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Information Technology (IT) was considered to be one of the support functions in any business model. Their primary deliverables were to ensure smooth working of hardware and software, connectivity of the internet, networking, and related matters, etc. IT was not considered to be a main part of the value chain in the business. Therefore, IT Recruitment was viewed as a menial task and not given a strategic preference too.
However, with the massive revolution in the tech industry, the game has changed. Normally, all the other sectors other than IT grew vertically in their domains, but IT not only grew in its own space with the introduction of cloud computing, machine learning, etc., it also elevated other areas of the business too like introduction of data mining and analytics helped marketing department in improving their strategies, etc. These days every department requires IT to operate on the next level.
Due to a sudden demand of quality professionals and inadequate supply of them form our academic systems, attracting, recruiting and retaining top talent in this arena is a matter of concern already for a lot of businesses. It has become a central part of the recruitment strategy of small and big businesses. Here are some of the best practices to have the best IT professionals on board.
Bring Clarity about the Position you want to fill:
First and the foremost step is to understand the kind of position you want to hire for. One must start with jotting down the job description for the position, and then analyze the required deliverables in the light of organizational business objectives and vision for the future challenges. This exercise will bring the clarity and picture of an ideal candidate for the position in terms of qualification, experience, certifications, attitude, and mindset required for the job.
Demand Specific Aptitude rather than Degrees or Certifications:
Since the IT industry scope is humongous and widespread, it is difficult to find the right person for the right job. Also, every business has a unique requirement and expectations form IT professionals, and it is quite difficult for an IT professional to be equipped with relevant experience firsthand. Therefore, this line of business requires temperament to learn from scratch, unlearn previous experience, and stay humble and curious to learn to deliver. Hence, in the IT field, it is said that attitude and empathy elevate you more than your hardcore technical skills.
Ace with Right Questions:
The quality of an interview is determined by the kind of questions you incorporate into it. Seek help from someone with expertise (if you are a non-IT person) to conduct job interviews with you. You need to gauge the candidate’s approach, skill set, and ability to work within lines of your organizational objectives. Also, it is recommended asking the right questions to understand their working style and temperament, along with problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
Additionally, an interview is a good time to invite questions from the candidate about your organization or prospective job opportunity. His/her questions can also provide meaningful insight into their thought process and expectations about the job.
Explore Partnerships with Tech Institutes:
As mentioned that quality candidates are scarce in supply, one of the effective strategies is to partner with tech institutes. Exploring partnerships with such institutes can have more advantages than just the recruitment of candidates.
These institutes can provide you timely updates about the climate of the job market in the industry, and they can also share insights about the trends in the tech world altogether that can help you maneuver your strategy suitable for your company accordingly. Additionally, you can get high potential candidates on your radar already, and you can get them in your system instantly by offering internship programs or management trainee opportunities.
Improve your Visibility in Tech Arena:
“To win the game, you need to be in the game.” Your company needs to game up to its presence in tech circles and forums to be visible for the star talent out there. This can be done through organizing industry events, attending IT conferences, sponsoring and contributing to related causes. The idea here is to become so attractive that IT folks aspire to work for your company.
Involve the current team in the Recruitment Process:
Hiring special talents without involving key strategic personnel can be a recipe for disaster or at least misalignment among key operations. One of the key ingredients to designing an effective recruitment strategy is to include key personnel of various departments in the recruitment of IT personnel. They can provide valuable insights on how to integrate IT expertise in their department, which can ultimately help to identify key competencies.
Give a Small Project to Evaluate:
According to Jason Fried in his book “Rework”, it is easier to sound pro than working and performing like a pro. You cannot count on any one’s competence without evaluating them working in the field. Therefore, it is advised these days to rather than recruiting someone on board, finalizing the job role and financials without witnessing an actual performance, recruit the candidate on a smaller project.
Evaluating his/her performance on that particular project will help you to gauge his/her aptitude, attitude, and alignment with your company culture and environment. This will also enable you to look for gaps or areas of improvement to help that person to work effectively and efficiently.
Don’t Bind with Geographical Limits:
When it comes to technology and digitization, one of the perks is that you can work remotely. Also, you might get better talent outside your geographical location. Therefore, one must expand its talent hunt in a wider region to get the desired candidate. Also, one might get better talent with comparatively lower pay scales. Additionally, modern workplace practices also suggest that work from home or remotely sometimes provide better productivity and efficiency.
Offer Flexibility in Timings and Working Conditions:
Another way to attract and recruit star talent in IT is to outclass the offers by other employers in the market. These days, high potentials get offers like flexible timings, better office environment, other perks, etc. to be recruited. To get the best talent, you need to shift focus towards better offerings.
Conclusion:
Hiring the best people and building an effective team is crucial for any business’s performance. However, on the contrary, the cost of hiring an inadequate team or having ineffective people on board is insanely high not only in terms of financials but culturally too. Therefore, it is wise to hire slow but hire best, and recruitment strategy is the initiation point into this.