Throughout the IT channel there is a growing skills gap between the number of qualified workers with specific skill sets and the demand for them in the enterprise. This has many IT Principals scrambling to find the impactful talent who can manage the latest innovations like cloud computing, mobility and big data. Some organizations are fortunate enough to have these workers already on staff and retaining them and keeping them happy is a growing priority.
A recent Fox Business article cites a staffing survey that found 40 percent of CFOs consider retaining valuable employees to be the biggest challenge over the next year. It even outranks keeping workers motivated and productive.
"Though general unemployment levels remain high, professionals with specialized skills have more opportunities available to them, which has led to talent shortages in some areas and made replacing valuable employees even more difficult," one executive told the news source. "Employers will need to pull out all the stops to retain their best and brightest, including ensuring compensation is competitive and top performers know there's a career path available to them with the company."
The piece goes on to offer tips for keeping talent happy, especially those with a highly in-demand skill set, so they do not seek opportunities elsewhere. There are things that any company can do like maintaining an open-door policy, prompting from within the company, competitive compensation, recognizing outstanding work and offering professional development opportunities.
Many companies are only as strong as their talent. With every IT Principal looking to bring in the top professionals, holding on to the most productive employees is critical. Companies are also turning toward VARs and MSPs as invaluable resources to answer the growing challenges of the IT channel.
