EDUCAUSElisted IT staffing and organizational models in the Top 10 IT issues for 2018. They are described as important to ensure “adequate staffing capacity and staff retention in the face of retirements, new sourcing models, growing external competition, rising salaries and the demands of technology initiatives.”
Recruiting and attracting the IT talent needed in your institution is critically important. Managers need to consider the talent pool they require today and in the future. Equally important is ensuring that new employees can be effectively on-boarded into the current work environment.
"We need to think strategically about the professional and social connections your new hire must make to integrate successfully into your professional culture," writes Eileen Hoenigman Meyer in HigherEd Jobs. "Consider both your colleagues' personalities and their roles as you prepare your new hire's introductory meeting schedule.”
Making sure employees match your institution, and your institution matches the needs of new employees are important steps in the recruitment process. There are five core strategies you can utilize to help navigate the process of finding and recruiting quality IT employees for your institution and retaining them:
1. Make sure your job announcement stands out. Rather than merely saying you have a job opening, include distinctive words, which separate your ad from others. Using phrases such as “looking to join a dynamic and friendly IT team” or “your new office awaits” helps to separate your employment search from the rest. The more you can personalize your message, the more likely people will take the time to consider it more closely.
2. Engage prospective candidates in the recruitment and interview process. Ensure you welcome them personally into your search process, communicate to them frequently and provide them video and marketing promotional materials about your institution and department. As much as interviewees are marketing their own IT experience, your institution should return the favor and work to market your campus, people and community.
3. Use interview questions that reveal your successful candidate. This is one of the most important steps to ensure you are finding the right IT talent for your department and campus. Some revealing questions are:
- Describe two situations, one when you have worked with a grateful client, and another with a difficult one. What personnel skills did you successfully use with both clients?
- Explain your worst failure and what you learned from it.
- Describe what qualities you would want to see in your co-workers and supervisor, and why?
- What IT project are your most proud of and why?
- If you had one lingering question you wanted to ask about this job, but were afraid to ask, what would it be and why?
5. Create and maintain a positive IT culture. Your goal should be to “create an effective environment you want IT to be.” There can be many elements to this process, but there are seven core concepts, which are essential for your success: communication, trust, teamwork, empathy, professional development, leadership and collaboration. These concepts should be practiced by both management and co-workers. New employees need to demonstrate these same skills when additional employees join your team.
Following these five strategic steps will help to ensure you find the right IT talent, which makes your team successful in their technical work, as well as in their professional relationship-building with their clients.
