You have likely heard murmurings about the ongoing tech talent shortage. However, you may not be sure how severe this shortage has become or, more importantly, what you can do about it. If this sounds familiar, trust us because you are not alone.
Many business leaders are concerned about filling important IT vacancies amid this ongoing talent shortage. While there are certainly no one-off solutions, IT skills testing can mitigate the impacts of this shortage. IT skills testing can improve hiring and assist with attracting talent during a worker shortage.
How Bad Is the Tech Talent Shortage?
Referring to the tech talent shortage as “bad” is a gross understatement. In a March 2022 piece, Forbes referred to the shortfall of digital talent as an “existential threat” that can hinder the innovation and growth of countless businesses. A variety of factors are causing this shortage.
As organizations across virtually all industries become increasingly reliant on digital assets, the demand for IT professionals has skyrocketed. This trend shows no signs of slowing down as businesses adopt new tech at unprecedented rates. Thus far, the current talent pool has not grown nearly fast enough to keep up with demand.
Put simply, businesses are now vying for candidates from an ever-shrinking supply of talent. This increased demand has created a “seller’s market” of sorts in which the most talented prospects have the freedom to choose the most lucrative job offers. However, modern job seekers are not solely concerned with their earning potential, although it is a major factor in their employment decisions.
In addition to wages, modern employees are also concerned with the company’s culture. Generally speaking, they want to work in a positive, equitable, and diverse environment that aligns with their core values. Employers that offer a competitive salary and an employee-centric work environment will be in a prime position to compete during this tech talent shortage.
Why IT Skills Testing Is Essential
IT skills testing is invaluable to employers as they strive to acquire the most talented applicants in this scarce applicant pool. Skills tests are screening tools that allow employers to accurately measure candidates’ abilities.
Modern skills tests can measure general abilities, such as communication skills. Additionally, your HR team can use them to gauge an applicant’s IT abilities across a broad range of subspecialties, including application web development, database business intelligence, and hardware networking DevOps.
Employers can choose from many different skills tests when integrating IT skills testing into their hiring protocols. Some of the most commonly used skills tests for screening IT professionals include Microsoft Azure, Application Security, and IT Service Desk.
Utilizing skills testing is essential in the current climate because it allows hiring teams to rapidly identify top candidates. The teams can then focus their recruiting efforts on these candidates and extend employment offers before candidates accept other opportunities. Instead of relying on subjective practices, HR teams can leverage hard data to guide hiring decisions.
IT skills testing can further help employers contend with the current talent shortage by reducing the risk of bad hires. Hiring the wrong candidate can negatively impact morale across the entire department.
The employer will not only have to terminate the bad hire’s employment, but they may also lose other staff members due to the friction that the bad hire created among the team. This unfortunate friction can compound the impact of a poor hiring decision and worsen existing staffing woes.
Skills Testing and Attracting Talent During a Worker Shortage
As you can see, skills testing can help you more effectively identify the best candidates from a pool of applicants. However, it can also assist with attracting talent during a worker shortage.
By incorporating skills testing into your hiring protocols, you can demonstrate to your existing staff that you only want to hire the best new members for their teams. Over time, this will allow you to build a strong company culture that appeals to today’s workforce. You can list your workplace culture as a selling point when attempting to recruit new staff members.
In addition, you can incorporate skills testing into your post-hire training strategy. Investing in employee training and development is essential to attracting talent. According to some figures, over three out of four employees want employers to provide growth opportunities.
Additionally, investing in training can lead to a significant improvement in profit margins. This bottom-line boost is no surprise, as satisfied and well-trained employees are more productive.
How eSkill Can Help You Address the Tech Talent Shortage
Want to learn how IT skills testing can improve your ability to make smart hiring decisions, even during a tech talent shortage? Contact us to request a demo.