Some 90% of C-level executives agree find recruiting and retaining tech talent a top business challenge, research from global cloud services company company Appirio has found.
Developed in conjunction with Wakefield Research, the IT Talent Wars and the Gig Economy Survey explores how the ‘gig economy’ is impacting enterprise IT by examining key drivers in the war for talent, and outlining worker expectations for retention and workplace satisfaction.
Based on responses from 200 C-level executives and 200 IT staff in the US and UK, Appirio’s report finds that more than half of IT staff have already worked in the gig economy in some manner, yet C-level executives believe just 28% of employees supplement their full-time job with gig-based work.
While the C-Suite admits that finding top talent is a significant barrier to business growth, executives see the shift towards gig-based work as a threat instead of an opportunity, with 77% responding that the gig economy will result in the loss of IT staff.
Chris Barbin, CEO of Appirio, said: “The intense competition for tech talent has placed a major strain on the enterprise, and it is costing companies millions.
“Those in the tech and services industries spend too much time talking about the systems they are implementing, and not enough on the talent needed to architect, develop, or manage those systems.
“The way organisations add technical capabilities — such as mobile app development and data science — is changing due to a rise in gig-based employment and the changing demographics of the workforce. This needs to be a bigger topic of discussion among the C-Suite in any size business.”
The survey also highlighted the constant battle against talent turnover, which hinders overall productivity and innovation.
It found that more than one-third of HR budgets are dedicated specifically to recruiting and retaining technical talent and that at least 25% of projects are abandoned altogether because of IT capacity limitations.
To bridge the talent gap and meet demands of both businesses and employees, many companies are embracing crowdsourcing.
Nearly 70% of enterprises have now implemented crowdsourcing within their organisation in some capacity as a way to get access to on-demand expertise and modernise their workforce.