Third Thursday Thoughts, 5th Edition

How has the acceptance of a remote workforce in IT impacted salaries and companies that require onsite work?
We have seen a big impact across all levels of IT positions, from entry level support to C-level.   Many companies that previously insisted on onsite IT staff learned quickly during COVID that many job functions could efficiently be completed remotely, opening up the candidate pool to practically anywhere across the country.  For support and mid-level roles, we are finding not only salary expectations and demands increasing, but also a decrease in the number of employees willing to travel or go into an office. For more senior level architect and management roles, especially in high cost of living regions, companies are pushing back on higher salaries and hourly rates, because they can go elsewhere to find talent who can work remotely.  In addition, turnover has been very high, with employees being lured away with higher salaries and the possibility of remote work.  Strong candidates can go from 1st interview to offer in less than a week, and most candidates we speak to have a choice of multiple offers. We are also seeing less people apply to a role, as they are being contacted for multiple roles just by noting they are looking on LinkedIn, or posting a resume.  Managers will need to adapt, and move quickly to find and retain technical resources and using a firm like Marcum Search will ensure qualified candidates are found, versus having to choose from applicants who may apply.

What are the advantages of using interim IT services through an IT Solutions firm while searching for the ideal candidate?
In this post-Covid environment, there is an extremely high demand of IT talent, and more roles than people actively looking, a firm like Marcum Technology can offer an onsite or remote resource to accomplish critical tasks while a position remains open, as even finding contractors/temporary workers is now challenging with so many remote positions to compete against.  Using a company that can become a trusted advisor with onshore resources allows for business continuity, easier transition when an employee is hired, and a plan for success.  From IT and NOC/network services and support, cyber security services, Financial, HR, ERP and automation solutions, development and architecture, project management and general IT assessments, companies will have instant expertise where there may be a gap.  And since Marcum Search and Marcum Technology work so closely together, clients are ensured to get what they ‘really need’, not just what’s in a job description.

What are the hottest, most in demand IT jobs?
Anything and everything related to cyber security and the infrastructure around the cloud, is of course very much in demand, as many companies found that when the nation shut down, they did not have the resources to go remote and operate as needed. We’ve also seen a big increase in technical support, as more remote workers means more internet, vpn and security issues are in need of someone to fix. 

What does a company need to consider when having a remote workforce to ensure system and data security?
As the latest hack at Colonial Pipeline has proven, cyber attacks and takeovers are costly and can have a major impact not only on the business itself but the entire US and world economy.   Training employees to not open suspicious emails, understanding the concepts of phishing and other attacks, and not using public servers without a VPN is a great way to start. To truly secure data and systems, having a firm like Marcum Technology come in and do an initial assessment to not only identify where there may be inefficiencies but also provide solutions to protect and services to monitor, can be important even if a firm has an IT security department, as they have the means and resources to stay current and can draw on industry standards and experiences to build a secure environment. And using a firm like Marcum Search to staff up your security team provides the vetting of candidates to your specific needs, so your managers are only talking to qualified individuals, not only those who ‘look great on paper’.