In 2019, experts predicted that growing cybersecurity staffing shortages would lead to a whopping 3.5 million open positions in global cybersecurity by 2021. Companies are doggedly searching for skilled IT professionals, with many turning to a recruitment firm to help them shore up their team and remain at the top of the Boston tech industry and even scale their business beyond.
If you’re a Boston tech company looking for ways to fill your team vacancies, use this guide to learn why it’s so hard to find top talent. Then, discover how the right staffing agency can help you attract and onboard winning candidates before your competitors get there first.
Why is there a shortage of IT professionals?
- Cybersecurity growth has led to a serious inequality between supply and demand.
- More people are working from home
- Ecommerce is booming
- and hackers are eager to insert their sticky virtual fingers into the stream of information that surrounds as all.
There is simply a far greater need for IT experts than there are skilled tech professionals.
This is particularly true with subspecialities like:
- cloud security
- application security
- security analysts
As more people tap into the cloud, the potential for threats skyrockets. Until supply catches up to demand, companies without the resources to attract top talent will be left out in the cold.
How do these shortages impact businesses with lingering staff vacancies? Some 70% of cybersecurity professionals say their workplace has been affected by the lack of available IT talent.
When in-house teams are smaller than the powers that be intended, it’s up to the remaining workforce to pick up the slack. As staff become stressed, productivity falls.
There may be too few resources to dedicate to bringing on new clients or exploring new technology. As the team slowly falls behind, the company follows suit. Worst case scenario, the team misses something crucial — an update, a bug, a client review — and a customer’s information is compromised.
When your team is overwhelmed and stressed, mistakes happen.
The Boston tech scene is bustling, but shortages exist here too. The longer vacancies linger, the harder it may be for organizations to rebuild their teams and get back up to speed in terms of talent as well as infrastructure.
How can companies navigate the tech staffing shortage?
Companies looking for efficient and effective ways to address the staffing shortage can start by looking within. Offering plenty of professional development opportunities and training may help win over candidates interviewing with multiple organizations.
Other perks like:
- benefits
- paid vacation time
- education credits
- and loyalty programs can also be valuable
But one of the most crucial steps these companies should take is to simply cast a wider net. That means looking beyond the normal job boards. Working with a Boston recruitment agency means working with specialists who know exactly how to plan and execute a talent search.
Your staffing agency will oversee the entire recruitment process from strategizing to recommending you make the final cut. You may be surprised where your agency finds viable candidates – instead of aiming for recent college graduates, you may be able to recruit and train professionals with experience in peripheral fields.
Looking to the future of staffing:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the job growth rate for information security analysts at 31%. The overall growth rate for all jobs is just 4%.
In other words, people need help with their digital security and it’s going to take a massive shift in training, education, and recruitment to build a workforce capable of catching up.
With 1 in 4 Americans already working remotely and no end to that trend in sight, companies should understand the expectations of the modern workplace to attract and retain top professionals.
Stuck with open positions that are keeping your company from reaching its full potential?
Our Boston staffing agency knows how to tailor talent searches so you find the people you need when you need them most.
