The ongoing wave of digitisation is growing globally, making IT talents in high demand not only in tech companies but also in other industries who want to thrive amidst digital disruption. A study on the global talent shortage in 2018 found that talent shortages have reached a 12-year high. Almost half (45 percent) employers are struggling to find candidates for their job openings. In Singapore, for example, more than half of employers face a serious talent crunch issue in the past 10 years.

A recent report in CNBC further revealed that a lack of skills in artificial intelligence is slowing its adoption by Asian companies. This finding suggests that companies in the region will be unable to fulfil their potential to innovate. Ralph Haupter, president of Microsoft Asia, told CNBC that the main barrier that prevents companies from readily embracing AI is a skill shortage. Given the talent crunch is the main root of the problem, it should be the first area to overcome.

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Lack of talents especially in IT and tech can prevent a company from generating billion in revenues. A survey by Terminal showed that by 2030, the U.S. will lose $163 billion in revenues due to a shortage of technical talent. The survey mentioned that while the U.S is the second largest talent pool, the IT and tech talents are not growing as quickly as needed. 

For companies that have not historically been considered as technological innovations, winning talents will be frustrating for them. Competing with highly admirable tech giants such as Google, Apple, or Amazon is “almost” impossible, so leaders need to find innovative ways to stay competitive and attractive to prospective hires. Attracting tech talents should be no different from hiring other skills. 

You should develop the right message and play in the hunting party, Randstad suggested. How to build the right message and play? Here are some guidelines to consider.

1. Do you have a good company brand? – Commonly, candidates will seek a company name, what kind of company they want to apply, and how does society perceive the company. Thusly, the company brand will act as the key to appeal to a targeted audience.
2. Have you performed an assessment? – While you might believe that you possess a strong employer/company brand, how about your assessment? This assessment is meant to show you how candidates think about your company. By assessing key metrics such as company reputation and career opportunities around your employer and corporate brands, you will build a sense of direction for where to get started.
3. Do your employee value propositions (EVP) match with what your target group desire? – Many hiring managers fail to see what their company really offers. For example, you might have pride over how your company has been running for decades but it might not resonate with technology workers. Therefore, you should make sure that your EVP synchronises with talents you want to attract.
4. Do you know what motivates your applicants? – Perks and benefits are highly offered by company all over the world. But have your perks and benefits met applicants’ interest? Usually, different people will seek different values. For example, talent A prefers to have a higher salary while talent B wants decent work and work-life balance as his preferences. Thusly, to attract or retain talents, you should understand their needs and preferences. Asking your employees and job applicants for feedback will add many advantages here.
5. Have you created an effective plan? – Creating an employer brand is not enough. You should also influence job seekers. Therefore, you should create plans effectively for communicating with technology workers you need. For example, you can plan to do recruitment marketing efforts such as campus events, social media campaigns, or general advertising. Additionally, be careful and clear about your actions. The actions should be meant to accomplish and measure afterwards to assess success.
6. Have you focused on your target? – A focus is also needed for a hiring manager to sort out the right candidates for a position available. Therefore, when you use hiring platform such as LinkedIn, you should be precise with what you are looking for.
7. Have you created a memorable experience? – One of the most important elements of your employer brand is a candidate experience. So, you should make sure that you are transparent and communicative about the application process. Job hunters who experience negative candidate experience will give a negative review of company’s services.

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