Down To Business: Talent Shortage? Employers Must Take Some Of The Rap

Information Week ^ | 03/05/2007 | Rob Preston

[SirLinksalot]

Down To Business: Talent Shortage ? Employers Must Take Some Of The Rap

Many tech pros are demoralized, thanks to knee-jerk offshore outsourcing and the post-bubble malaise. Employers must move beyond the "you should be happy you have a job" mentality.

By Rob Preston InformationWeek

March 3, 2007 12:00 AM (From the March 5, 2007 issue)

Ask a dozen CIOs and tech vendor CEOs to identify their single most pressing challenge, and you'll likely get at least 10 different answers, right? Not exactly. In fact, they all come back to one overarching concern: finding, grooming, and retaining tomorrow's leaders.

I wrote a column on this subject last May, after five CEOs, in separate conversations, expressed their frustration with U.S. immigration policy, the U.S. education system, and other trends that influence their future labor pool. All these execs say they're preoccupied with building their next-generation tech workforces amid a looming talent shortage in the United States. I subsequently heard similar rumblings from six or seven CIOs.

A vast right-wing conspiracy? More like fear and loathing in tech America. The U.S. workforce is aging, and there aren't enough computer science and other technical college grads to replace retirees. It's still hard to get a U.S. work visa, and foreign nationals graduating from U.S. universities increasingly are returning home or heading to other countries.

The Technology CEO Council, an advocacy group that includes the chiefs of Dell, EMC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, and Sun Microsystems, last week called on the White House and Congress to grease the labor supply skids. Among their seven proposals for improving U.S. competitiveness were two related to the tech workforce: Increase funding for recruiting and developing math teachers, and change immigration laws to make it easier for foreign IT pros to work in the United States.

This column has long argued that the more talented technical people we can develop in, and attract to, this country, the better for the economy and its people--vendors, IT organizations, consumers. However, this looming labor shortage isn't just a straight supply problem. It's also an HR embarrassment. Instead of just wringing their hands about their labor challenges, employers need to look in the mirror.

For one thing, "employee engagement" is near an all-time low, observes Tom Casey, VP of human capital at the Concours Group. That's management consulting speak for the fact that tech pros are demoralized, thanks to knee-jerk offshore outsourcing and the post-bubble malaise. Many of their employers hail from the "you should be happy you have a job" school of management. As a result, Casey says, IT pros are all-too-anxious to switch companies, even careers. And given the market uncertainly, they're advising their kids to steer clear of the profession--at least according to many disillusioned readers who responded to my last column.

Casey also sees a mismatch of skills at play. IT pros were reared to be functionally technical but not strategic or innovative. But employers, who now expect their IT people to be both tech and business savvy, aren't investing in training and other programs to pull them along.

Sweeping government programs are all well and good, but individual employers must step up as well. Casey advises every business technology organization to conduct a comprehensive workforce study to identify weaknesses. For example, if your IT workforce is aging and your company's marginalizing or sunsetting those older workers, then it needs to rethink its HR approach. If it lacks certain expertise, consider building that in-house, under formal programs.

Companies must recruit differently as well. One idea Casey suggests: Look to local country clubs for retirees willing to put their business technology experiences and skills back to work part time. Overall, the "if we need them, we'll just go find them" employer mentality won't cut it anymore. Be proactive.

Meantime, if you can't find the right job but insist you have all the right skills and are doing all the right things (a common refrain among readers), "take a good look at the jobs you're pursuing and the competencies that you have," Casey says. "You need to consider re-inventing yourself"--yes, new skills, new locations, new industries. Employees must step up as well.

Rob Preston, VP/Editor In Chief INFORMATION WEEK

[Tax-chick]

Sweeping government programs are all well and good

Actually, sweeping government programs are pretty much all bad. In fact, you could say that just about any shortage of workers is caused significantly by two "sweeping government programs": government education and abortion.

(Yes, I know it's a stretch calling abortion a government program, but I was going with the trope. Think figuratively!)

[Non-Sequitur]

I work in IT program management. I started as a programmer and firmly believe that my technical skills make me a better program and project manager because I have a feel for what the software developers need to do their job correctly. And I also wonder where the next generation of project management is going to come from if we continue to decimate the domestic software development pool. I lead project managers without any technical background and I find they're not as effective as those who do have that experience.

