In recent years, the data
center market has experienced rapid growth and acceleration, and this is only
set to continue with the market projected to reach $342.10billion this year,
with the largest area being network infrastructure, expected to reach $203.40billion
in market volume. The top locations for data center growth include North
Virginia, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Dublin.
Like most industries across the globe, technology advancements and the push for sustainability is something that is prevalent within the data center industry. Data centers are keen to utilise newer and more efficient technology from renewable energy sources to help reduce their carbon footprint, energy consumption and overall running costs. With this, there is a need for businesses to attract talent with the right technical skills to drive this new technology and data forward, alongside having skillsets and knowledge of sustainable processes.
Over the last couple of years, all industries have faced an ongoing battle for talent across the globe with talent shortages impacting all sectors, the data center market has and is currently experiencing increased demand for talent in many areas and businesses are having to adapt their hiring approach to combat talent shortages. With the impact of an aging demographic expected to retire in the coming years, data center businesses are having to consider alternative ways to attract talent to the industry to ensure there is enough talent to support the rapid growth of the industry, and those professionals and engineers soon to leave the industry.
The data center recruitment
team at CSG Talent highlight the top data center jobs in demand in
2023:
With these jobs in demand and a shortage of candidates available, organisations need to compete against others in the market by increasing their appeal to potential employees and widen their talent pools across other industries. Businesses are collaborating with colleges and education settings to boost the presence and awareness of potential careers within the data centre industry and to educate on the career paths available and how to access them, alongside other initiatives set up to combat talent shortages.
We spoke with James Murphy, Director of TechVets, a Programme within the Forces Employment Charity who shared his insights and experiences of the
TechVets initiative which is focused on supporting the forces community in
obtaining a civilian career path and sourcing talent for both data centers and
across wider information technology. TechVets successfully place between 15 and
25 ex-military candidates and military spouses and partners in IT roles monthly,
providing them with career opportunities, advice and support throughout the job
search process.
With huge growth in data centers and the
likes of Google and Microsoft investing in large scale real estate, skills are
required at all levels. HR teams within data centers are establishing where
they can source talent from and how they can tap into diverse talent pools.
This is where TechVets plays the crucial role of introducing veteran talent who
are reliable, adaptable and can deliver successful results.
From an early stage in a military career, there are core traits, values and skills embedded into individuals, many of which add a tremendous amount of value to any role, in any industry post service.
The success in the TechVets initiative
is proven in the feedback received from clients who see the value in the
transferable skills the forces community can bring to a data center or IT
business.
The forces community have the skills and
experience to move into some of the roles outlined below, entering at both mid
to senior level dependent on length of service and the area they were in
service.
The success of this initiative is clear
within IT And cyber security with businesses highlighting the value ex forces
community are bringing to their business. They are impressed with their ability
to learn fast, demonstrate strong team cohesion as well as having effective
leadership, accountability and great interpersonal skills. James is seeing more
and more industries come forward with the view of tapping into the military
talent pool to combat talent shortages across the globe.
Data centers need to spend time evaluating their processes,
culture, brand and employee experience to allow them to make positive
changes to attract the right talent and focus on a people centric approach to
their hiring strategy. Candidates are motivated
by flexibility in roles, career progression and personal development
opportunities, as well as competitive salaries. Our data center
recruitment team at CSG Talent highlight the key areas of focus to
ensure businesses attract and retain top talent.
Counteroffers are still prominent and
high salary negotiations are playing a big part in a surge in salaries across
the retail market. Salaries, as ever are an important consideration
for potential employees when it comes to selecting a new role and a new
business, especially with the fierce competition on the market. Conducting
salary reviews and benchmarking exercises on an annual basis can help
businesses remain competitive.
Consider the benefits you currently offer employees; do they add
value? Conduct research, internal surveys or focus groups to help understand
what really matters to your current teams and employees in general. Having this
insight will help you to establish the most sought-after
benefits that will appeal to both new and existing employees.
To appeal to potential data center
professionals, experienced leaders and top talent with transferable skills that
can add value to the data center industry, it’s important to know your culture
and work environment, does this align to your values and is it employee
centric?
Hybrid and remote working practices give
employees the flexibility to work from home on a global scale. Businesses experience
increased engagement, employee morale and business activity as a result.
Flexible and remote working is of huge importance to candidates seeking new
roles, it creates a healthy balance between work and life and has largely
become a priority to many when considering a new role.
In a candidate driven market, streamlining, and making your
recruitment process more effective is crucial to ensure you don’t lose top
talent to others within the industry. Create a hiring process that is seamless
and reduces your overall time to hire without compromising on the quality and
effectiveness of your recruitment goals. Some of the areas of focus should
be:
Having diverse teams and diverse leadership teams is hugely important for both business success and attracting new talent, it can offer a diverse range of ideas and approaches which has a positive impact on the wider business. According to McKinsey, profits and share performance can be close to 50% higher when there is a greater representation of females in leadership roles.
There is a clear lack of representation for women working within the data center industry, more than three quarters of data center organisations report that there are less than 10% of women that make up the total workforce of their business (Data Center Dynami...
