The tech talent crisis

There is a tech talent crisis. There is a huge demand for tech talent and now, more than never, there is a lack of supply.?You don’t need me to tell you this, all you need to do is listen to the news/market, talk to recruiters, people in tech and organisations who need tech talent. ?A good proof point is here: London tech firms struggle to hire as Silicon Valley giants scale up in the city.?And it’s not just London that is struggling….

The question is then what the hell do you do about it??Throw money at it??Engage tech agencies to do the work for you using their little black books? Hire contractors? Lower your standards? Yeah, maybe these can work….however, that’s all pretty short term, comes with its own risks and won’t fix the underlying issue of supply…and the need for tech talent isn’t going to go away any time soon.

?How assessing for potential and coding builds talent pipelines ready for tech roles today

There is no magic bullet here of course, yet my number one recommendation to any organisation struggling with tech talent is to think and act differently.?This means going more broadly in finding this talent, outside the usual tech talent pools, embracing better DE&I strategies to attract and engage different talent, and building a talent pipeline and bring that into your organisation.

How??Well, it can be as simple as using coding assessments to assess the hard tech skills and then using behavioural assessments to assess softer skills to look at potential.?The output of which is data, data and data.?Who in tech doesn't like data? You can then use that data to make better decisions about who will succeed in your environment and who can develop into your top tech talent for the future.?So you get tech talent that is almost ready technically, with the right behavioural traits to learn at speed and succeed in tech roles when you invest in their development – and that can be coaching, mentoring and on the job through project exposure.

We know this hits the mark based on working with a whole range of clients on their unique tech talent challenges.?Digging deeper into what good looks like through job analysis and understanding the key behavioural traits for successful tech people, we know it’s more than just tech ability.?I saw this with a client, where the top tech talent doesn’t always work out well because:

• They typically cannot afford the top tech talent (so lots of painful rounds getting this hire approved internally, speed is an issue in all recruitment right now)
• The culture isn’t always a good fit - are you measuring this?
• Most end up leaving after 6-12 months – so the costs are crazy if that is the outcome

What did work well was:

• Bringing in tech talent who still need to learn their craft technically and develop, yet have key fundamental tech skills
• These individuals have key behavioural traits like agility, learnability and curiosity meaning they are open and actively seek opportunities to develop tech skills, gain knowledge, network and upskill in the role and learn in the flow of work – these are the people you bring in, invest in and grow

You can also consider building a tech talent programme and focus on 100% development initiatives - yet you need to know you are investing in the right people and you again need data - that though is a story for another time.

So there is no quick fix. Yet you can create a sustainable talent pipeline by thinking and acting differently, measuring the right abilities and thinking about behaviours to fill the tech roles today.?Furthermore, if you invest in your tech talent, knowing they have the right behaviours to succeed in your environment, you are then you building your future top tech pipeline.?It all starts with embracing data and measuring what matters.?