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Building a Resilient IT Workforce: Adapting to Rapid Technological Advancements

Building a resilient IT workforce helps your company adapt to rapid technological advancements. Because ongoing change impacts your business, you must be able to keep up to maintain your competitive edge.

The ability to maintain an agile, resilient workforce supports effective business operations. Your workforce can prioritize digital solutions that fill your company’s current needs while creating a platform for innovation. Then, your workforce can evolve to fit your changing business needs.

Implement these tips to build a resilient IT workforce to adapt to rapid technological advancements.

Focus on Digital Transformation

Determine which technologies and cybersecurity strategies are required to support a remote or hybrid workforce. Also, decide how you can use technology to promote a human-centered workplace. These approaches impact how your IT team helps support management practices that align with business strategies.

Embrace Cloud Technology

Take advantage of cloud technology to increase the agility of your business platform. This agility lets you add the capabilities and functionality needed to adapt to new technologies. This adaptation lets your company add capabilities to its tech stack to increase its competitive edge.

For instance, you might increase the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve efficiencies. You also could increase cybersecurity to improve your competitive edge.

Automate Decision-Making

Use AI and ML to create thresholds that indicate when an automated process requires human input. Increasing automation elevates efficiency in business operations for stronger customer management and product or service innovation.

For instance, you can use customer relationship tools to predict and flag your customers who are likely to stop making purchases. Then, you can take steps to encourage customer loyalty through discounts or related actions.

Drive Innovation

Use cloud capabilities to scale and support research and development. For instance, use AI and data analytics to reinforce discovery, modeling, and prediction for faster prototyping and testing with lower risk. Leveraging shared knowledge and data insights drives workforce and company performance.

Accelerate Your Ecosystem

Move to standardized architectures and cloud solutions that support the cocreation of performance and innovation. Examples include common services, application programming interfaces (APIs), reusability, and extensibility.

For instance, you might decompose your technology stacks for the continuous integration and delivery of new capabilities. Or, you could make it easier to share data and knowledge for greater insight and innovation along your value chain.

Establish Agile Targets

Clarify how your workforce should evolve to support new technologies and operating models. Include the diversity, skills, and experiences you want to attain. Then, provide relevant resources and incentives to reach business goals.

Do You Need Help with Building a Resilient IT Workforce?

Work with RightStone for help with increasing the resilience of your IT workforce. Find out more today.


Set Employees Up for Success with a Great Onboarding Process

Bringing a new hire on board takes time and planning. Your new hire’s experience acclimating to your company impacts their attitude about the work, their team, and your employer brand.

A great onboarding process prepares your new hire to become productive and successful in your organization. It helps develop an understanding of your company culture and how to fulfill the job duties and responsibilities.

Your onboarding process must help your new hire feel welcome and included. This promotes engagement, team cohesion, and retention.

Follow these guidelines to create a great onboarding process that sets up your employees for success.

Clarify Company Policies and Procedures

Give your new hire a copy of the employee handbook. Go over the relevant information.

Talk about how your new hire should go about their daily activities. Include where to find the necessary resources to maximize productivity.

Provide an Onboarding Buddy

Partner your new hire with a teammate to provide guidance. The teammate can show your new hire around, answer questions, and help resolve issues.

Matching your new hire with a seasoned partner helps build security and team cohesion. It also sets up your new hire for success in your organization.

Frequently Communicate

Regular communication with your new hire helps orient them to the job and work priorities. It also provides a clear picture of the reporting structure and an understanding of the business processes and procedures.

Provide clear expectations and milestones throughout the onboarding process. Include how progress and success will be measured.

Letting your new hire know what to expect helps them see their movement toward goals. It also helps them feel secure and succeed in their position.

Emphasize Inclusion

Share with your new hire your company resources for inclusion. This may include introducing your new hire to peers with common traits, hobbies, or interests. It also might involve educating your new hire on your employee resource groups (ERGs).

Prioritizing inclusion helps your new hire navigate the work environment and feel like a valued member of your company. This promotes appreciation, respect, and loyalty within your organization.

Request Feedback

Regularly ask your new hire for constructive feedback on your onboarding process. Find out what they like best, what can improve, and specific suggestions to do better.

Improving your onboarding process enhances the employee experience. This increases employee engagement, performance, and productivity throughout their tenure with your organization.

