Competition for IT talents - Five steps for companies to gain advantage

On the one hand, it is impossible to establish and manage an IT organisation that effectively supports business goals without a powerful team. On the other hand, it is increasingly difficult to find and retain motivated professionals with the right skills. Furthermore, as telework becoming more and more popular, the globalization of the labor market has gained new drive, which is reflected in rising wages.

Traditional recruitment methods are time-consuming and even patience is not a guarantee of success, especially when it comes to recruiting large numbers of people. This is not only the case for classic developer positions but competition increases for positions in specialised fields, combinations of different skills (e.g. finance and software development), or for positions requiring up-to-date knowledge of Salesforce and other platforms. And the employees can easily change jobs if they feel that they are not able to develop or receive the support they need to perform as expected.

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1. The strategic role of trainings

Well-known companies building an attractive employer brand and helping their colleagues to succeed in their job can gain an advantage in the competition for talents because employees who are proud of their professional achievements are more committed to their company.

Some say it is only a  matter of salary. However, recent  studies show that the desire to develop professionally and meet challenges is just as motivating in career decisions as the salary. Recognising this and placing the training of your prospective or current employees in the focus of your strategy will give you a competitive advantage.

“There is a significant labour shortage in the IT market, so attracting and retaining talents is crucial. Training plays an increasingly important role here. In special cases, launching your own bootcamp is the only way to go, for example, when you need software developers with strong basic business knowledge to automate business processes. This skillset is very rare, so it's worth investing in training your own professionals”

explains Anita Fachs, the managing director in charge of corporate services at Green Fox. At Green Fox, we have been organising similar courses for our partners since 2016, so thanks to our experience, we can build a well-trained and motivated team within six months to increase either staff number or competencies.”

2. Tailor-made IT bootcamp

The need for developing the IT team comes from the technology manager. Generally he is the one who is able to determine exactly what skills, how many people and when he would need to achieve the next development goal. Green Fox Academy can provide effective assistance in clarifying the starting points, which is followed bya training plan and a customised curriculum that meet the needs of the partner company.

"The central element of the corporate bootcamp model is the development of a unique syllabus that we put together on focused professional workshops. Based on the experience of training more than 1,700 students, we know exactly what structure and method is the best to learn quickly and efficiently. Our work is based on our internationally validated know-how and curricula, which is then adapted to the specific technology, platform, or development project defined by our partner”

explains Anita Fachs.

Green Fox has been providing targeted corporate courses almost since its foundation in 2016. Planning and delivering tailor-made courses requires specialised knowledge and methods that the Academy has perfected through assignments by big international partners. Currently, Green Fox Academy is the only company in the Central and Eastern European region that has such a diverse experience and complex model of IT bootcamps specialised for corporate needs.

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3. Thinking beyond borders

Green Fox is an exceptionally successful player in the IT training market in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This knowledge is a strategic advantage for companies thinking internationally in terms of IT workforce allocation and development.

“By launching an international corporate bootcamp, the skills of multinational teams can be developed to the same level at the same time, or a regional talent pool can be built up, that provides the opportunity to hire several new employees at the same time"

says Anita Fachs. “A further advantage of this method is that it can even be targeted at a narrower professional field or, for example, platform-specific knowledge where no appropriate training is available. This opens up new perspectives in the competition for talents.”

Distance education can be as effective as the face-to-face method if you know how to maintain attention and motivation. Green Fox has successfully solved this challenge and, as a result, delivers both online and on-campus courses to its partners with the same effectiveness.

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4. A project-ready team 

Green Fox works closely with partners not only on the customisation of the corporate bootcamp, but the prospective employer is also involved in the education process at several points: they can give project tasks to students to prepare them for future work situations and mentor them in solving these problems. Thanks to this process, they get to know the skills and motivation of the students personally, gain a deeper insight into the development of their colleagues, and improve it with additional perspectives.

“Professional presence is extremely beneficial for the company. Students learn the company-specific technology during the practical activities, so a significant part of the on-boarding already takes place during the corporate bootcamp. At the end of the training, colleagues can immediately be assigned to a project and the value-creating work starts much faster”

adds the head of corporate services at Green Fox.

The joint course forms a community, accelerates work and makes collaboration smoother – which means a significant additional resource where speed and accuracy are needed.

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5. Employer branding

Employer branding is a positive outcome of corporate bootcamp cooperation that is definitely beneficial for the company. For example, if the aim of the course is to recruit new staff, our partner can present the opportunities and career paths available at their company on several occasions. Further training or retraining of  current colleagues clearly shows the company's commitment to retaining their loyal and valuable employees, which also helps to reduce turnover.

“At the end of a course we do not simply give a sheet of papers to our partners. Instead of CVs they get to know personalities”

highlights Anita Fachs. This relationship makes HR decisions easier. Coupled with an exclusive selection opportunity, this can already mean a far superior advantage in hiring the most promising candidates. Or, in the case of a current colleague, it may help to offer a career plan that can be the basis for long-term collaboration.