Talent acquisition is rapidly becoming a challenge for technology companies. Today's most skilled employees are well educated, job savvy and -- more importantly -- willing to shop around for the jobs that they want. They know exactly where they stand in the job market, making courting them a more challenging endeavor.   In 2016, we will see companies using creative ways to procure the best talent. 

Increasing Salaries for Tech Jobs

The IT industry could see an up to 8 percent increase in salaries, in addition to rapidly growing benefits. Compensation tends to rise when the demand for talent outpaces supply. Though globalization may have made it easier to procure outsourced talent, domestic talent is more of a challenge to find. The IT industry has been growing at easily twice the pace of average job growth, leading to a vacuum that needs to be filled. In addition to increased salaries, employers in competitive industries are now becoming more remote -friendly, as well as offering benefits packages such as flextime, on-site childcare, and bonuses.

Not Just Data, Big Data

The top five industries hiring big data-related expertise include: Scientific, and Technical Services (30 percent), Information Technologies (19 percent), Manufacturing (18 percent), Finance and Insurance (10 percent) and Retail Trade (8 percent). Companies that are able to effectively leverage big data are building the most valuable businesses in the world. Google (News - Alert), Facebook, Tesla, Uber, and Spotify are some of the world's largest and fastest-growing enterprises. These companies are creating the majority of their value through data mining and data-analysis algorithms that run on top of massive data sets. 

Activating Your Pipeline-The College “Draft”

In 2016, employers interested in fostering company loyalty and developing a solid relationship with their employees may begin looking at "the draft" once again. A couple of decades ago, it was commonplace to draft new graduates fresh from college. The economic recession killed off many of these programs, as employers were able to procure employees with three to five years of experience for fresh-out-of-college rates. As the economy continues to recover, companies have gone back to looking for recent college grads, as new recruits who have a strong aptitude to learn. Though these employees will need additional training to cultivate their skills, the potential for there for them m to blossom into incredibly high-demand, talented employees. 

By activating your pipeline and allowing your employees to grow with the company, you can increase the chances of hitting upon a star. Many organizations are also leading these draft picks directly to them, by utilizing social media platforms such as SnapChat and online communities to draw from a robust talent pool. 

Blind Screening

Everyone in the world has biases that may not always be obvious. The technology-based fields have traditionally been averse to female candidates. Looking to 2016, with the recent push for hiring diversity, especially within STEM fields, we will see more blind screening and diversity recruiting.

Blind screening involves the process of screening employees first based only on their credentials.  In an effort to bring more diversity to recruiting, blind screening hides information such as the candidate’s name, address and grades, which are not seen as accurate predictors of success. Blind screening would also make it so that diversity hiring could not occur that was detrimental to the business.

A Gig Economy

The gig economy has taken off.  Employers have begun to cut costs by utilizing temporary and contingency workers more often. In fact, the number of 1099s filed grew from 82 million in 2010 to 91 million in 2014.   In 2016, we will see more of this “gig” economy in the IT sector, with IT contractors garnering significant salaries for specialized skills that are in high demand.   And, organizations are finding that the gig economy can help them solve talent challenges while enabling a flexible workforce.

Companies will need a comprehensive recruiting strategy in order to bring in great workers. 

You can follow Laura McGarrity, VP of Marketing, Mondo Digital Marketing and Tech Talent, on Twitter (News - Alert) @L_McGarrity.