems most companies rely upon today to procure their most valuable resource, a resource they value over ALL others, failed somewhere around 46% of the time, would that be okay?

Unfortunately, when it comes to talent acquisition within today's professional workforce, this is not hyperbole or propaganda, it is the actual sad state of realty. Study upon study has revealed todays hiring processes and the decisions they generate need a complete re-examination and overhaul. Don't take my word for it either - google it.

If that isn’t unpleasant enough, consider that bad hires cost an average of 30% of a failed professional's salary according to the US Department of Labor (some studies suggest even more). Add in a Gartner study that suggest 29% of critical roles in Information Technology (IT) remain unfilled for 5 months and that the productivity time value of IT professionals is 2-3x their salary (HBR study), there is no denying that hiring is broken and needs fixing. It’s costing enterprises thousands if not millions in real dollars because make no mistake, time is money. Talent acquisition in my firm's world of Information Technology is especially off the rails!

I’ve been in the IT workforce solutions industry for over 30 years now. If I had hair it would be grey (the benefit of being bald, I guess). I prefer that term “workforce solutions” or “workforce development” over IT staffing because I prefer playing the long game. I also want to be a partner and advocate before I sell you anything about TriCom. And in that spirit, what I have learned among other things is this: Technology professionals are people first and foremost. Really, all workers are people first. First, second, third, fourth, fifth, and last. They are not commodities, or "resources" that should be part of an assembly-line procurement system. Part of the same supply chains that buy office supplies.

IT hiring processes today tend to emphasize WHAT (present technical skills) over WHO (character, attitude, aptitude, and motivation) a person is, and that exacerbates an already tail-chasing and flawed system. Systems demonstrating that they fail half the time for goodness sake.  (Please, if nothing else start keeping score with who you hire and whether they are still at your company one year later, and why?) I understand and appreciate there are many times when a hired gun is necessary, sometimes crucial, for a particular project, but this should be the exception not the rule. Shoot a big part of my business is finding the “hired gun” if I’m being honest. My point is that if TriCom is worth anything at the end of the day, we should help you hire better technical talent over the long haul. Talent you keep, that stays and that makes your organization stronger. That is where TriCom demonstrates true value.

Companies should be most interested in building, cohesive, diverse, and high-performing IT teams. Teams with tenure. Tenure, by the way, is the #1 leading indicator of high performing teams. Teams who are challenged to continuously learn, evolve, and adapt because the pace of change is not going to slow, it is only speeding up. The skills divide or gap, and the low supply will march on. There was an 8x increase in IT jobs in the 2010s and the 20s don’t look that much different according to experts. Hiring great talent in any industry has more to do with who people are than what they walk in the door with day 1. We often hear “hit the ground running” used to describe certain jobs and I’m here to tell you that no such thing exists. Nobody hits the ground running – especially within IT. And years of experience in some particular tool or skill is not a relevant way to measure proficiency either. Lazlo Block, former Senior VP of People Operations at Google found this out the hard way. “We looked at tens of thousands of interview results…and how that person ultimately performed in their job. We found a zero relationship (with all traditional modes of evaluating talent). It’s a complete random mess.”

Building a superior and tenured IT workforce is no longer a nice to have in today's race towards AI, ML, DevOps, Big Data, Cloud migration, (insert hype-cycle term) …it's table stakes! Successful hiring in Tech merely allows you to compete in today’s rapidly changing future and the present-day battle of digital transformation. And when every company is becoming a tech company (or already is one), it is absolutely imperative they put people, and people transformation, first.

My other insights to building cohesive, diverse, and high performing teams:

·       Contract-for-hire arrangements perform better for building tenured IT talent than permanent placement models. Think engagement before marriage.

·       The number one indicator of a great software developer is when you ask “what do you do in your spare time for fun?” and their answer is “Code”.

·       Digital skills and continuous learning ability will be musts for any professional hire in the 2020s and beyond.

·       Being intentional with D&I initiatives must include a formalized on-ramp for reskilled and upskilled talent. TriCom has a plan for this if you want to learn more.