[Admin Moderator]

"Tech Talent Shotage ? Employers Must Take Some of the Rap" is not the title of the published article.

Please do not alter titles.

[dakine]

"...new skills, new locations, new industries."

My COBOL/FORTRAN/Burroughs' skills aren't good enough....

[sionnsar]

Learn assembler.

[GOP_1900AD]

The real problem is that there is a semi artificial deflationary market environment. With all the Communist and quasi Communist countries now dumping and undercutting Western prices, companies are under immense cost reduction pressure. This leads to that "you're luck you have a job, we could RIF you any minute" mentality, etc. Maybe Freaked Trade is not what it was depicted to be.

[dakine]

hahaha....On the resume somewhere...

[redgolum]

For one thing, "employee engagement" is near an all-time low, observes Tom Casey, VP of human capital at the Concours Group. That's management consulting speak for the fact that tech pros are demoralized, thanks to knee-jerk offshore outsourcing and the post-bubble malaise. Many of their employers hail from the "you should be happy you have a job" school of management. As a result, Casey says, IT pros are all-too-anxious to switch companies, even careers. And given the market uncertainly, they're advising their kids to steer clear of the profession--at least according to many disillusioned readers who responded to my last column.

Feedback cycle. As more citizens leave IT and other tech fields, more will be off shored, which will lead to more leaving the tech field.

We were an agricultural economy, became a manufacturing economy, and are now leaving the service economy. What is next?

[sionnsar]

Mine too. From FORTRAN to Nova assembler, on the job no less.

I even see jobs from time to time that only require C, though my development platforms these days are Word and Powerpoint. *\:-(

[duckman]

"My COBOL/FORTRAN/Burroughs' skills aren't good enough...."
How about EZTRIEVE, big market for that!

[raybbr]

Meantime, if you can't find the right job but insist you have all the right skills and are doing all the right things (a common refrain among readers), "take a good look at the jobs you're pursuing and the competencies that you have," Casey says. "You need to consider re-inventing yourself"--yes, new skills, new locations, new industries. Employees must step up as well.

Sounds like Greenspan-speak.

"All the world's a virtual stage...

That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

[Mr. Jeeves]

Many of their employers hail from the "you should be happy you have a job" school of management.

Well, that's CEO-think. Many of us hiring managers would love to hire US talent - regardless of cost - but the big bosses won't let us. Part of it is that few companies really understand the potential positive impact of IT on their businesses - in many industries it remains a cost to be ruthlessly controlled, like the electric bill. ;)

[BRITinUSA]

Businesses have bought this on themselves. What is the point in learning IT skills in college when employers keep sending those jobs overseas.

Those same employers then decry the lack of skilled college graduates. What student is going to spend 4 years and tens of thousands of dollars on an education to get a job that gets out-sourced to India?

[AreaMan]

Here is a quote from a book titled Die Broke:

“The answer is quit today: mentally separate yourself from your employer and realize that you’re on your own. Abandon any remaining tinges of loyalty to your employer (who long ago abandoned any sense of obligation to you) and instead think of your job and yourself the same way free-agent athletes do.” (Pollan & Levine 1997, 11)

Yes, there are unique drivers when it comes to the IT world but this is the underlying attitude.

[Alberta's Child]

You raise a good point, but I don't believe the deflationary factors you described have as much influence as you think. I belong to an advisory group for an engineering school, and just last week I had a long conversation with someone whose company can't even fill positions that pay $40k-$50k starting salaries to people with two-year degrees in tech-related fields.

My biggest problem in my company is that I have a hard time finding people who are flexible and broadly educated -- not just "trained" to do tasks that may be obsolete next month.

[2ndDivisionVet]

One possible answer: Make the Philippines a state or states (Most Filipinos speak English and many are college educated, yet currently underemployed)
http://www.useless-knowledge.com/politics/index.html

[2ndDivisionVet]

Sorry, bad link, here is that article: http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/jan/article528.html

[SirLinksalot]

Make the Philippines a state or states

How is this going to solve the IT shortage problem ?

1) Do Filipinos want to be an American State ?

2) Assuming the answer is yes ( which I highly doubt ), you'll have a state that supplies cheap labor... is that the intent ?

3) At any rate, if it's cheap Philippines IT labor you want, you don't need to go to the extent of reclaiming them. Outsourcing your work could do the job as well.