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Business transformation is inevitable for virtually every organisation today. Strategic pivots, entering new product categories and performance improvement are among the many reasons businesses must continuously transform. If they fail to do so, they’ll be unable to remain competitive.

For many employers in Australia, one of the most significant barriers to successful transformation is the talent gap. Without adequate planning, sourcing and hiring talent with the skills and expertise needed to drive change is a challenge.

More than 2,000 Executives in Australia were surveyed on the progress of technology transformation in business. 46% of respondents stated that a lack of talent – including Data Scientists and Engineers – is the biggest obstacle to adopting new digital technologies.

Today we’re exploring the main pitfalls organisations face when trying to hire talent for business transformation projects, as well as sharing how to avoid them!

Look Before You Leap

To hire for successful business transformation projects, make talent planning part of the strategy from the start. Organisations can get tripped up by negating this important step.

The more you can do to identify workforce gaps and how each role should be structured, the better equipped you’ll be to fill critical positions. Understand who you need and when you need them and for how long. This will better enable hiring managers to work to timelines that are parallel to the overall project.

Write Succinct Job Descriptions

One of the best ways to streamline a slow recruitment process is to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding role requirements.

A job description can easily become muddled if multiple authors are contributing to it. To avoid this problem, designate this task to one person. They can then be responsible for synthesising the essential components of the role.

Get as much clarity and consensus as possible about a role’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the experience level required, reporting lines and the essential skills that are non-negotiable, before finalising each job description.

Clearly written job descriptions have direct benefits for hiring. They make briefing recruiters easier, job advertising more efficient and help create realistic expectations for candidates – all of which can help a business save time and resources. 

Know What Motivates the Best People

Are you dangling big salaries in front of great candidates but failing to reel them in? It’s possible that the messaging about the role is lacking the wow factor.

Less tangible benefits can be more important than salary for highly skilled roles. If you’re aiming to attract Change Managers with a decade of experience, assume they’ll be more motivated by factors such as work-life balance and your organisation’s values than the salary alone.

In job postings and interviews, ensure hiring managers convey all the benefits of joining the company beyond the paycheck.  

To better understand the motivations of the talent you need, conduct employee surveys and exit interviews, and speak to recruiters with first-hand experience.

Don’t Get Stuck on Technical Skills

Technical skills are a requisite for any business transformation hire. If your Project Managers require Agile experience, for example, it’s fair to make that the baseline. However, to recruit truly outstanding candidates, hiring for soft skills is more likely to ensure long-term project success.

The key is to place soft skills on an equal footing with technical abilities. If a certain hire is expected to build their own team at a later stage, their ability to teach others might be even more mission critical than their coding knowledge.  

As with any other form of tech recruitment, hiring for business transformation is best supported by assessing candidates on a broad range of behavioural factors. Critical thinking, creativity and collaboration are attributes that can be measured as much as any technical skill.

Make the Most of Your Advisors

When you’re working with an external partner to source talent for a business transformation project, such as a tech recruitment agency, you’ll get the most out of the relationship by keeping them in the loop.

In practice, this means setting clear expectations, communicating regularly and discussing any issues that arise during the hiring process. This is also where those well-written job descriptions come in handy!

When your tech recruitment specialist presents a candidate, give them timely feedback if it’s not a good match. This will help the agency refine its search and deliver someone who is a better fit.

If your organisation hasn’t chosen an agency yet, make sure you opt for one with proven expertise in recruiting for transformation projects!

Business Transformation in Australia

Business transformation projects in Australia can face plenty of uphill struggles, but a strategic approach to recruitment helps organisations build the momentum they need for success. An established tech recruitment agency with a track record of hiring for business transformation can help you meet your goals faster.

Our knowledgeable team at Enterprise IT Resources has extensive experience in hiring for a wide array of companies across Australia. Need to hire talent for business transformation projects? Contact us today to get started.