How U.K. Businesses Overcome the Struggle to Retain IT Talent

5 Minute Read

Data shows that the UK is struggling to retain top talent in the tech sector. The Harvey Nash Group Digital Leadership reports that 80% of IT organisations have trouble with retention in a post-pandemic world. Although tech industry hires have increased recently, it still faces a skill gap of over 100,000 specialists wide. This is likely due to the fact that IT requirements are expanding across the UK and throughout the world.

From service desk engineers to NOC analysers, senior network engineers, and software developers, the technology sector is growing quickly with no signs of slowing down. While it sounds like this creates limitless job opportunities for people in IT, it proves to create more problems than solutions.

Trouble Retaining Tech Talent

Tech organisations are constantly looking for ways to be on the cutting edge of innovation. This means they need a staff with relevant training and certifications. Because technology is moving faster than ever (thanks, in part, to COVID-19 speeding up digital revolutions), tech companies need employees that can keep up.

Unfortunately, these individuals are few and far between. The high demand for top talent creates intense competition among tech companies. Current employers now face the reality that they could lose their most valuable engineers to organisations that offer better pay, a more flexible working environment, and premium benefits.

Organisations that can adapt to these changes will continue to drive innovation while those who fail will fall behind.

How to Find and Keep Valuable IT Professionals

Bev White CEO at Harvey Nash Group explains how businesses are coping with the IT talent crisis: “Firstly, they’re casting their recruitment net wider, considering candidates based further afield than they would have done before due to the new remote working model,” she says. “Parallel to this they are developing new, attractive employee offers that reflect the new home-office hybrid working environment.”

Expanding the Recruitment Reach

Many IT professionals understand that they can find high-paying jobs that allow them to work from home – and they don’t want to settle for less. Therefore, organisations would do well to expand their search to areas outside of their local market where talented individuals are working at home.

Hiring Independent Contractors

Nearly every industry has seen a recent rise in gig and freelance workers. This offers a great opportunity for tech companies to hire expert contract workers for specialised roles. Often, freelance workers are a viable option for start-ups and small businesses because they can be hired on an as-needed basis. Additionally, there are freelance workers all over the world – hiring someone from another country can be a huge advantage from a diversity standpoint, which will encourage more creativity and innovation within the company.

Recruiting Remote Teams Overseas

Switching to a hybrid role that outsources IT talent allows organisations to expand their pool of qualified applications from their local market to the entire world. In some countries, there is a surplus of IT experts and a shortage of quality tech-related jobs. Hiring remote workers from other countries, in this case, creates a mutually beneficial relationship between tech workers and businesses.

Hire a Dedicated Tech Team

Inbay’s Dedicated Tech Team solution empowers organisations in the UK and beyond with available tech professionals around the world. We will work with you to build a team of specialised individuals who can fill your skills gaps and take your company to the next level.