Finding the best tech talent isn’t easy, especially in competitive markets like AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Cloud, and Salesforce. And with an increasing number of partners and end-users seeking skilled professionals, attracting, training, and retaining candidates is becoming incredibly expensive.
In this blog, we’ll look at 5 strategies that can help you secure your Salesforce talent pipeline and allow you to meet business challenges head on.
1. Plan for the unplanned
Hiring for what you need today might feel a lot easier than thinking about what you’ll need in the long run, but forward planning is what sets great companies apart from good ones when it comes to maintaining business continuity.
As such, you should approach recruitment with a strong idea of where your business is now, but also where you want it to be a few years down the line. Without forward planning, your organization could find itself unprepared for potential changes in the marketplace.
In addition to technically skilled candidates, look for professionals with flexibility, adaptability, and other “soft” skills, as this will allow your teams to be more flexible in the face of change.
2. Go beyond traditional recruitment methods
We all know the struggle of searching in the same talent pools as your competitors. Organizations that thrive in markets with a higher demand for talent tend to embrace alternative solutions, rather than rely solely on traditional recruitment methods. Your permanent hiring can easily be supplemented by programs such as graduate schemes, apprenticeships, and return-to-work programs, for example.
Another option is talent creation. Talent creation programs work with organizations to create the tech talent they need in their teams. Businesses that use these programs avoid the associated costs of training and developing employees while gaining access to a pipeline of certified talent. Some programs are even centered around organizations retaining their existing talent on a permanent basis.
What makes these programs truly valuable is that they lower the cost of ownership of your entire talent acquisition program, not just your salary overheads. However, many talent creation programs only generate fresh (or inexperienced) talent and often charge a hefty fee if you want to retain their talent.
If you’re looking for experienced talent, our Salesforce Talent Creation program is a fantastic option. We cross-train experienced tech professionals into certified, delivery-ready Salesforce talent.
Our training is completed in a matter of weeks and, once trained, our Salesforce-certified professionals (or “Revols) are deployed to your organization, delivery-ready. This means that the talent joining your business already has the development experience and consulting skills you need to get the most out of Salesforce. Plus, at the end of their contract with us, you can convert your Revols into permanent members of your team—at no added cost.
3. Plan to be flexible
An important part of talent planning is to make sure you can scale your talent utilization up and down to meet increases or drops in demand. Keep this in mind when reviewing your talent management processes and make sure to develop pipelines of talent that can be flexed up or down as needed. Make sure to also consider how long it takes to ramp up, when planning.
If you have a critical project that needs talent fast, you need to have access to a pipeline that can scale with your business. This also applies to geographical flexibility. Finding tech talent is hard enough but when you throw in the additional challenges of being in a competitive market, it can seem somewhat impossible. We highly recommend adopting a blended approach to your workforce planning, as this allows your organization to have greater control while lowering risk.
4. Embrace diversity
A lot of businesses we talk to have the same challenges–they want to bring in more diverse pools of talent but can’t find the people. Embracing diversity will give you a competitive edge and allow you to search in talent pools that your competitors might be overlooking.
If you want to embrace diversity, you should ensure that your recruitment, hiring, and onboarding processes are all designed with diversity in mind. In our white paper, Hiring a Diverse Workforce, we discuss with other industry experts what businesses can do to attract more diverse candidates. One thing all our experts agreed on was that, for diversity and inclusion to be impactful, it needs to be driven from the top.
In the words of Eric Dreshfield, Salesforce ecosystem veteran, ITequality Executive Advisor, Dreamforce regular, and Salesforce MVP Hall of Famer, “Companies should proactively seek out diverse suppliers when they are purchasing goods and/or services. To help facilitate this process, I would recommend that businesses set up a registry, where diverse suppliers can provide the company with details about the products and services they sell.”
5. Upskill and reskill your employees
As a world-leading talent creation and enablement partner who help tech organizations to build affordable cloud talent pipelines in candidate-scarce markets, we’re big believers in the power of reskilling and upskilling.
While we’ve talked extensively about the benefits of upskilling and reskilling employees, there are a number of benefits that are worth mentioning here.
For one, tech companies that employ reskilling or upskilling experience better talent utilization rates, as they’re able to shift employees into in-demand technologies as the market changes. Furthermore, by investing in their existing employees and providing great career development opportunities, companies that reskill or upskill can see their retention rates improve significantly.
Nate Strong, Founder and CEO of Strong CRM—a Salesforce partner specializing in revenue operations and CRM migration—is also a big believer in giving employees the opportunity to upskill by earning Salesforce certifications:
And, of course, there are financial benefits. Reskilling or upskilling existing employees is rapidly becoming known as one of the most cost-effective ways to generate the talent you need, as it can significantly reduce your hiring and training costs.
If you’re interested in reskilling your employees, our industry-leading reskill program is a great option. Because we’re cloud talent creation experts, we know what it takes to create and develop incredible talent. This is why our specialized reskill programs equip your employees with advanced certifications, practical experience in a business setting, and consultative skills.
