TALKING BUSINESS
make this a reality, businesses and learning institutions need
to provide the necessary theoretical and practical training.
For example, software houses should create a unique
platform for learning so that they can produce hundreds, or
even thousands of developers every year – who leave that
educational forum equipped to be immediately productive
and influential.
Training as a strategic objective
In a business environment that is now largely driven by
innovative IT and software, there is massive demand for
skilled and highly trained IT professionals
Given the urgency – and gravity – of the skills shortage
within local IT, our view is that training and skills
development should be a key strategic objective for savvy
businesses. In addition, the issue of recruitment and
retention needs to be carefully addressed by the top-level
executives within every company in order for it to be part of
the cultural fabric that runs through the organisation.
Ultimately, this means that the recruitment process has to be
well defined, both technically and culturally… meaning that
technical skills need to be a consideration as well as the cultural
and personality fit of every new recruit.
Within our organisation, we believe that a career needs to
be considered both from this technical perspective and a
personal perspective – and both aspects need to be fulfilled
in order to achieve the best results for both the individual and
the company in the long term.
continue to grow exponentially (mainly because there are
so few people in this group being fought over by so many
companies). This inevitably puts an extra layer of cost onto
recruitment and retention.
In the long term, this worrying trend could eventually lead to
such a growth in the baseline cost for businesses that they run
the risk of becoming too expensive to compete in a cutthroat
international IT market. Given the local market conditions, this
would be devastating for South African businesses with an eye
on expansion.
Platform for practical learning
For local supply to meet demand, we should be producing
thousands of new developers each year, for example.
Arguably, this has to be addressed on a large scale – through
a formal training and education process that takes place
within the industry itself. In our view, this cannot be left
solely to education or academic organisations to address,
but instead, the industry (including business leaders) should
embrace the skills challenge.
In a high-pressure environment, today’s companies require
new recruits to be productive from day one – and in order to
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Critically, this requires educating and training managers to
spot the right talent within their own organisation, and to grow
this internal talent to meet the recruitment needs. It’s about
empowering those managers and giving them the time and
space with their team members to ensure that each individual
career is always moving forward.
Leadership is paramount
As countless examples have shown us, building a dedicated
and loyal workforce comes down to walking the walk:
you cannot simply promote the organisation during the
recruitment process and then not follow through on the
statements or promises made.
For example, if you say you promote from within, what are
you doing to support this process? How are you training and
educating people so that they can be promoted from within?
The ability to clearly demonstrate the results of this approach
(for example, 9 out of the last 10 appointments in our company
have come from within the organisation) will certainly resonate
with employees and ultimately build loyalty and trust.
While financial rewards are undoubtedly a factor, developing
a long-term culture of trust and a loyal workforce takes far
more than money. It takes personal attention, and the ability
to demonstrate that your organisation is truly investing in
people, and in the country at large. n
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