Balancing IT support needs with market challenges

The times are tough, sometimes challenging for companies looking to recruit IT professionals. In this article, Céline Dupuy, Sales Director at Rcarré, shared her solutions for balancing IT support needs with market difficulties.

The Luxembourg market, usually attractive, faced a tough period during the COVID-19 crisis. The unemployment rate was as low as 5.2% at the end of 2021, compared to an average of 33.6% from March 2020 onwards.

However, it’s essential to acknowledge that the world is evolving, and demands are growing. Recruiters are facing a challenge: finding less-trained talents. But that’s not all! The market is undergoing significant changes, with companies seeking increasingly specialized profiles in development, security, and more. In 2017, Europe estimated a need for 150,000 IT experts, compared to 500,000 in 2020! Therefore, rapid action plans were needed to cope with this increase. European and Luxembourgish initiatives were developed to support the industry, attract and train IT profiles, and their effects are expected to be felt in the medium term.

An internal initiative within companies has also been implemented to enhance juniorization in IT. Companies are hiring young individuals who may not have much experience but possess the necessary motivation.

What solutions can facilitate recruitment ?

Autonomous recruitment

To recruit effectively, the HR department must have the necessary skills to hire an IT profile based on workload, scope, and contract duration.

Teams should also adapt communication by highlighting the company’s values, internal innovations, remote work possibilities, etc. This aspect is crucial because candidates are more receptive to values in addition to the role itself.

Finally, using the internal HR department for profiles on fixed-term contracts is possible, but this type of contract may not be very attractive to candidates, especially if they are highly sought-after profiles.

Recruitment through an intermediary company

If, on the other hand, you believe that the internal HR department is not suited for IT recruitment, another solution is available: hiring headhunters! They have the technical and psychological knowledge to screen candidates. Please note that these professionals will charge a commission for each candidate placed in companies (between 18% and 25% of the annual salary).

External resources

Your company can borrow profiles from external companies for a defined period! This approach is called ‘Resources on Demand,’ staffing, or body shopping. These reinforcements can complement your teams for a shorter or longer mission with the possibility of renewal.

It is also possible to engage external companies for projects. Project management by an external company can be comprehensive, from architecture to post-production monitoring, or partial, with a combination of internal and external resources.

This service outsourcing offers several advantages, such as:

• Better infrastructure and/or support with specialized skills. This allows employees to focus on their core duties as analysis is not handled internally.
• Increased productivity.
• Reduced risks.
• Improved compliance and enhanced security.
• Reduced resource costs and IT expenses.
• Better resource management.
• Replacement of personnel in case of absence.
• Remote or on-site on-demand support.

Acquiring managed support

Finally, there is a last option, quite popular for user support: outsourcing a support line with an obligation of results for the service provider company. You no longer deal with the staff but with how the service is delivered. Therefore, performance indicators defined with your service provider will ensure availability, continuity, quality commitment, and continuous improvement.

As you can see, recruiting IT profiles is not easy. With the solutions outlined in our article, you have the opportunity to improve your recruitment process and increase your chances of finding suitable candidates. Thus, balancing IT support needs with market difficulties becomes more manageable!

Feel free to reach out to our teams for any questions about IT profiles; Rcarré can assist you!

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