Filling IT jobs has never been harder, never mind areas in the construction, medical devices, or pharmaceutical sectors. Talent shortage with these technical jobs in general are hard to find. They are holding companies from hitting targets and growth in general.
I think its time to start expanding recruitment strategies and have a look at your current employee base. In 2023, it will be important for companies to focus on their existing colleagues as that core group to fill the skill gap.
Before we explore how we can go about doing this. Lets remember that a key motivator for people leaving is a lack of progression. I am always mind boggled by this statement and I don’t know why, because I hear it so often. So companies are loosing key talent! Now throw on top of that how hard it is to find talent. Even when you do there is no guarantee they will be as good as the Engineer they are replacing. So there lies the conundrum. Do you pay more for your staff and risk profits, you might ask? Maybe. It has been forecasted that employee turnover could be as much as 50% higher than in previous few years, this is largely due to a return to work but lack of career progression is also a large reason.
It now takes around 20 % longer to fill those complex IT and technical roles, construction is worse, the trends to hire a Quantity Surveyor or a brick layer for example are above that again and these trends continuing to grow. Also, losing talent is expensive. Between sourcing, recruiting, Interviewing, onboarding and training, replacing an employee can cost up to as much as an employee’s salary depending on the complexity of the training and equipment could be 2x the salary.
You also have to think of ramp up periods, how complex is the technical requirement you want the person doing. I’ve heard it can take 6 months in some places and as much as 2 years in other companies for an Engineer to reach peak performance. Now, bear in mind in the IT sector the average tenure is just below 3 years in Ireland and a little more in the US.
The knock on effect here is damage to a company’s attempt to grow and profit. Time and energy must be spent on finding talented people while at the same time trying to support performance and growth. So, retaining qualified workers needs to be the priority for companies.
Upskilling opportunities to employees are a great way to battle this talent shortage. It keeps people motivated and the benefits of upskilling existing personal works in every way.
3 benefits of upskilling?
- It can show employees that the business cares about them and about providing upskilling opportunities.
The talent can easily be disengaged if these upskilling opportunities do not arise. So it’s the most cost effective way for companies to retain existing employees.
- In a competitive job market for Software Engineers for example. Upskilling your current workforce enables companies to fill key positions from within. Creating a training pyramid that will naturally allow people to continue to evolve when completed X training will reduce the need for those harder to fill specialities and open more junior roles within the business that are historically easier to fill. Overall, it’s a win-win for employers.
- Allow the talent to access the required skill sets immediately upon joining and set aside time each week to complete the training, this will at the same time build a reputation as a company that invests in their employees from day one that will lead to promotions once certain training criteria is met.
- These opportunities to upskill has historically led to higher employee engagement, and inevitably help both retain and attract talent into the organisation.
3 reasons why its important to upskill your employees to counter the talent shortage?
- Most job seekers I speak to see upskilling as essential when evaluating a potential new job.
- Most jobseekers leave roles because of a lack of career advancement and training opportunities.
- Developing a strong learning culture, where people have learning built into their routine (rather than a culture of “when I get a chance ill do that”. Have the learning engrained into the culture will lead to higher retention rates.
Other challenges that we will face as employers in 2023 is the continuation of recent trends like the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting. Talent shortage in general will remain a huge problem for years to come. Returning to the office is perhaps the next growing trend and how will that impact out talent reservoirs. We must provide upskilling opportunities. That provide better opportunities then our closest competitors to protect our existing talent.
Upskilling within will remain a key tool for 2023. Investing in this now will assist in helping retain your talent. It will save you somewhat from the talent shortage. There will of course be exceptions to the rule and key talent will walk. You might not have someone ready to take the next step. If you need more experience to upskill those junior-mid engineers. This is where companies like Elwood Roberts can help the most. If you are looking for a reliable and friendly Recruitment Partner, please check us out here.