Tech world's biggest challenge: Finding the right talent

GREEK philosopher Heraclitus, who was active around 500BC, said "change is the only constant in life". It remains true today for business entities, if not at an even more accelerated pace.

The corporate world is being disrupted at a speed never seen before, triggered by rapid improvements in technology. These advancements have enabled existing businesses to be run more effectively and efficiently. At the same time, they have also created completely new industries and sectors like the Internet of Things. But one of the biggest impacts of technology has been that it is completely transforming the way certain industries operate.

Take Uber for example. It has used technology to disrupt the taxi industry. In just six years since its launch, Uber has spread to 57 countries and is valued at nearly US$40 billion. Figures released in March this year showed that there are now more Uber cars than the traditional yellow cabs in New York. And Uber may yet be disrupted by driverless cars, which may explain why Uber is hiring talent in robotics.

Almost every other sector is gearing up for the impact technology is having, or is likely to have, on their operations. For example, Big Data and analytics are being used by financial technology start-ups to give out loans in a matter of hours, compared to the weeks taken by traditional banks.

GPS technologies are already spawning sophisticated driverless tractors. 3D printing has shortened prototyping time in the manufacturing sector. Soon, 3D-printed parts will indeed be hard and durable enough to accelerate this pace of disruption in the sector.

Simply put, technology is presenting both an opportunity as well as a threat to firms.

One key aspect that not many seem to be paying attention to is the fact that companies need innovative leadership and execution for both these fronts. Firms that do not have the talent to comprehend and spot the threats, as well as put in place plans to exploit the opportunities, will fall behind.

The reality is that talent, especially those with the qualities required to run a business in the current technology-driven environment, is a scarce commodity. Here are some of the key issues that companies are facing on this front:

Balance

The majority of the technology-savvy talent is relatively young. That means while they understand the technology and its trends very well, they lack the experience on the business side of things. To make matters worse, in many of the large companies, the people at the top have great business acumen but don't understand technology that well.

This is creating a disconnect and hurting the growth of firms. The way taxi and hotel sector companies were late in realising the threat posed by the likes of Uber and Airbnb, and capture the opportunities created by technology, is a good example of this. It is getting difficult for firms to find talent with the right balance of technology and business acumen.

Strategy

Many firms, especially the older ones, are struggling to figure out the organisational set-up and where the "digital team" fits in it. The big question they are facing is, how to embed digitisation into every business unit? Some are hiring senior people reporting directly to the CEO, while others are experimenting with mid to junior-level talent reporting to business heads. Not many have found the right strategy to ensure technology is deployed comprehensively with the desired, impactful results.

Baggage

Companies perceived as "traditional" are not exactly proving to be magnets for the tech-savvy modern talent. Many of them prefer to work for new tech-savvy firms, not least because such firms - and their bosses - are perceived to understand technology much better. Many of them also feel that traditional (and often rigid) processes practised by some of these older firms curb their creativity. The work culture and the flexibility offered by the newer firms are also big attractions.

Start-up boom

It is not just the traditional firms that are finding it tough to attract talent. Increasingly, the younger companies are finding it tough to retain theirs.

There is so much cash available for start-ups at a time when technology is enabling so many possible ideas that many concepts are getting backed by angel investors or venture capitalists. The fact that start-up valuations are rocketing skywards is only increasing the lure for people to set up their own shop. Not that this is a bad thing, but it is putting more pressure on the talent pool as these new start-ups would also need a team each.

Digitisation is here to stay. If anything, its pace is only going to increase in the coming years. Companies that want to ride this wave and achieve greater heights will need talent with the requisite skills to navigate the currents. For traditional companies that means changing their mindset and work culture to become more attractive to new "digital" talent and to deploy them appropriately. For new tech-oriented start-ups, it means not forgetting to recruit "traditional" talent in areas like logistics and professional selling to maintain the business acumen balance.

In a hyper-connected ever-changing world, it is not just the technology, but the talent behind it that will decide the eventual winners.