In this article we will talk about digital transformation and how all companies – sooner rather than later – should undertake transformation projects if they want to stay in the market. Related to this, one of the great challenges that companies face is the attraction of digital talent. A complex challenge for two reasons mainly: on the one hand, there is a shortage of professionals and, on the other, the values that they prioritize do not fit with traditional business models.
Digital talent is scarce
LinkedIn and Capgemini conducted a study in 2017 that threw a worrying conclusion: the digital talent gap was widening in all countries. The demand for digital talent – thus, in all the breadth of the word – still exceeds the number of professionals with the necessary skills, which is a real brake on business development.
According to the study, social media bots find a greater disparity between their needs and the capabilities they have in the areas of cybersecurity, cloud computing, analytics, web development, design and development of mobile applications, data science, Big Data and interface design.
The growing importance of these areas in the current digital environment in which companies have to navigate makes talk of “war” for digital talent. And in this context, it is essential that companies understand what these professionals need and demand to attract them.
The values of digital talent
Stability, lifelong employment, and good pay are simply no longer attractive factors. The social media related company understand that their recruitment strategies cannot continue to rely on these pillars, the sooner they will begin to hit the target of talent acquisition.
And then, what does the balance decant now? The study by Capgemini and LinkedIn showed that when choosing an organization in which to work digital talent primarily prioritizes organizational flexibility – that favors reconciliation – and a horizontal hierarchy with accessible leadership. Accenture, which has also conducted similar studies, notes that more than 2/3 of university graduates prioritize the work environment over salary when opting for one company or another. Multidisciplinary, collaborative teams and environments that foster innovation are other important decision factors.
How to get digital talent?
Companies have two flanks to attack to meet their digital talent goals: attraction and creation. In both cases, the first thing they should do is be clear about their digital needs and start designing their recruitment strategies based on them.
In addition, in both cases also, they have to expand their vision of what Human Resources implies and understand that it is necessary to design an employee experience from the moment they are recruited and throughout the entire cycle of their career in the company.
Attract talent
When it comes to attracting digital talent, companies have to make their organization more flexible, create collaborative environments and foster environments that allow error, experimentation, innovation, and change. They must also provide the digital talent with the tools and resources necessary to implement this change and the support of the company’s leaders so that the rest of the employees join it.
Create talent
The LinkedIn and Capgemini study showed that, although companies were aware of the needs in digital skills they had, their efforts to train their staff are insufficient.
Almost 50% of the employees surveyed said they were not satisfied with the training that their company offered them well because it was useless and boring, well because it did not help them acquire new digital skills. But in addition, the study also revealed that most companies had not increased – in fact, many had reduced – their training budgets.
The training of the current workforce is, without a doubt, one of the first actions that social media bots must carry out, but it is also necessary that they create development plans for their employees and that they promote an environment in which learning is not only prioritized but reward yourself. And not only learning. Giving employees time and space, as they do Adobe or Spotify, will help them develop all their skills and abilities and will generate a constant flow of new ideas and perspectives that serve to strengthen the organization.
Conclusion
All these difficulties are a consequence of several factors: the education system, the low investment in innovation … But the company must assume its share of responsibility. If homework has not been done before, it cannot be pretended that people with technological capabilities appear as mushrooms out of nowhere to solve problems.