Companies from varied industries are expected to keep their customers’ data safe and secure. Yet there is an ongoing problem with the growing shortage of cybersecurity professionals. This makes it incredibly difficult to ensure the safety and security of customers’ data. If you’re reading this blog, the obvious question is: Why?
There’s no quick or easy answer. Rather, it is a cascading list of multiple issues that many employers have and still experience with trying to ascertain quality cybersecurity professionals. Cybersecurity is a very specialized skill, and it takes a highly qualified person with great tenacity to endure solving complex issues in sensitive time frames. In years past, cybersecurity was considered by most organizations to be an afterthought. However, as cyber-attacks become more complex, cybersecurity personnel must be able to develop quickly and understand what they’re looking at, as well as consider the big picture.
Each company’s security requirements tend to be unique, which brings enormous issues most HR departments have experienced because of the complexity in protecting the data. Established HR personnel within organizations must look for individuals who think ahead and comprehensively.
Despite the complexity of cyber-attacks today, most companies haven’t created apprenticeship programs that would train entry-level cybersecurity professionals. Ideally, upon graduating college, these individuals can be hired for entry and junior level positions.
Within the last five to eight years, most companies didn’t take cybersecurity seriously enough. Budgets for training and hiring these specially skilled positions were an afterthought until a weakness within their organization was exploited and they were attacked. Once a company’s weakness has been exposed by hackers, the organization panics and scrambles to try to mitigate the situation as quickly as possible. This is to protect their image.
Enter June 2021 and The Great Resignation, where COVID-19 caused workers to re-examine their lives, considering how the pandemic illuminated their fragility. As MBA Chris Patton writes, employees are “resigning from their jobs in numbers not seen in the last 20 years. According to a Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the U.S. Department of Labor, job openings soared to 9.3 million, shattering previous records.” Employees aren’t in a hurry to go back to work. Employers must consider what will lure them.
To combat this labor shortage, especially of cyber-security experts, any forward-thinking HR professional should consider the following:
Given The Great Resignation and how employees have the upper hand especially in today’s tech job market, how can the HR/hiring manager convey or create enticement? How can HR demonstrate or communicate their job can bring a sense of purpose? What is the significance of the role they are recruiting for? How can they combat the upper hand talent has on the market?
Be willing to look beyond the individual’s technical skills, even if they’re right out of college. Look more at their professional character traits. This is to determine if they’re a forward thinker, can see the big picture, and take on many challenges throughout the day. No longer are recruiting tools satisfactory for identifying a candidate. Human factor/touch is critical in the process of hiring, along with demonstrating value by being competitive in compensation. How are companies prioritizing keeping employees happy, or enticing them to stay? Work-life balance and what that means to each employee is critical for a forward-thinking leader wanting to cultivate and retain exceptional talent.
Develop an apprenticeship where seasoned cybersecurity professionals already working within your organization can mentor someone relatively inexperienced, maybe just out of college, to go under their tutelage and learn cybersecurity in-depth. It is necessary to grow, empower and invest in your internal team. This engagement strengthens the commitment, interest, and collaboration of team members.
Create hospitable workplaces and re-invest in employee skills. Be willing to pay for advanced learning courses for these budding cybersecurity analysts or apprentices. Also, consider flexibility with remote options conducive to balancing childcare as well as other personal responsibilities and priorities. This is a key offering now that employees are holding the power.
Emphasize to interested candidates about the potential growth opportunities their organization has to offer. This is so the individual can maximize their development and be challenged throughout the day. This includes taking on new tasks as required.
Companies must ensure they explain their growth potential to all interested candidates in this field. It is wise to tout perks, all benefits, and compensation packages. It’s imperative to make these budding apprentices feel appreciated, which spurs company growth and enhancement in this field. It’s effective to lead as a collaborator. In other words, regularly stress commitment to the long-term goals, how this team member contributes, and ask for observations from all team members. Providing a platform or forum that allows them to participate in the growth strategies makes them feel engaged to where they feel invested as an integral team member; so, it’s not just a job.
As technology advances, and with ongoing threats on the rise, it becomes increasingly vital that companies prepare adequate budgets for these positions. They must also be open to train recent graduates within an apprenticeship program, as well as continuing the growth opportunities for existing employees.
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