Despite an overall economic slowdown in the UK, the IT and technology sector looks set to benefit from continued growth in 2023. Reports indicate that the global tech services market will experience growth of nearly 8% in the coming year and Gartner predicts overall IT spending will increase by 5.1% to $4.6 trillion. This growth means that demand for UK tech talent is stronger than ever, and nearly 8.5 million open tech vacancies were recorded last year. To achieve business goals going forward, companies must realise the importance of robust human resource planning and forward-thinking talent acquisition strategies if they want to achieve their digital transformation goals in 2023.
How is human resource planning important in helping you achieve your digital transformation goals?
Internal technology landscapes are changing. The adoption of new technologies, regulatory pressures, market shifts and changing consumer habits and demographics are all reasons that organisations might seek to engage in digital transformation.
However, unless you can adapt your resourcing strategy to meet industry changes it can be extremely difficult to attract and retain the skills and expertise you need to carry out digital transformation projects quickly and efficiently, manage competing priorities, and achieve your business goals for 2023.
Whether you are looking to upgrade your IT infrastructure, roll out new enterprise tech to your workforce, or facilitate a cloud migration, you’ll need to know what skills you have, what skills you need and how to access them effectively to meet your goals.
5 crucial steps in the HR planning process
Effective human resource planning requires forethought and an investment of time to get it right. But by putting in the effort you can anticipate your business’ tech and IT talent needs and build talent acquisition strategies that will serve your business long-term. Follow this five-stage checklist to help develop your human resource planning:
- Lay out your digital transformation goals
- Assess your current workforce capacity
- Predict your future staffing needs
- Compare those needs to your current supply to identify potential gaps
- Create talent acquisition strategies to meet demand
A great HR planning process will follow those steps to produce a talent acquisition strategy that answers the following key questions:
- Do you have the internal resource to get these projects off the ground?
Are your current teams equipped with the skills and expertise needed to bring these projects to completion successfully?
- Do you need to upskill or reskill your current workforce?
If not, are there ways to ensure that your permanent workforce develops the skills you need not just for the short-term success of a transformation or implementation but for the long-term running and maintenance of the new systems and technology?
- What talent acquisition strategy will you use to fill any skill gaps?
How are you going to close any skills gaps that become apparent? Are your current talent acquisition methods capable of reaching in-demand, high-calibre candidates and does your current talent acquisition strategy include means of accessing diverse skills?
- What could you do if your typical methods of attracting talent don’t or can’t work or if your business objectives mean you don’t have the time to wait for them to be implemented?
Are you aware of other methods you can use to attract talent outside of traditional hiring methods, such as building a strong employer brand, investing in the development of your existing workforce, focussing on new talent pools and using short-term consultancy support?
Traditional talent acquisition strategies can be slow and costly. If your digital transformation is pressing, you are struggling to hire the tech skills you need quickly or you are looking for high-demand talent with specialist skills, then you might consider other ways of accessing the talent you need such as:
- Searching outside your typical talent pools and sources
- Investing in the development of your existing team
- Bridging any gaps with a consultancy solution
Working closely with an external consultancy partner, like Fruition Consulting, can help you overcome these challenges. We focus on practical solutions that are adapted to fit the needs of your business including supporting your teams in developing their own digital skills to help future-proof your business.
Develop a Human Resource strategy to take your business into 2023 with Fruition Consulting
Because our consultants are vetted experts in their field, you can guarantee that your digital transformation projects will have access to a wealth of in-depth, first-hand knowledge of similar projects and advice. And because we are experienced in building highly-effective teams that achieve the best results possible, we take on the practicalities of embedding our contractors into your business so you can focus on your wider business goals.
Looking for a real-world example of how Fruition Consulting can support you in meeting your business objectives? Read a case study where we helped a global events organisation that brings together C-suite executives meet their IT infrastructure and cloud migration goals by developing a robust migration strategy and structured learning programme to upskill their IT team in cloud technology.
Get in touch to find out more.
