UK SMEs struggle to recruit technology talent

Three in five CIOs say that the more skilled employees prefer to work for large firms

The skills gap - the disparity between the supply of and demand for skilled employees - is an ongoing concern for the technology sector. Demand continues to be high, but staff are unwilling to risk a move.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) find it more difficult to attract top talent, which 75 per cent of CIOs believe is because these workers prefer to go to large, household-name technology firms like Google and Microsoft.

According to CIOs surveyed by recruitment firm Robert Half UK, a third said that recruiting skilled new employees was the number one ‘talent management challenge' that they faced. Second was improving productivity (32 per cent) and third was talent retention (30 per cent), which can be taken to mean that employees are effectively able to dictate their own terms of employment in today's market.

Almost nine in 10 CIOs (88 per cent) say that it is more difficult to recruit qualified professionals now than it was five years ago, but recognise that there are incentives that can make it easier. Higher pay, benefits, perks and the working environment all contribute to the ease of attracting new staff. 27 per cent of respondents believe that a desire for a higher salary is the main motivation for tech workers to move jobs; 21 per cent believe it is the need for a better work-life balance; and 14 per cent that employees want new training and development options.

However, where permanent recruitment fails, IT leaders are turning to other methods. Nearly half are looking at retraining existing staff (47 per cent), and 37 per cent are hiring temporary staff and contractors to pass on knowledge to permanent employees.

Matt Weston, Managing Director of Robert Half UK, said, "Digitalisation has created a fast-changing business environment and a significant number of SMEs are in danger of being left behind… Offering a combination of employee benefits - from competitive remuneration packages to flexible working options - improves your chances at competing with larger businesses and securing the nation's top tech talent to help fuel their growth for years to come."