Evaluating Your IT Recruiting Needs: A Guidebook

Information Technology needs can be complicated, especially since they change so often and so quickly. Which means the need for quality IT professionals may seem like it never ends. And if you’re a small company, finding great IT employees can be even more daunting. How can you figure out who you need and where to find them? Check out our quick guide, below.

1) Where Do You Need Help?

Take a look at your business in its current state, then consider the known future. Which tasks are currently overwhelming your current IT staff? Do you have plans for growth, or special projects on the horizon? Do you need to hire someone with very specific skills? Once you’ve determined your needs, develop a comprehensive but realistic job description for each.

2) Can Any of Your Current Employees Fill Your Needs?

You may already employ someone with the experience you need—or someone who could do it with some training. Spread the word internally first, or look into the costs and time involved in training. Just don’t expect anyone to do two jobs on one salary, or you’ll be looking at turnover issues.

3) Consider Your Options

You may need to hire someone, or you may not have time to train and develop a current employee, depending on your timetable. But you don’t necessarily have to hire a full-time employee. Consider the following alternatives:

• Hire somebody part-time. This saves you on payroll and benefits expenses, and you can more easily determine if you need that person to go full-time.
• Hire someone as a temporary employee through an experienced, reputable IT staffing agency. They may also offer a “temp to hire” arrangement. Either way, you’ll be able to “try out” a potential employee before you commit to a full-time hire. If the person doesn’t work out, you can sever the relationship without all the fuss of hiring and firing.
• Employ an independent contractor on a per project basis. This may work well for you if you often have big IT projects with downtime in-between, where it wouldn’t make sense to add a permanent employee.

4) Get the Word Out

If you decide to go it alone when seeking skilled IT professionals, try networking, social media, job postings and college career offices. Ask your employees if they know of a former colleague who might be interested in joining your team. With good IT people in high demand, most of them aren’t actively looking for work, but might be agreeable to switching positions if the deal is right.

At Triumph, we recognize the challenge of hiring great IT people, which is why we focus on it. And our mission is to make sure the right IT professional person connects with the right IT position, every time. So, if you have any questions about IT hiring or our technology recruiting services in Richmond, call us.