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Ask Your Employees These 6 Trust-Building Questions

Creating a cohesive team requires trust. You must trust your employees to complete quality work on time. Also, your employees must trust they will be compensated for their contributions.

Building trust can be especially difficult when you have new, introverted, or remote employees. However, trust is essential to help your employee remain engaged, productive, and loyal to the organization.

Asking questions and actively listening to the answers is an effective way to build trust with your employees. Questions lead to conversations. Conversations build engagement and trust.

Ask your employees these six trust-building questions to increase cohesion among your team.

1. What is a great movie you recently watched?

Talking about movies helps your employees feel like they are talking with a casual friend. This promotes a casual work environment. You may learn about a movie that interests you. Watching it can help you connect with your employees on a personal level.

2. Can you recommend a book you recently read?

The types of books your employees read provide insight into their minds. You can learn about your employees’ thoughts, philosophies, and sense of morality. You also can uncover whether you like the same types of books or authors. This promotes mental connections.

3. What is the strangest meal you ever ate?

Your employees may have eaten tarantulas, snails, or other exotic food. Talking about these experiences promotes a relaxed atmosphere. It also helps you get to know your employees on a deeper level.

4. Do you prefer beer, wine, or neither?

Most employees enjoy humorous discussions about alcohol. You can use this topic to determine whether any of your employees prefer nonalcoholic beverages. This helps you provide appropriate beverages when you host an event.

5. If you could develop a new skill in 10 minutes, which skill would you choose?

Understanding the skills your employees are interested in is important. These skills indicate potential goals and career paths for your employees. You can implement training programs to help your employees reach their goals and advance their careers.

6. Which emerging technological innovation will significantly impact the industry in the next five years?

Find out what your employees think about the future of your industry. Also, determine where they see themselves working long-term. Talk about whether there are opportunities within your organization that may interest your employees. Discussing internal career advancement elevates employee retention.

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Surprise Your Team to Promote Employee Connection

 

An April 2022 Gallup survey showed that only 32% of employees were engaged at work. Disengaged employees are not very productive. They lower employee morale and retention.

To improve engagement levels, building employee connections should be among your top priorities. One way to accomplish this objective is by doing something unexpected for your team.

When humans experience change, they process what happened, then return to their typical level of happiness. This is beneficial when, for example, an employee is passed over for a promotion. They will return to their baseline happiness within a few days.

However, this adaptation to change is unfavorable when employees get used to the perks they regularly experience at work. For instance, if you provide bagels for your team every Tuesday, they will expect to eat bagels every Tuesday. At some point, your employees no longer will see eating bagels on Tuesday as an advantage of working for your company.

As a result, you want to regularly provide employees with novel experiences. This consistently disrupts their typical levels of happiness. The more times you add to your team’s happiness, the more fun they have. This increases engagement, productivity, morale, and retention.

Implement these tips to surprise your team and build employee connections.


Promote Creativity

Incorporate the “yes, and!” structure into your next brainstorming session. When one employee shares an idea, the next employee says “Yes, and…” to build on it. This activity encourages your team to develop what they have into something bigger.

Encourage Play

Put board games or question cards in the break room. Suggest coworkers play the games or ask each other questions during their downtime.

If your team is remote, use a video conferencing app like Mibo to create immersive online experiences for your employees. They can interact with each other in the virtual environment. These actions promote happiness and well-being at work.

Facilitate Fun

Create a Slack channel dedicated to fun. The theme may be memes, office pets, or anything else your employees may find amusing. Your team can laugh at the contents to reduce stress throughout the day.

Promote Laughter

Add humor to your presentations by including a meme. Laughter helps make your content more memorable. It also promotes participation, learning, and recollection of facts.

Encourage Collaboration

Plan team-building activities to build employee connections. Also, encourage social coffee breaks and walks with coworkers during employee downtime. Participating in fun activities and socializing with coworkers increase work engagement.

Need Help Hiring?

RightStone has the skilled IT professionals you need to reach business goals. Find out more today.


Here’s Why Gen Z Is Having Difficulty in This Job Market

 

According to a July 2022 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, approximately 41% of graduates aged 22 to 27 were employed in jobs that did not require a college degree. Many of these graduates are trying to find their fit in the workforce or reevaluate their career goals.

