Top IT recruitment challenges and how to overcome them!
In the ever-changing world of business, the recruitment process has adapted along with it.. Gone are the days when hiring used to be via references and word-of-mouth. Today, HR leaders have to use different methods to attract the best pool of talents to their organizations. The most challenging thing is hiring in the IT department. Over the past few years, it has become noticeably more challenging to recognize qualified candidates for IT positions. Under the current circumstances, HR professionals face some of the biggest challenges in recruiting, nurturing, and retaining talent in the IT industry.
Despite the increasing number of IT companies worldwide, the best developers are still hard to find. In fact, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US will witness a massive shortage of IT engineers by 2026. Currently, 75% of companies are facing challenges while hiring top talent in their IT departments. Indeed, COVID-19 has set the unpredictability trend. Companies now have to evolve according to ever-changing market conditions. A lot of redesigning is needed at every step of the hiring procedure.
However, if you keep these valuable tips in mind,, you can easily avoid problems when filling positions in the IT department. Let’s take a look at the most common hiring challenges and their solutions.
Most common IT recruiting challenges, and their solutions
1. Shortage of tech talent
One of the basic challenges is identifying the right talent with the requisite skills. The demand for tech professionals has increased after the pandemic due to the boom in digitization. Everything has been shifted to digitization. For example, now recruiters use digital interview software instead of using the traditional way of interview.
There were many openings in the industry like Information Security, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, etc., and a shortage of candidates with the required skills. Many positions are still vacant because organizations are struggling to find skilled tech candidates.
Solutions
• Broaden your search
Find out the best places to find the candidate for the required role. Apply multi-channel hiring strategies to get qualified techs. Use different tools to determine where you need to focus. Additionally, post about the vacant position on multiple platforms to make it reach the maximum number of candidates.
• Eliminate IT degree needs
Removing the candidate’s degree requirement will bring a huge number of applicants that can be a great fit for the role. Companies either ask for the certification for the open position or a degree. But tech organizations should also focus on internal training and willingness to learn.
• Nurture passive candidates
Around 70% of candidates are passive talents who are not looking for any job change. However, no one wants to pass up good opportunities. Tech employees highly value opportunities for advancement, the ability to work from home, and excellent work culture. Offer all these options, and they may want to join your company.
2. Comfort is a priority
One of the reasons that candidates are choosing another organization could be the virtual work culture. Many companies have embraced work from home after the pandemic, which has profoundly impacted the whole industry. Loyalties of employees are now shifting towards companies that offer WFH. Before the COVID-19 crisis, one had to keep certain points in mind before joining the organization, like job location, distance from home, commute time, etc. Since all these factors are now irrelevant, it is directly questing the loyalty quotient of employees. Virtual work is now a preference, and applicants think about their options before finalizing anything.
Solutions
• Embrace WFH
Keeping employees’ priorities in mind is very important, and therefore, companies should consider virtual work. If the company is not entirely comfortable with the work from home option, it can opt for the hybrid work model. The hybrid model is very much in trend after the pandemic.
• Provide commute expenses
Another thing that a company can do to attract IT professionals offers coverage of commute expenses. Many applicants leave the job because they cannot afford to pay the traveling expenses of their job.
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3. Attracting the skilled applicant
Looking for the right candidate among a pool of unqualified talent is quite complicated. Getting the right person on board is imperative to improving your business. If many candidates have applied for the role, then missing the best fit for a particular position is very common. However, identifying the ideal job candidate may be difficult, but they definitely exist. Try not to miss out on them due to the poor recruiting process.
Solutions
• Be clear about the requirements
A good place to start is to give a concise view of the requirement. Have a conversation with the IT department manager, and ask him exactly what skills he is looking for in a candidate. Exclude the talent you are not looking for at the early stage. The most efficient way to recruit an ideal candidate is by only going through the list of skilled applicants and not the whole bunch.
• The job description should be clear
While posting ads about the opening in the company, ensure to write a clear job description. Mention all the skills you are looking for in an applicant, and make all your requirements clear. This will help in getting the right pool of candidates.
4. Slow hiring procedure
Although, recruiters want to hire candidates as fast as possible to save time and effort sometimes, adding extra rounds can be time-consuming. This can make the team very frustrated and upset. The long duration of the recruiting process can make the candidate uninterested, leading to discontinuation. The lengthy hiring procedure results in the ideal candidates finding jobs somewhere else.
