Info-Tech Research Group’s IT Talent Trends 2024 report delves into the evolving challenges of IT recruitment, highlighting strategies for navigating extended hiring timelines, remote work dynamics, and the critical need for effective talent management.
As 2024 unfolds, the automation era is proving to be transformative for the information technology industry, with new opportunities, complex challenges, and a degree of unpredictability. Info-Tech Research Group, a leading global IT research and advisory firm, has published its IT Talent Trends 2024 report, which contains research insights on the future of IT talent based on the current landscape. The report highlights ways leaders can navigate the complexities of this new era, particularly in managing IT talent amidst exponential technological advancements.
“The automation era demands a delicate balance in the workplace,” says Nick Kozlo, research director at Info-Tech Research Group. “IT leaders are increasingly required to integrate AI with human teams, balance remote and in-office work models, merge technical and soft skills, and ensure high productivity while maintaining employee wellbeing. Achieving this balance is crucial for both organizational success and team development.”
The report’s data and insights are derived from Info-Tech’s IT Trends 2024 survey. The survey was conducted from August to October, 2023, and garnered 379 responses from a diverse range of industries, organizational sizes, and IT departments. The findings offer a comprehensive view of the global IT landscape, including in Canada, the United States, Germany, Australia, China, Mexico, Great Britain, and the Netherlands, and across such industries as manufacturing, healthcare, finance, education, and the public sector. This diverse data set underpins the report’s insights, reflecting a wide array of perspectives on the evolving role of IT talent.
“It’s essential for IT leaders to remember that machines are not replacements for human talent, and conversely, humans should not be treated as machines,” explains Kozlo. “The growing expectation in workplaces is to foster environments where individuals can thrive, develop, and contribute in inherently unique human ways.”
The IT Talent Trends 2024 report from Info-Tech Research Group reveals four key trends shaping the future of IT workforces. These trends, identified through analysis of the survey data, are critical for organizations and IT leaders to consider when planning for the future of their workforce in 2024 and beyond:
- Changing Workforce Dynamics: Giving Employee Experience Center Stage – The era of justifying employee initiatives in terms of productivity is over. Just as employees demand more focus on wellbeing and work-life balance, they also become less tolerant of half-hearted efforts by organizations. IT leaders must embrace employee experience as a goal in its own right to retain and attract the best talent.
According to the report, employee experience has been a steadily rising concern for both employees and organizations in recent years, overtaking previous focus on employee engagement and satisfaction in IT. Unfortunately, only 12% of respondents feel that their IT organization is highly effective at designing a positive employee experience, and 48% of IT employees strongly agree they have higher stress now compared to one year ago. The good news is that the firm’s survey results indicate that 63% of IT organizations will be placing an increased focus on wellbeing in the next one to three years. - Minds and Machines: Enhancing Human-AI Collaboration – As generative AI enters the workplace, organizations must not lose sight of its ultimate impact on the organization’s people and the skills that only people can bring to the workplace.
Info-Tech’s research reveals that while nearly 85% of organizations are currently using AI in various capacities, more than 57% of IT leaders anticipate a positive impact from AI on their organizations, with 18% expecting it to bring transformative changes. Despite these optimistic views, over 25% of these organizations indicate that they lack proper accountability measures for AI governance, which could lead to potential ethical and legal issues. The firm recommends that IT leadership align AI usage with their organization’s core values and ethics, as excessive reliance on automated tools risks fostering a depersonalized work culture, which in turn could lead to increased tension and adversely affect hiring, retention, and overall employee sentiment. - People Over Place: Cultivating a Hybrid Work Culture – Post-COVID-19, many workplaces have firmly embraced remote work, with the report’s data highlighting a significant shift in IT department operations, predominantly toward remote. In this climate, Info-Tech advises that organizations move from simply enabling it to optimizing the new remote environment for human interactivity and collaboration.
Currently, the findings indicate that 64% of IT departments have at least 50% hybrid roles, and 69% report having more than 50% fully remote staff. Despite initial reservations about remote work’s impact on productivity, 37% of survey respondents stated that remote work has been instrumental in driving success for their IT departments.
As for the concerns of IT leaders regarding hybrid work, productivity issues have remained relatively constant, with 28% expressing concerns in 2024, only slightly up from 25% in 2023. However, there is a notable increase in concerns related to employee wellbeing and signs of demotivation, which have increased in 2024 to 50% from 39% in 2023 and to 55% from 38%, respectively. - Nexus of Skills: Navigating a Multidisciplinary IT Landscape – With the shifting cultural dynamics, the nexus of skills – leadership, cultural intelligence, technical acumen, and adaptability – is fueling organizational resilience and innovation. Organizations must forge ahead, embracing the nexus that propels them into the future.
According to Info-Tech’s report, IT recruitment emerges as the foremost talent challenge faced by IT leaders in 2024. According to 65% of respondents, the average time to hire exceeds three months, and for 30% of organizations, this process extends beyond five months. Furthermore, nearly half of respondents, 45%, do not believe they have the proper organizational structure for their organization. The research findings also highlight specific recruitment challenges, with roles in senior leadership, enterprise architecture, and data and business intelligence identified as particularly difficult to fill.
The IT Talent Trends 2024 report from Info-Tech Research Group underscores a critical juncture for IT leaders and their departments. As they navigate the complexities of recruitment, organizational structure, and evolving demands of remote and hybrid work environments in the year ahead, Info-Tech advises that leaders must innovate and adapt their strategies. The ability of IT leaders to effectively address these challenges will be instrumental in shaping the future of IT departments and ensuring their alignment with the exponentially advancing technological landscape.
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