We’re in a digital world. Traditional ways of doing business are dying. The question is, do businesses have competent talent? The talent that could better position businesses for success in the digital economy? This is called digital talent.
Think of e-commerce for instance, businesses have come to make use of online platforms to run their course. So sourcing people who can facilitate online trade has become an important undertaking for many businesses. People forming digital talent have a way of thinking that differentiates them from everybody else. That is why there is a high demand for them.
Think of our job markets in the next 5 to 10 years. Can you imagine the level of digital transformation that would be a characteristic feature of business?
As digital transformation disrupts the workplace, one factor more than any other will determine which companies turn digital to their advantage. That critical element is people: the talented employees who are able to use existing digital technologies and adapt to evolving methods and new approaches. Without these employees, companies will struggle to benefit as they should from the latest advances- everything from industry 4.0 and robots to artificial intelligence, data science, virtual reality, and new digital business model. – Rainer Strack, Susanne Dyrchs, Adam Kotsis, and Stephanie Mingardon on How to gain and develop digital talent and skills.
Normally, we are used to thinking of fourth industrial revolution as something that ONLY job seekers should stress about. But, we’ve not really looked into what that may mean for businesses. Regarding basic things like marketing, businesses have to go online.
With regard to employment arrangements, some businesses have flexible working hours- where employees can work from home or anywhere. In some cases, robots have already taken over. These disruptive changes have had profound impact on both business models and the employment landscape.
Many businesses have already encountered significant lack of digital talent. Consumers are online. They prefer to transact online, and many businesses have lost fortunes because they’re still very traditional in their approaches. Identifying and measuring these skills gaps is vital, if businesses are to remain relavant. This is especially true, because our schools’ output isn’t in sync with what digital economies require. Technological advances can bring prosperity, yet that is not without risks.
Some prominent drivers of these changes include: mobile internet and cloud technology and advances in computing power and Big Data. Undeniably, businesses face talent gaps in this regard.
Thus, not many potential employees have had an exposure into these areas or modes of business. We’ve already witnessed an evolving nature of techs, coupled with scarce capable workers.
Some researchers have already postulated the shortfall in digital talent around the world by 2020. You can always think about the number of tech jobs that already are unfilled owing to this scarcity. On top of that, not many people are STEM informed, which may further explain this talent scarcity.
Rainer Strack et.al, continue to advice that, “companies should respond to this challenge by building new pools of skilled digital employees. To do so, they must understand who these potential employees are, where they can be found, and how they can be attracted and retained. Companies also need to know what kinds of talent can be nurtured within the existing employee base; digital talent must come not only from the acquisition of new personnel for specific jobs but also from the development of digital skills in existing roles.”