The talent crisis in the digital age is becoming the number one concern. 1 at the top of companies

Criza talentelor în era digitală devine preocuparea nr. 1 la vârful companiilor

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In the context of new challenges offered by digital innovation and the emergence of emerging technologies such as virtual reality, the metaverse or artificial intelligence, which have led to revolutionizing the way organizations interact with their customers, digitalization and innovation strategies are overshadowed by thorny practical questions. Who has the capacity to translate these new valences of the digital world into tangible results within an organization, or who and how can provide sustainable, motivated and future-proof talent within the organization, are just two of them.

The recent research, conducted by EY USA, which gathered the opinions of 600 technology, marketing and finance executives from around the world, reveals an acute need of organizations to find solutions in a context where attracting talents with developed digital skills is increasingly difficult. As companies face increased staff turnover and strategy changes, finding the right talent to drive digital innovation is therefore increasingly urgent.

At the same time, retention policies for employees who perform at work have become a top priority in top management strategies. In this context, how can leaders change their approach to attracting and retaining employees with digital skills? Who are those employees who need to demonstrate digital competence, what skills can promote and manage leaders, and how will digital innovation revitalize employee satisfaction?

 

Creating the right environment to identify, recruit and motivate talents with digital skills

According to the results of the mentioned research, 67% of respondents have seen an increase in staff turnover with data science skills since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Overall, the difficulty of identifying, recruiting and retaining talent is seen as the biggest obstacle to digital innovation after regulation.

To counter this phenomenon, the majority of survey participants (60%) indicated that the responsibility for attracting and retaining digitally skilled talent is currently shared between the chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer (CFO). The remaining 40% say responsibility currently lies with the chief technology officer (CTO). Thus, although digital talent was previously associated only with the Chief Technology Operation (CTO) and the function led by it, it will now be necessary to extend the responsibility to the CEO level.

CEO engagement is at least one of the ways to differentiate yourself from competitors, as attracting and retaining talent is not just about skills and reward; It is also a matter of organizational purpose and mission. In this sense, top management must collaborate in order to design a suitable environment for employees, a comfortable environment in which to perform and create, to feel valued and appreciated.

Creating such a value proposition to attract talent, including those with data analytics and digital skills, requires a collaborative recruitment approach across departments, as well as greater collaboration among top management members. Identifying a mission that resonates with current and future employees will require an approach from all angles, not only from the perspective of employees and what they are offered, but also in terms of how to work at the top of companies.

 

Cultivating the set of competencies relevant to the organization in the context of continuous digital innovation

Regarding the type of skills identified by top managers as the hardest to find, 57% of respondents to the questionnaire applied in the mentioned research ranked technical skills related to data science on the first place, while a large part of them confirmed that behavioral skills (soft) remain in great demand, Among those mentioned are teamwork (55%) and creativity (54%).

Making a comparison with the results obtained from the EY questionnaire, we can see that the Romanian business environment is also facing the challenges identified globally. Thus, according to a report[1] presented by the Ministry of Education in 2022 on the state of education, out of the total number of bachelor graduates in 2022, only 8% are from the field of Information Technology and Telecommunications, most of them being business, administration and law graduates – 27%. High percentages are also in engineering, processing and construction – 17%, as well as in health and social care – 14%. The low level of graduates connected to the field of data technology has led to innovation in terms of designing talent development strategies (such as upskilling, reskilling) among some companies in Romania.

 

Retaining talent by investing in digitalisation

Half of respondents to the EY USA survey say they focus largely on upgrading skills and competencies, while the same proportion focus on recruiting new employees who demonstrate the desired competencies at a certain level.

An important aspect when talking about organizations' efforts to retain talent is their appetite for investment in digitalization and innovation. In this regard, 60% of respondents to the EY questionnaire showed that they managed to retain more employees after understanding the importance of investing in this area. It is understood that optimizing digital experiences for employees is vital to ensuring talent retention.

Top management must take this into account, especially since employees' preferences to work hybrid or remoteseem to exist indefinitely. Ensuring digital experiences within the company will, on the one hand, improve employee satisfaction, but will also help increase efficiency and the company's position as a more attractive place to work.

At the same time, top management must be able to increasingly assume responsibilities in the area of digital innovation of companies, both in terms of identifying and cultivating digital skills and in terms of supporting collaborative recruitment processes between functions, internal talent mobility and the development of internal programs to improve digital skills.

[1] Report-Status-of-higher-education-2021-2022.pdf (edu.ro)

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