3 Keys to Maintaining a Strong IT Team During Labor Shortages

Aviation is the latest industry for many people to experience hiring problems and labor shortages following the Great Resignation. Understaffed airlines are offering passengers $10,000 to get off overbooked planes and host pizza parties as consolation for canceled flights. Airline management is struggling to keep operations going with a shrinking and overburdened workforce, which has hit pilots especially hard; some models predict a shortage of nearly 30,000 pilots in North America by 2032.

Airlines aren't the only ones feeling the heat, however, and their very public struggles this summer should serve as a warning signal to other industries. There is another highly skilled workforce that has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, and it exists in almost every business: IT. Business leaders need to ask themselves: will IT be the next industry to succumb to a costly labor shortage? Because the world's best pizza isn't going to measure up when a cybersecurity event is looming and there's no one to stop it.

With the shift to a fully remote and hybrid workforce, IT pros are feeling the pressure more than ever. According to recent data, 76% of IT decision-makers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) said the workload of IT professionals has increased due to the adoption of flexible work models, with 43% agreeing that IT jobs have become more difficult, largely due to poor software and tools.

Given the vital importance of IT teams to maintaining consistent and secure operations in small businesses, leaders must act now to ensure they don't suffer from the next labor crisis. The key is to attract, retain and develop talent by leveraging the right tools and IT infrastructure to set them up for success.

To attract

The interview process is a two-way street. This is as much an opportunity for an employer to get to know a candidate as it is for the candidate to test the employer. When leaders are looking to fill gaps in their IT team, they need to demonstrate that their IT infrastructure is solid and will provide all IT team members with the support and tools they need to do their jobs well. .

It's also important to recognize that IT people aren't just about technology and problem solving, they're people too. Without an inclusive, people-centric work culture and policies that empower all employees, it will be difficult to attract top talent. With a dwindling number of qualified candidates, attracting IT talent has never been harder, making benefits and culture more important than ever. Leaders need to understand and respond to what's important to IT talent or they risk falling behind.

To hold onto

Once teams have attracted top talent, the next challenge for leaders is to retain them, especially in these unpredictable times when 40% of workers plan to leave their jobs soon. The secret: invest in technology that values ​​their work, reduces tedious tasks and frees up time for innovation. The right tools and resources are essential for leaders to win in today's war of attrition. To better support and empower employees, technology should be a top priority and investment for SMBs.

Automation and AI software give busy IT teams the respite they need from monotonous maintenance and tasks that add little or no value to the business. Automated scripts, for example, can speed up software and patch installation, perform repetitive functions such as batch file distribution, and perform complex custom workflows and operating system updates. Entrusting these tasks to IT automation software can even boost the reliability of your IT infrastructure. When implemented correctly, automation software rarely makes mistakes, never gets tired or bored, and monitors operations 24/7.

Automation, however, is a scary term for many small businesses. For small businesses that pride themselves on their human relationships — with customers and between employees — decision makers may be hesitant to automate processes. But right now, highly skilled IT professionals are in greater demand than ever - and as a result, their time is more...