Solutions
• Eliminate unwanted hiring stage
Start with asking yourself a question: Are all the levels of the recruiting process needed? If removing any stage doesn’t impact the overall hiring process, then remove it. Include only the necessary stages to make the hiring process faster.
• Set time limit
However, taking extra time to hire for hard-to-fill roles is natural, but not every time. Talk with the hiring teams, and set a realistic timeline. Understand the importance of fast recruiting, and design the entire process accordingly.
5. Friction between companies and job seekers
If there is any conflict between the organization and the candidate during the hiring process, then it is most likely to result negatively. Offering a memorable candidate experience during the recruiting process is one of the important steps in getting the right IT professional in your organization. A positive candidate experience is a must to bring the best talents onboard. The candidate experience defines how an applicant feels about your company, and it majorly impacts his decision to join the organization.
Solutions
• Always answer candidates’ queries
Never deny answering the candidate’s questions. If an applicant has any queries, then it is the HR professional’s responsibility to clear all the doubts. Give them proper information on what they can expect in the company and how they will grow.
• Coordinate well
Ensure to have a conversation with the candidate about all rounds of the interviews. If you are going for an in-person interview, then provide all essential information, like what documents are needed, what will be the timing, and what is the exact address. Avoid making them wait for the interview process.
• Meet their communication expectations
Always get back to the candidate on time. Punctuality is one of the most impressive things in any department, especially in the IT sector. Tell applicants when they can expect to hear from you. You can even use email templates and set reminders if you have an ATS.
6. Hiring biases
When it comes to recruiting a candidate, people are often biased toward the candidate they can relate with. They usually overlook the candidate who has the requisite skills. You may not realize it, but hiring biases are prevalent. Or you can say it will remain prevalent if necessary, steps are not taken on time. For example, if any candidate is well-dressed, the HR professional may think he has all the required skills, ignoring everything else. Consider all the important points to get an ideal candidate for your company.
Solutions
• Involve other team members in the interview
The simplest solution to remove biases is to include other team members in the interview procedure. Whether you are using any video recruiting software or taking an in-person interview, consult other team members. Everyone has different perspectives, and they may notice something that you missed before.
• Use personality tests
To eliminate biases, one must go for personality tests. Make judgments based on data, and avoid any chances of biases. Additionally, recruiters can adopt the structured interview process, which is the same questions. Ask the same questions to each candidate, and make the best decision.
7. An inefficient recruiting process
Although the hiring process may consider a trivial feature of the HR department, it can shape your company’s future. Finding an ideal candidate within a given time frame is crucial. With the increase in demand and shortage of talent, HR professionals have gained their credit in the IT sector. If you are hiring for the IT department, you may be aware of the challenges that occur.
One of the reasons for not getting the right candidate could be inefficient hiring procedures. Apart from the slow hiring process, other factors also contribute to the inefficient recruiting practice. Designing an efficient process for recruiting will ensure bringing the right pool of talent into the company.
Additional Reading: The Future of Recruiting: Top Emerging Trends in 2024
• Invest in an ATS
Investing in an ATS would be a great asset for the HR department. Through this, they can easily interact with their team and check out the status of the recruiting procedure. You can even leave your evaluation to review other comments as well. This will expedite your candidate management and ease the administrative tasks. Streamline your recruitment process with an ATS, and collaborate all the data in one place.
• Go for video interview software
You can even adopt video screening software to conduct live and pre-recorded interviews. With this,, you can watch the interview again if there are any doubts. Moreover, it will remove the hassle of conducting an in-person interview. One of the best software for video interviews is Jobma. It comprises all the necessary features to simplify your hiring process.
• Use data-driven hiring
The hiring process can be upgraded by using hiring metrics and data. Get the data from google analytics, and make an informed decision.
Final words
The IT recruitment challenges can easily be tackled with considerable investment and appropriate measures. Tailor your hiring process, and establish a better recruiting workflow to find quality candidates quickly.
Recruiters may have to face various challenges in selecting the right candidate for the organization, but the company that rises above all the challenges will experience long-term success. Diversify the recruitment process, and overcome all the challenges. Use all the tips mentioned above to recruit the best tech hire.
