Majority of organisations are hiring more IT staff to work remotely

IT leaders are increasingly recruiting IT staff to work remotely, with 86% currently doing just that, according to a survey of chief technology officers (CTOs) across Europe.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the IT recruitment industry, with both challenges and opportunities facing IT leaders.

According to the survey of 50 CTOs carried out by staffing service provider Venquis Staffing Solutions, nearly two thirds said that Covid-19 pandemic has made it harder to attract and retain staff, with only 24% saying it’s become easier.

But at the same time, it has taught people the value of remote working, with 71% of the IT decision-makers surveyed saying that remote working and removing commuting constraints has provided access to more talent in a highly competitive market.

Out of those IT leaders now recruiting staff to work remotely, 58% said it has made it easier for them to access better quality candidates and attract potential employees, 52% said it is easier to find people with the right skill-sets, and 46% said they have had more applicants to job postings.

The trend is seeing IT staff recruited nationally and even internationally, with over a third (36%) of survey respondents saying they want to hire from countries where they don’t have offices.

During the past two years, IT departments have adopted hybrid working models where people spend large chunks of their time working remotely. According to the survey, 62% of senior IT leaders said the productivity of the employees has increased, while just 15% said it has reduced.

Most of those surveyed (94%) said that the changes in working models adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic are here to stay, and only 6% of those questioned said that the industry will return to pre-pandemic working models.

The effects of the pandemic on work will continue, according to the survey, with 94% of respondents agreeing that the future of work has changed forever and believe that it’ll continue to be hybrid-working focused. Only 6% believe that there will be a return to pre-pandemic ways of working in five years’ time.

This will bring new challenges to IT recruiters, alongside the benefits, according to the survey report. “With remote and hybrid working here to stay, the benefits of a wider talent pool will remain in the future, but so will the challenges of high churn and easy switching between jobs. Recruitment and retention strategies must be revalued for operations in the hybrid future,” it said.

Candidates are also becoming more demanding, according to the findings, with 92% of IT decision-makers reporting that candidates want more flexible working. Meanwhile, 94% of IT recruiters have faced demands for increased salaries over the past two years.