HR leaders struggle with tech hiring goals

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Dive Brief:

• Despite prioritizing IT, nearly 4 in 5 hiring managers say they don’t think they’ll meet their tech hiring goals for the year. Tuesday’s report IT Training Company General Assembly.
• According to the report, which surveyed 1,000 HR professionals, HR departments take an average of seven weeks to hire technology professionals. More than a quarter of companies spend nine or more weeks filling in-demand software engineering, data analytics, data science and UX design positions, respondents said..
• Struggle to find tech talent and rely on traditional recruiting methods to reduce enterprise DEI initiatives. Nearly 4 in 5 respondents said their company has not adjusted hiring processes to meet diversity goals..

Dive Insight:

IT depends on HR for employees. Hiring managers rely on technology to streamline the process. It’s a symbiotic relationship complicated by a talent pool too small to meet demand even after tens of thousands of tech sector layoffs.

Despite promises to do so, most companies are not reaching out to applicants from diverse backgrounds. More than a quarter of candidates for tech roles come from underrepresented groups, and only a third of tech hires in the past two years have non-traditional backgrounds, the report found.

Expanding access to talent strengthens the bottom line. Companies are spending an average of $30,000 to fill in-demand tech positions due to the lack of talent, the report found.

To overcome recruitment challenges, the report recommends adjusting educational requirements for certain positions and adjusting recruitment strategies.

More than half of tech jobs require a four-year college degree, respondents said, and about half of the companies surveyed rely on referrals from existing employees, a strategy that’s at odds with diversity.

“Networks are especially important in tech companies and are highly segregated by race, which limits both the perception of opportunities and the connections between people of color,” the report said.

Reaching out to potential candidates on LinkedIn and similar social media platforms was the most common sourcing strategy favored by 55% of respondents.