The skills gap has been the center of attention when examining the causes of hard-to-find IT and software workers. Training in math and science and access to high-tech education for all people has slowly gained traction, the real culprit for the skills gap increasing is the great resignation of last year. This is when many workers questioned their daily life and left in large masses to pursue other interests, take time off, and or changed sectors. Fast forward today when IT leaders were asked how to direct future investment. They answered technology.
According to the 2022 IT Leaders Pulse Report released by Salesforce subsidiary Mulesoft and in partnership with Vanson Bourne, 73% of senior IT leaders agree that securing IT talent is more challenging than ever and 98% report that attracting talent influences technology investment. Data was collected by surveying 1000 global IT executives of companies with more than 1000 employees.
“Shifting economic headwinds are making technology even more fundamental to success across every part of the business, including sales, service, marketing, commerce, and IT,” said Matt McLarty, Global Field CTO, MuleSoft. “As IT leaders struggle to fill roles to support this additional demand, the traditional playbook is in question. Today’s IT leaders must look instead to broader, company-wide process improvements, through automation, that foster innovation, enhance user experiences, and drive efficient growth.”
The report also shows that today’s IT leaders are using technology to create more people-centric experiences for their employees and customers. The majority (86%) of senior IT leaders now say the experience an organization provides its employees and customers is as important as its products and services, and four out of five respondents agree that improved customer-facing (86%) and employee (85%) technologies are critical for their organization to compete.
Almost nine out of ten (87%) senior IT leaders agree investing in people is hugely important. As a result, the majority of respondents plan to invest in improving IT employees’ wellbeing (82%) and upskilling (78%), both of which are ahead of increasing IT headcount (68%), over the next 12 months.
“The current economic climate leaves IT leaders no choice – they have to do more with less. The tools are there to empower more users to become digital builders, and help their organizations grow while improving efficiency. By automating processes where feasible, leaders can realize value faster and accelerate innovation,” added McLarty.
ContingentWorkforce.com 