The graduates’ decisions to take on low-paying jobs could impact their long-term financial health. This may have economic consequences for the entire United States.

Discover why Gen Z is having challenges entering the job market and the potential long-term impact on the US economy.


The Pandemic and Gen Z

The coronavirus pandemic caused significant setbacks for Gen Z. The pandemic impacted the time in their lives when Gen Z should be making their marks on the world.

The pandemic-related recession caused Gen Z to struggle to find high-quality jobs. Also, the shift to remote work decreased these graduates’ abilities to make professional connections and find careers that match their skills and interests.

Underemployment and Gen Z

Gen Z’s growing underemployment rate means it likely will take longer for the group to generate wealth. Low-wage employment typically leads to a cycle of turnover and replacement. This moves the labor market to an unfavorable equilibrium.

Underemployed workers typically see slow increases in earnings throughout their careers. The main reason is that low-wage employees work in fields that do not focus on skill development for higher-paying jobs. As a result, not having Gen Z work in jobs that require highly developed skills will adversely impact the long-term growth of the US economy.

Teenage Employees, Millennials, and Gen Z

Teenagers are willing to work for lower wages than college graduates. This makes teenage job seekers more attractive to employers than Gen Z. As a result, more jobs have been filled by teenagers than by Gen Z in the past few years.

Employers who were paying higher wages when the pandemic began preferred to hire millennials over Gen Z. Many millennials had more developed skills and work experience than Gen Z. As a result, more jobs were filled by millennials than by Gen Z in the past few years.

Want Help Filling Your Vacancies?

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What’s New in IT Recruiting?

 

According to the September 2022 CompTIA Tech Jobs Report, the IT unemployment rate was at 2.3% in August. The increase from 1.7% the previous month likely was because the overall US unemployment rate increased. Also, large IT companies laid off employees. Plus, many IT employees left their jobs for other opportunities.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Economic News Release for August 2022 showed 3.97 million available IT jobs. Like the past 24 months, this trend is expected to continue.

As a result, the competition for IT talent should remain tight. Fortunately, partnering with an IT staffing firm can ease recruiting concerns.

Learn more about the current state of IT recruiting and how RightStone can alleviate your IT staffing concerns.


IT Job Openings

CompTIA stated that the IT industry added 175,700 jobs so far in 2022. This is 46% ahead of last year’s job gains.

Job postings for IT roles were slightly under 320,000 in August. Thirty-one percent of these jobs were in artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, data analytics, and automation software.

IT job postings from January through August 2022 increased by 56% over last year. This shows remote work likely will remain semi-permanent.

Slower IT Hiring

The pace of IT hiring likely will slow due to the recession. CIOs are unsure of how the economic downturn may impact their bottom line. Some businesses stopped hiring and began laying off employees.

An average of 200,000 IT roles remains unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates. According to the Mid-Year 2022 IT Salary Survey by Janco Associates, Inc., many roles are paying up to 10% higher salaries to attract the best talent.

However, this disparity is causing current employees with lower salaries to find different employers. As a result, CIOs must find a balance between the budget, employee salary increases to address inflation, and the resources needed to attain the technology and bottom-line objectives.

IT Education Requirements

Approximately 20% of IT job postings in July 2022 were for roles requiring 2 years of experience or less. Also, nearly 50% required 3-5 years of experience. Plus, 13% of the positions required at least 9 years of experience.

Many employers no longer are requiring college degrees for some of their IT job openings. Candidates’ skills, experience, and personality traits are becoming more important than their educational background. This increases the candidate pools for open roles.

Software developers and engineers are especially in-demand. There were approximately 148,000 job postings for these roles in July 2022. IT support specialists, project managers, systems engineers and architects, and network engineers and architects also are in short supply.

Roles in emerging technologies or roles requiring these skills accounted for 33% of job postings in July. Many companies began hiring IT professionals through coding boot camps, low-code training, and other non-traditional approaches.

Get Help with IT Recruiting

RightStone can match you with skilled IT professionals to fill your job vacancies. Get started with us today.


5 Ways to Help Keep Communication Channels Open

 

Maintaining open communication with your employees encourages them to share their ideas to improve the organization. Open communication also notifies you of problems, conflicts, questions, and concerns that must be resolved.

