Harvey Nash’s annual CIO Survey has revealed that 47% of CIOs are expecting to increase their IT headcount over the next 12 months.
The survey, which was produced in collaboration with KPMG and interviewed 3,958 CIOs from across the globe, revealed that 49% of IT leaders in the UK had seen their budgets increase. It is no surprise then that they are investing in skills and talent development. In particular, new staff are needed to work on improving cyber security, managing operational risks and compliance, and improving business processes.
However, the IT skills shortage remains a problem for many CIOs, with 65% reporting that a lack of talent was holding their organisation back. Therefore, many of these IT leaders are reaching out to IT recruitment agencies like Crimson to help them scour the IT jobs market to find the staff resources they require.
Some CIOs are also looking for alternatives to IT recruitment to help them fill their skills gaps. It was reported:
- 67% plan to use automation in the future to remove the need for additional headcount. This is particularly in areas such as testing, development, and service desk.
- 46% now use outsourcing to access the skills they require.
- 32% plan to increase their outsourcing spend. Although, this figure has dropped from 48% in 2017.
What’s more 35% of leaders believe their country’s work visa legislation is holding their organisation back and just 18% have been successful at promoting diversity within their IT team.
Ultimately, CIOs are now operating in an environment where innovation and being close to the customer are increasingly important. Decisions that drive these priorities are based on increasingly in-depth data, so CIOs are having to make considered judgements about which skills they want in-house and which they choose to outsource.
If you’re looking to hire and would like to discover the salary bands and contractor charge rates for IT professionals around the UK and London-specific rates, click the image below to download Crimson’s IT Salary Survey 2018.
There are also regional IT salary surveys for Birmingham, West Midlands, and Nottingham, East Midlands, available on Crimson's resources page. Just click here.
Crimson is an IT consultancy, an IT solutions provider, an IT recruitment agency, and a Microsoft Gold Partner operating across the UK.
