The Tech Talent Shortage Is Not New, and It’s Not Temporary

The Great Resignation and subsequent shortage of tech talent is simply a signal that the bill for many years of neglect and waste has come due.

It's been coming due for years. It will not just go away in a few months when “everyone comes to their senses”. The tech industry as a whole has failed completely to nurture the available talent base, in fact they have drained it like parasites.

Tech companies advertise relentlessly for Ninjas, Gurus, entry level positions requiring four years experience etc., which simply translates as "we want some other company to train you, so we can save money". They pay their people for 40 hours and work them 70. They constantly devalue their developer's contributions, threatening to bring in "no-code" solutions to make their people irrelevant and put pressure on them to accept lower raises. When remote work became a necessity, they dogged their people with privacy-invading monitoring systems and threatened to cut their pay since they weren't incurring the costs of commuting. They demand loyalty, give none. They make it clear that employees are not to be trusted, but they require trust. Tech companies are ageist, older generally more expensive tech workers find fewer promotions and less opportunity.?All of this to cut costs, there really is no other consideration.

The obsession of tech companies for getting the most from their tech workers at the lowest possible cost has poisoned that relationship, perhaps irreparably. Tech companies have been able to cover the shortfall by importing tech workers from overseas, now that trend is reversing as discouraged foreign workers return to their respective countries of origin in response to restrictive immigration policies and better opportunity in their home countries. Older workers, denied opportunity, are cashing out and starting new careers. Women are leaving tech in increasing numbers.

And yet a core group of people have hung on, perhaps due to fear of not having a job, or a loss of identity, or, in the case of Silicon Valley workers, the desire to hang on to that prestige job for two or three years, in anticipation of scoring big with the next opportunity.

For these workers, the Pandemic changed everything. Working from home, they realized the impact of the long commutes, the hours and the high pressure on their lives, their health, and their families. When their employer demanded that they come back to those same conditions, or demanded a decrease in pay for work from home, they finally understood their limited value to their employers. To say that they are “burnt out” does not describe the damage. They have lost faith, and that might never return. Many have had a re-awakening of self-worth, and realized that it was their Employer who “had a problem”, not them. Surveys show that an alarming number are considering leaving their current positions.

This is where we are. I don’t know what will happen next, and I don’t think anyone does. I think the message we are getting from these tech workers is that they are no longer willing to accept the work environment that tech companies have for them. ?U.S. Tech Companies, who tend to think that all problems can be solved with more money, have few ways to engage these new workers and address their needs.

What can tech employers do? Here are my ideas:

• TRAIN PEOPLE! A tech company should strive to be known for the quality of its training. Companies need to hire “real” entry level people, older workers, and hire for diversity, don’t just talk about it. Then give these new hires the tools and the work environment they need to succeed.
• Overhaul the one department that needs it most, Finance. Yes, I said Finance, not HR. ?Get people who will fairly evaluate the value of their human capital and pay fairly for it.
• Stop compensating Leadership solely on their ability to deliver value to shareholders. Leaders need to be held responsible for building healthy, working businesses.
• Train line management. Most of them in tech are engineers who got promoted, they have no management training at all and limited people skills. They don't know how to do this, and they are the root cause of many resignations.
• Build a culture of trust. Companies need to trust people to do the right thing for the company.

There are of course many, many more good ideas, which I welcome in comments, but I submit that any company that implements these five will get enough talent to succeed, and do way more with that talent. The one thing tech companies can’t do is business the way it was. The bill for that is come due.

Steve is Chief Marketing Technologist for Oinkodomeo, LLC.?With deep roots in software engineering, product management and product marketing, Steve knows how to bring together marketing and IT stakeholders to ensure successful marketing technology engagements. Steve takes a customer-centric approach to projects that include extensive market research, use case development, marketing content, supporting documentation, client training and website development, as well as third party online software integration.