Bringing top talent to your IT projects

When it comes to getting IT staff, whether hiring for full-time, permanent positions or fixed-term projects, the big story today is a shortage across all areas. What once was largely confined to information security has, as the need for tech grows, expanded out to IT as a whole: from data scientists to security specialists, and from developers to database administrators, businesses and other organisations are struggling to hire and, as a result, get crucial projects to completion.

A survey conducted this year by analysts IDG in the US found that nine out of ten organisations expect the IT skills shortage to have an impact on their operations, causing delays, quality issues and revenue loss.

It is not a purely US phenomenon, either. Ireland’s critical skills list, published by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, lists six separate disciplines including developers and business analysts and then adds “all other ICT professionals” for good measure.

There is no one single answer to the problem, but businesses today are turning to both resourcing and outsourcing, as well as trying to make jobs more attractive by supporting remote work.

Software and technology consultancy Ardanis, which includes resourcing and outsourcing among its offerings to clients, has found that a positive stance on remote work results in a bigger pool of candidates.

Susan Hogan, HR and recruitment manager at Ardanis, said this flexibility has paid dividends.

“Most of our hiring and talent acquisition is around technical people, so being remote opens up a pool of candidates that wouldn’t have been available. Also, it allows us to hire on culture and values in a pool wider than would have been the case,” she said.

Many companies had their first taste of remote and hybrid work during the pandemic and, it must be said, despite the rushed nature of the shift, the results were surprisingly positive.

Productivity is now measured differently, and more accurately, than ever before. It’s data-driven around what people are doing

However, companies such as Ardanis that already had insight into how remote work is different had an advantage.

“We’ve been doing remote-first and have been for around eight years [so] we were completely set up for it. We knew how important the communication side of it is,” she said.

Today, Ardanis has a physical presence in Dublin and in Porto, so a hybrid work model is possible. No less than with fully remote work, this demands careful attention to communication and collaboration.

Software, such as Slack and Jira, helps to bridge the gap.

“Traditionally, people collaborate with the likes of Slack, as developers. That was a developer tool, but now it has become the norm. It creates a lot of visibility. Jira is also well known and is primarily used for tracking tasks in software development, but we use it for projects across the business,” she said.

However, more is required than applications. Indeed, software should be subservient to the business need, which in this case means having a strategic framework for communication and collaboration.

“Having that robust framework that allows people to engage across the business helps,” said Hogan.

Ultimately, remote and hybrid work are underpinned by cloud computing as this allows access from anywhere at any time. It has other benefits, though, Hogan said.

“It’s also helpful from an IT security perspective. It allows you to keep your information secure,” she said.

Arguably, this is a shift in perception: when cloud first appeared, questions were asked about security. In recent years, however, there has been a recognition that cloud is typically more secure than on-premise infrastructure run by over-burdened IT teams.

“I think people are just far more knowledgeable about the cloud platforms and are much more trusting of what is happening,” Hogan said.

Different industries have engaged with the shift at different rates, of course. On the whole, however, there is a growing understanding of how being flexible on location can help to deliver.

“Years ago, it was very normal for someone to go on-site with a client, whereas now clients are completely open to remote workers coming in and running the projects for them,” Hogan said.

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic and its attendant lockdowns had an effect as even companies that would not have countenanced remote work suddenly got to experience it. However, it also allowed staff to adjust.

“What everybody experienced for a couple of years has had an impact. People become better at building relationships through the screen. People are more accessible than they were in the office.

“Honestly, I think productivity is now measured differently, and more accurately, than before. It’s data-driven around what people are doing,” she said.

Regardless of whether IT professionals are on-site or working remotely, however, what organisations want is to know that their core IT systems will function as needed and that their projects will get delivered.

“With Ardanis, that’s the value we bring to their projects, to be trusted and to bring top talent who are capable and trusted,” Hogan said.