CIOs on quest to attract permanent talent - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

CIOs on quest to attract permanent talent - Viewpoint - careers advice blog The struggle to fill permanent IT roles is one of the biggest challenges for CIOs, even in markets that are economically constrained. Last year’s Deloitte CIO Report in Ireland revealed that 84% of organisations that are recruiting are having difficulty filling graduate and experienced permanent positions. The consultancy firm said that this scale of unfilled permanent vacancies is mission-critical. While the situation in Ireland sounds extreme, this is clearly a global problem. What is happening elsewhere? In Canada, 35% of employers are planning to add permanent IT staff in the coming year. How effectively they will be able to do that depends on the availability of candidates with in-demand skills â€" everything from mobile apps development and social media to ERP and data security. In the UK, small and medium businesses prefer to hire permanent staff where they can. Yet even in a market where salaries are relatively static, the competition for top talent â€" particularly apps developers and multi-media specialists â€" is intense. Hiring can be a lengthy process, and a source of great frustration to SMEs that are primed to move and react to new opportunities quickly. In Hong Kong, with a financial sector that is hungry for developers, it can take as long to recruit the right contractor for a specific project role as it would to find a permanent employee, proving that this isn’t a problem that a large pool of contracting talent is likely to solve. In Australia,despite attempts by public sector organisations to lure contractors in to permanent roles, there are signs that many contractors are resisting the prospect of being tied to long-term roles. Likewise, New Zealandis wrestling with the issue of rising contractor rates which could discourage prospective staff from taking on permanent or long-term positions. Specific local conditions will have their own impact on recruitment plans, but it looks as if CIOs need to become more innovative in their quest to attract new talent that will stick around and repay their investment. As a result, forward-thinking businesses are likely to become quicker to hire whilst offering new IT employees bigger incentives over the coming years. What would it take for you to accept a permanent position?