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Digital talent is now the most preferred way to refer to anyone who works in the technology domain, specifically in areas like Automation, Engineering, and Data. This talent is the most sought-after and crucial asset for digital transformation – from data scientists, software developers, project managers, and business leaders with a knack for technology. Today, when organizations are going all out on digital transformation, it is important to note that technology/digital talent is a key enabler, bolstering the need for digital talent management. Modern technologies may keep emerging, but people’s ability to interact and adapt to the transformation and develop the next generation of skills will become a non-negotiable.
In short, if there is innovation happening there needs to be people who have the skills to use this innovation and bring out its highest potential. If this is not done, not only will the talent be irrelevant in the new world of work but also the innovation will become futile with no one being able to decipher how to leverage it in the best way possible. Keeping this context in the backdrop, digital talent is focusing on future-proofing their skills, now more than ever.
Let’s dive deep.
To retain top digital talent, companies need to think bigger than pay. Currently, most enterprises across the globe are experiencing a massive talent conundrum – where finding and hiring the right talent has become extremely challenging to keep their businesses running and growing. Previously, employers used to think that appropriate pay was enough, but that has changed, especially post the pandemic – top technical talent has shifted their priorities and will not be satiated by just “showing the money.” As a direct consequence, hyperpersonalization has become a non-negotiable for companies to get the best bet for talent, and be in a position to offer people what they’re really looking for. Hyperpersonalization is all about having an inside out lens, and creating offerings keeping the employee’s personal context in mind, while not compromising on the overall brand value of the business.
In fact, with digital transformation gaining high-level precedence, a positive shift has happened with technology leaders, digital leaders, and HR becoming a lot more collaborative in coming up with multiple digital initiatives and utilizing advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), including upskilling efforts, improving employee value propositions by improving existing processes, enable better knowledge transfer, more scope for collaborations, among other things.
There is fresh thinking being done to remain relevant and cater to this new world of work.
The first tipping point of talent management is to understand the challenges one observes in the organization. It can be recruitment, talent retention, or the overall workforce strategy.
In this recessionary scenario, organizations need not recruit but rebalance their employee portfolio. Internal, cross-division/functional recruiting needs to be explored, and a dedicated team that identifies talent and repurposes them can be set in place.
Employees have started exploring these platforms to have more control of their careers. Companies are also leveraging these platforms to address talent gaps on their teams
Another under-tapped workforce is the pool of professionals who have had to take a career break but are looking to reintegrate into corporate jobs.
Employers can target those who are not actively looking for a job, on professional platforms such as LinkedIn. This is done by inviting professionals to forums, discussions, and sessions, sharing collaterals/materials rich in technology information, or conducting targeted campaigns as a way to attract digital talent.
An underutilized but a key approach to acquiring skilled technical talent is building local technology communities where recruiters can access quality, vetted talent. Such communities would solution for the limitations that employee referral programs offer by extending the network beyond a single organization.
They can act as proxies of job boards that will do a pre-evaluation and other preliminary processes building in agility of process, so that employers can focus with only the final rounds of the onboarding process.
Niche job boards like Crunchboard, and Mashable can be leveraged for technology talent.
These fairs help discover quality talent from various regions.
Companies can no longer think about their people on a linear value chain – such as recruitment, engagement, a series of to-do lists, attending meetings, and so on. The experience needs to be more holistic – to have them more psychologically invested. In the backdrop of a possible recession, companies that have a more engaged and diverse set of employees are better poised to weather the storm.
Whether it is fully remote, hybrid, a gig workforce – or a changed workday construct from the typical 8 hours to 4 hours. In the process of rapid shifts, female and minority communities who are part of corporations, have become casualties of this constant change. Conflicting personal and professional priorities is making it harder for them to keep the hustle going. To ensure that the newly formed diversity ratios in their organizations remain unencumbered, companies need to go above and beyond to help their female and minority employees thrive.
Organizations are forming an intersection between business objectives and employees’ goals, as part of their core brand value. They will be known for their adaptability to change, and evolve, and handle ambiguity, agility, and flexibility to meet the purpose and ambitions of its people, and the future technology demands.
see this among organizations building in autonomy, and mechanisms to foster entrepreneurship and innovation, across the board which the incoming members of the future workforce like GenZ and the Alpha generation value. Its tenets are continuously evolving and now include more components like autonomy, an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset, integrity, customer centricity, etc.
Top talent is moving out of companies where they don’t get to enjoy flexibility. Today, a majority of employees desire to have a mix of hybrid or remote working opportunities, allowing them to balance their professional and personal lives better. Many companies are also open to allowing employees their desired working model, as long the business KRAs are being served.
Top talent is also on the lookout for temporary gigs, where they get to take on work as per their bandwidth. This helps the talent not to be bound by a single employer, but maintain diversity in their work profile, while maintaining a balance in their day-to-day work routine.
Even after a recession in the backdrop, digital talent is increasingly eager to remain relevant in the industry to always be in demand. They want to move forward and broaden their horizons. When the future of an employee looks the same in a company and isn’t defined at all, the desire to look out come in. So to attract technology talent with niche skills capabilities, organizations need to showcase the growth curve as their employee value proposition (EVP) to ensure they come on onboard, apart from the other incentives they have in mind to offer.
Overall, these are a few salient aspects that business leaders can factor in to showcase high value to prospects across the globe.
The pandemic proved to be the ‘Chief Transformation Officer’ by changing the talent dynamics completely. It not only exacerbated a talent shortage but also rejigged the business ecosystem, bringing in rapid inclination toward a digital heavy world. This shift has not only increased the need for the next generation of skillsets from technology talent but also compelled organizations to reassess their talent management strategy for the long-term to meet digital transformation goals. As a result, it is important for organizations to understand the type of job features that will prove to be compelling for talent to join and stay in the firm. Compensation is no longer considered the primary decision-making factor for employees. Globally organizations have understood that there is more that is needed to be done than just showing the numbers.
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