Encouraging open communication with your team promotes engagement, productivity, and collaboration. It also elevates job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention.

Implement these five tips to maintain open communication with your team.


1. Focus on the End Goal

Maintaining open communication with your team lets you know about problems as they arise. This helps you resolve the issues and minimize their impact.

Open communication makes you aware of ideas to improve your team. This may include increasing efficiency in workflows.

Openly communicating with your team helps improve your leadership skills. You can learn your employees’ strengths, talents, motivations, and goals. Then, you can use this information to increase your team’s engagement, productivity, and collaboration. This elevates job satisfaction, team morale, and employee retention.

2. Be Present

Stay in the moment when communicating with your team. Actively listening to your employees encourages them to talk about their ideas, issues, questions, and concerns.

Look at the employee who is speaking with you. Show they have your complete attention.

Nod, gesture, and use facial expressions throughout the conversation. Include responses such as “yes” and “uh huh” to show you are listening. Ask follow-up questions to gather more information.

Paraphrase what you are hearing to ensure you understand it correctly. You may want to say, “What I am hearing is…” or “Am I correct in thinking…”.

Wait until your employee is done speaking. Then, respond appropriately.

3. Encourage Team and Individual Communication

Although communicating with your entire team is important, there may be times when your employees prefer to talk with you one-on-one. They may feel more comfortable privately discussing a personal matter than sharing the details with the team.

Encourage your team to request individual discussions when needed. They may want to share an opinion that differs from the team’s opinions on how to proceed with a project. Or, there may be a family issue that could affect your employee’s work performance.

Show empathy and support during these private discussions. Work with your employee to resolve the issue however you can.

4. Acknowledge Employee Accomplishments

Give your team credit for their work. This includes when an employee’s idea is successfully implemented or a finished project attains the desired results.

Openly acknowledging your employees’ contributions and impact on the organization shows they are valuable members of your team. This promotes feelings of trust and respect. It also increases team collaboration and cohesion.

5. Request Constructive Feedback

Ask your team for input on your performance. Include what you are doing well and specific ways you can improve.

Talk more in-depth about the answers you need clarification on. The greater your understanding of an issue, the more effectively you can resolve it.

Implement the feedback you feel would be most beneficial. Regularly follow up with your team to discuss your progress.

Looking for Help Hiring?

RightStone has the qualified IT professionals you need to reach business goals. Contact us to get started today.


What Should You Do During Your First Week on the Job?

 

Starting a job comes with lots of uncertainty. You must adapt to new peers and leaders, a different work environment, and more challenging responsibilities.

The first week at your new job should be focused on balance. This includes making a positive first impression while giving yourself time to learn everything. The following tips can help you reach your first few milestones.

Follow these guidelines for increased success during your first week at a new job.


Introduce Yourself

Make a habit of sharing your name with the colleagues and coworkers you come into contact with. This helps you get to know other employees within the organization. It also helps your name and face become more familiar to others.

You may want to ask your manager for a list of employees you definitely should get to know. You also might ask for time at the beginning of a meeting to introduce yourself to the other participants.

Know what you want to say when you introduce yourself. For instance, if the person you are meeting appears distracted, keep your introduction brief. Or, if the person appears receptive, take a few minutes to get to know them.

Focus on remembering names by saying them back to the person. Also, write a quick note about the person to jog your memory.

Ask Questions

Request the information you need from your peers and leaders. This helps you more effectively do your job.

Consider what you want to know more about. This may include permission, advice, or validation. Be as specific as possible to receive the information you desire.

Write down your questions. This helps you remember what to ask about.

Prioritize the information you seek. This lets you determine when an appropriate time may be to ask about it. For instance, if you cannot access your computer, you should request help immediately. Or, if you need clarification on your team’s quarterly goals, you should be able to wait to talk with your manager.

Develop a Friendship

Ask a colleague or coworker out for coffee or lunch. Have a goal of getting to know them better. Developing social ties helps you feel more stable and comfortable as you adapt to your new work environment. It also can increase your productivity.

Add Value to the Company

Absorb as much information as possible in a short amount of time. Then, use what you learn to begin finding ways to contribute to the organization.

You may want to think about what you learned during the interview process. Perhaps there was a specific need discussed that you could focus on. Or, you could ask your manager what you should be focused on. Prioritize getting results as soon as possible.

