The War for Talent

In this episode of Beneficial Intelligence, I discuss the War for Talent. Every organization wants the most talented programmers, administrators, UX designers, and other talent. But they want it cheaply. New salary requirements for H-1B visas in the US have companies howling that they can't get the talent they need. 

But there isn't a shortage of talent, there is a shortage of willingness to pay. 

If you have a good business case, you can afford the talent needed to make that product a reality. The problem is that IT organizations have their thinking reversed. Instead of going from business case to budget, they go from budget to business case. 

So what can you do? Long-term, you need to orient your mindset towards business value and engage the business in a discussion of the value of every new project. Short-term, you need to set a strategic direction together with your leadership team and your employees, so you can direct your efforts and grow your own talent with the skills you have decided are critical. 

The war for talent is won in the mind. Only the organizations with a business value mindset will win the top talent. 

------

Beneficial Intelligence is a weekly podcast with stories and pragmatic advice for CIOs and other IT leaders. To get in touch, please contact me at sten@vesterli.com