IT professionals have not had any employment problems so far, but the situation created by Covid has led to a real surge for professionals who are essential to digitization – for higher incomes than before.
Covid In the first period of the epidemic (March to August 2020), about 30 percent of domestic companies chose to wait and planned to cut into expansion after this period. Only 30 percent of companies thought they wouldn’t increase their team in 3-6 months, Bluebird notes. The recruitment and placement company found that by August 2021, the demand for IT professionals had increased significantly – up to four to five times compared to 2019. One reason for this is seen in the fact that last year’s lagging headcount expansion was postponed to 2021. Another reason why Covid has pointed out the need for digitalisation is that an online presence is essential for the majority to stay competitive.
the benchmark for wages has changed. For rural professionals, the Budapest earning opportunities are now the benchmark. As a result, the competitiveness of rural businesses engaged in IT development or with significant IT has decreased or will decline. The same may be true in the near future between Budapest and abroad, points out Balázs Réfi, the founder and CEO of Bluebird. ) The pandemic caused a shift in emphasis in recruitment. – One of the most important changes is that the contact / interview ratio has increased significantly, ie nowadays several times more IT professionals have to be contacted in order to have an interview. As a result, the number of inquiries reaching IT professionals has multiplied, and as a result, IT professionals choose who to answer and who does not. It is therefore important where and from whom you look for them, ie the value of the recruitment brand and the person of the IT recruiter has increased – informs Balázs Réfi
According to Bluebird’s experience, but the pre-pandemic situation returned in 2021: about half of those placed were passive jobseekers
In the field of IT recruitment, applicant tracking systems (ATS) have become essential for successful recruitment. In addition, GDPR-compliant (mainly internal) databases and platforms where IT professionals are available (such as LinkedIn) have become more valuable. High immersion and speed have become a prerequisite for successful recruitment.
– Reaching professionals requires more serious recruitment than before, so I expect many in-house teams to turn to an external recruitment company. The recruitment fee is expected to increase, as it is not the price of recruitment but the success that is most important for companies. It is also in favor of recruiting companies that they are looking for candidates for up to hundreds of positions at a time, so they work with a much greater immersion than in-house recruitment companies, emphasizes the CEO.
A new kind of IT knowledge appears
At present, the vast majority of companies work in a hybrid way. This typically means two to three days of office work and the rest of the time working from home.
In a large enterprise environment, a process has been launched specifically for virtual operations, online meetings, working from home, etc. to support. This is mostly aimed at significantly cutting office rents. Another trend is the increase in the number of offices in which the tenants themselves are IT professionals. Communities of friends create office environments where they create the optimal workplace for themselves. Many professionals enjoy working from home for a while, but the exclusivity of homeoffice is bad rather than good for many. Some people change jobs because of this. However, employers who require a permanent office presence are also not popular with IT professionals. The majority prefer to work at home for at least one or two days a week
– In my opinion, the size of the IT profession will be much larger than it is now. In the future, in addition to IT professionals with basic developer and operator knowledge, more and more professionals with user IT knowledge will appear. can be prepared. Regardless, there will be an increasing need for acore IT knowledge. One reason for this is that the world is moving towards artificial intelligence solutions that require extremely serious expertise. The other clear trend is that within five to ten years, IT security could be the most dominant area of the IT sector. Achieving a high degree of IT security and bringing the challenged systems to life will be worth all the money to companies, and consequently it will create huge opportunities for IT professionals, says Balázs Réfi.
Declining risk appetite
Due to the continuous growth, EPAM has been looking for its future staff intensively through a number of different channels, including social media platforms, direct inquiries or events. The Covid epidemic has shifted the focus in particular, as almost all recruitment activities have moved to the online space. The efficiency of direct inquiries and the willingness of candidates to take risks and change jobs has decreased
New tools have also been introduced. An example is the “institution” of the entry bonus, which is mainly recommended for more experienced candidates. A so-called “hiringweek” is held on a quarterly basis, the essence of which is to guide applicants through the multi-round, full recruitment process in an expedited procedure in a pre-announced week, and to make an offer within 48 hours. If the candidate accepts it within 24 hours, they will also receive an extra bonus
During the Covid epidemic, they introduced their external referral program, according to which anyone can recommend a specialist to the company. If you meet the requirements and win (and get a job), the referrer will receive a bonus
Many permanent changes
At EPAM it is believed that the pre-pandemic era is no longer coming back completely, the way we work has changed permanently. People’s agendas have changed, and many elements of it (like morning sports) many want to keep. There have already been hybrid teams in the IT sector, not on-site teams. This is expected to continue in the future.
At present, EPAM staff can work in the office under a so-called hoteling system. This means that there are no tables permanently assigned to individuals. In the current epidemiological situation, only a small proportion of workers can be in the office at a time. Experience shows that smaller teams tend to go to the office for meetings, conciliations, the work behind the “lonely” machine is done mainly by colleagues from home.
An important change is that in the three EPAM cities so far, so In addition to Budapest, Szeged and Debrecen, it is already possible to work for EPAM in telework from all over the country. According to the company’s plans, this will remain the case in the long run.
Successful employee recruitment system
Lufthansa Systems Hungary (LSYH) Among the tools, the company’s employee recommendation process is outstandingly efficient and successful. For example, this year, by August, nearly 40 percent of newly hired employees were the result of a successful selection process initiated by colleagues
The company’s primary recruitment interface is its own career portal, and they are also active in social media.
The staff selection process was fully online during the pandemic and will be maintained in part. In addition, it is of course possible to have a personal meeting during the recruitment process.
Hybrid work schedule tailored to needs
In the longer term than LSYH, they plan, try to develop the way and rules that best fit the corporate culture. The company is very flexible in determining the home / office attendance ratio, taking into account the individual preferences of colleagues. Where appropriate, they allow either full home office or full office work.
In their experience, home work, which prevailed during a pandemic, increased productivity. At the same time, they consider personal connection, integration and support for team cohesion to be important. in different life situations. Part-time employment can have a similarly positive effect, which is also the case for the company.
During the pandemic, foreign business trips were almost completely delayed, they were successfully replaced with online solutions. The personal meeting However, they cannot be reimbursed in all cases, they will return to some extent after the epidemic. However, some of them will be replaced by well-proven new digital devices.
The most sought-after IT professionals in Hungary
(August 2021, source: Bluebird)
- DevOps Professionals
- Angular Developers
- React developers
- Fullstack developers ( Java + Angular, .NET + Angular)
- IT system operators
- Java developers
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