Get Help Finding an IT Job

When the time comes to find your next IT role, make RightStone part of your search. Here are links to our job board and contact information.


Tips to Be an Effective Listener for Your Contract Employees

 

Do you want to develop better relationships and improve productivity among your contract employees? Would you like to reduce misunderstandings and conflicts as well?

One of the best ways to accomplish these objectives is by actively listening. This involves consciously understanding the words your contract employees use and the message they provide. It also includes checking your understanding before replying.

Actively listening during conversations builds trust and credibility between you and your contract employees. The more you learn from these conversations, the more you can show you want to understand and support your contract employees.

Contract employees who feel listened to and respected typically perform their best. They also are likely to want to return to your company for future opportunities after the end of their contracts.

Implement these tips to more effectively listen to your contract employees.


Give the Speaker Your Complete Attention

Focus entirely on what your contract employee is saying.

  • Look at the person who is talking.
  • Pay attention to the speaker’s body language to determine how they may feel.
  • Mentally repeat the words you are hearing.
  • Focus on the words and emotions being shared.
  • Ignore the distractions around you.
  • Wait until the speaker is done to reply.

Display Proper Body Language

Show you are engaged in what the contract employee is discussing.

  • Maintain an open, interested posture.
  • Smile and use other expressions.
  • Nod and gesture when appropriate.
  • Include “yes,” “uh huh”, and other verbal comments.

Clarify Your Understanding

Reflect on what you believe your contract employee is telling you.

  • Paraphrase with “It sounds like you are saying…” or “What I am hearing is…” to ensure you understand the message.
  • Periodically sum up the speaker’s comments.
  • Ask questions to gather additional information.
  • Remain non-judgmental and patient.
  • Manage your emotions.

Reply Appropriately

Be open, honest, and candid with your response.

  • Take a moment to think before you speak.
  • Stay open-minded and patient as you consider different aspects of the situation.
  • Remain clear, empathetic, and respectful.
  • Be open to further discussion.

Looking for Contract IT Employees?

Contact RightStone to fill your contract IT staffing needs. Reach out today.


Work-Related Team-Building Activities That Enhance Morale

 

Employee morale consists of the attitudes, satisfaction levels, and overall outlooks that employees have while working for a company.  Employees who are satisfied and motivated at work tend to have high morale. They typically stay engaged and productive throughout the day.

Employee morale is an important part of company culture. A positive collective attitude creates a positive work environment. This helps increase employee retention.

As an IT manager, employee morale impacts your bottom line. This is why you need to do what you can to keep morale as high as possible.

One way to accomplish this is by organizing work-related team-building activities. Employees who participate in shared experiences tend to increase their engagement and connection in the workplace. This typically elevates collaboration. The more effectively your employees work together, the more they contribute to your organization’s success.

Choose among these remote and in-person team-building activities to improve morale.


Remote Team-Building Activities

Eat Around the World

Learn something new as you explore different cuisines. Cooking shares part of a culture, enhances taste buds, and teaches new culinary skills.

You may want to create a bowl of the Korean rice dish bibimbap. You might make the Senegal rice dish jollof. Or, you could bake the Breton cake kouign-amann. This activity is best for up to 10 people.

Themed Trivia Night

Improve collaboration by dividing everyone into teams with people they normally don’t work with. You may choose ‘90s music or classic movies for the trivia theme. Or, you could educate everyone with a theme like Black history or financial wellness. This activity is best for up to 40 people.

Guided Mindfulness Session

Help everyone relax and unwind through meditation. Organizing a group session is an effective way to introduce everyone to this calming practice.

This activity is best for any number of people.

In-Person Team-Building Activities

Improv Workshop

Help everyone improve the way they work together. Teach them how more effectively communicate and read social cues.

This activity is best for up to 25 people.

Guided Hike

Learn something new while relaxing in nature. Organize a guided hike at a state park. Discover more about the area you live in while spending time together.

This activity is best for up to 15 people.

Wellness Day

Provide the time and space to completely unplug from work. You may want to begin with a group yoga session and end with a gong bath. These peaceful activities can spark meaningful conversations and organic connections with others.

This activity is best for up to 40 people.

Looking for Help Hiring?

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