Valérie Heyvaert

In honor of Women's Day, we would like to put a strong woman in the spotlight. Today we meet Jill Gees. A former professional tennis player, she currently combines her career as Sales Director at Harvey Nash with a new challenge: HYROX. What started as a spontaneous decision after Jill was asked to fill in, quickly grew into a real passion. Even though she had just undergone surgery and was unprepared, she decided to participate anyway. Jill has now taken part in several HYROX competitions, and the sport has become an integral part of her busy life. In her own words, it's a “hobby that got out of hand.” We asked Jill a few questions about work, sport, and motivation. Howdo you maintain a balance between work and sports, and what motivates you to keep training? Exercise has always been an important outlet for me. I am naturally athletic and also played tennis professionally for two years. it helps me clear my head and cope better with the challenges of professional life. That combination creates balance. Work and exercise reinforce each other. For me, work cannot exist without exercise and vice versa. What also motivates me to keep training, even on busy days, is the feeling I get when I exercise. I've always run a lot, even though it wasn't necessarily my favorite sport. Still, I have the discipline to do things I don't like to do. HYROX suits me very well because it's a combination of strength and cardio. You constantly push yourself to the limit, and that gives you a lot of energy. Do you see similarities between a HYROX race and a challenging project at work? Absolutely. Just like at work, you're never equally strong in all areas in HYROX. Sometimes you do a race alone, sometimes in pairs. In the latter case, you really depend on each other. You have to adapt to each other's strengths, communicate, and work together strategically. It's actually just like being in a team at work. You're only as strong as the combination of all the team members. What has been your toughest moment during a competition or training session so far? And what did you learn from it? What I've learned most from competitions and training is that you can always keep improving. At the time, you're happy that you've finished the race or training session, but a few minutes later you start to reflect. What could be better? What can I do differently next time? I take that mindset with me to my work too. What does physical and mental strength mean to you? For me, strength, both physical and mental, means above all being aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. This applies both in sports and at work. Perseverance, in the broadest sense of the word, is the most important thing for me. When things don't go as you expect, it's important not to get distracted and to keep your goal in mind. That's what real strength means to me. Do you have any sporting or professional goals you are working on? I have several goals in mind for the future. For example, in three weeks, I will be participating in another HYROX competition in Mechelen. Six weeks later, I have another competition planned, this time a little further from home, in Paris. ‘Put on your running shoes and go’ My advice to others who are hesitant to pursue an ambitious goal is to find courage and keep your end goal in mind. Above all, dare to try new things and don't let doubt hold you back. In my opinion, regret mainly arises when you haven't seized opportunities or dared to try things. Just do it, try it, and experience it. Often, it turns out to be much less daunting or unattainable than it initially seems. This applies not only to sports, but also to your professional life: don't hesitate to take on a new challenge, just go for it.

Harvey Nash Belgium, the leading global technology recruitment business has named Laurence Bauwelinckx, the winner of its second Contractor of the Year Award in recognition of her exemplary performance in an administrative role, highlighting unparalleled customer service, remarkable flexibility in handling diverse tasks, creative problem-solving skills, and outstanding multitasking abilities, all of which significantly enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of the workplace. Laurence will now automatically be entered into the Global Contractor of the Year process, along with all other winners from Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and the UK. Working with over 11,000 active contractors each year Harvey Nash has established this award and the Global Contractor of the Year Award to recognise the value these individuals deliver to businesses and economies across the world, using their skills and experience to deliver vital projects for organisations. Laurence was selected as the country winner for Belgium from a pool of highly qualified and passionate nominees. At the age of 42, boasts a robust 16-year career as a freelancer. Prior to embarking on this journey, she immersed herself in office management roles within various corporate landscapes, often navigating the intricacies of large organizations where individuals could easily feel like mere statistics. Placing a profound emphasis on human interaction, Laurence finds that receiving recognition not only validates her efforts but also fuels her enthusiasm. The diversity inherent in her work is a cornerstone of her professional identity. Her decision to transition into freelance office management was fuelled by a desire to engage in a spectrum of tasks and connect with diverse individuals and personalities. As a freelancer, she recognizes the significance of infusing a personal touch into her work, ensuring that she offers something extra and unique. Having traversed through various industries such as accounting, real estate, consulting, IT, architecture, pharmaceuticals, and more, Laurence's professional portfolio is enriched by her ownership of management and real estate companies. This entrepreneurial venture provides her with a profound sense of fulfilment, continually presenting opportunities to learn and innovate with each project. The expertise cultivated in one company consistently proves valuable, either by infusing creativity into new client projects or offering additional insights. Intriguingly, the scrutiny faced by someone with a diverse job history, often encountered in the traditional employment sphere, becomes a testament to Laurence's strength and creativity as a freelance office manager. Her adaptability and multifaceted experience only serve to fortify her professional capabilities. As she navigates her current role, Laurence collaborates with multiple clients, experiencing a role that dynamically evolves. A typical day for her begins with the anticipation of unpredictability. Following a wholesome breakfast, she delves into a spectrum of communication channels, managing emails, WhatsApp messages, Teams notifications, Messenger, and LinkedIn—acknowledging the ease of communication in today's interconnected world. Prioritizing based on the day's urgencies; she addresses the most pressing issues first. In her capacity as an executive assistant, Laurence's responsibilities span booking travel arrangements, managing diverse agendas, scheduling appointments, orchestrating events, budgeting, occasional recruitment tasks, team support, and aiding EU or US teams as needed. This diverse array of responsibilities ensures that no two days are the same. Simultaneously, in her role as an event and finance manager for Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, Laurence takes charge of financial operations, coordinates both internal and external events, supports the sales department, handles HR matters, manages payroll, and tackles a substantial administrative workload. Post-client work, Laurence turns her attention to overseeing her four companies. This involves financial stewardship, payment management, administrative duties (claiming the top position in Belgium), customer relations, and the management of her real estate business. This glimpse into her professional life is juxtaposed with her commitment to quality time during weekends, where Laurence prioritizes moments with her family, friends, and beloved pets—a pair of dogs and a cat. “I am delighted to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Laurence as she embarks on her new mission as COTY Belgium. Her dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in our success. Wishing Laurence continued success on her journey to the global title. Let us rally behind her and celebrate this remarkable achievement together!” - Ronny Lommelen, Managing Director Harvey Nash Belgium. Commenting on being named the 2024 Contractor of the Year for Belgium, Laurence added, “I am deeply honoured and humbled by this recognition. It symbolizes not merely a moment of achievement but rather a culmination of dedication, hard work, and collaboration. This award serves as a reminder of the trust and confidence vested in me by my colleagues, customers, and family, propelling me to persist in striving for excellence in every small action I undertake. This award is not just a personal achievement but also a recognition for all freelancers in my sector. The role of an all-around assistant is notably demanding in terms of time and energy. Our availability, responsiveness, and capacity to handle last-minute tasks constitute significant facets of our professional personality. These aspects contribute to the excitement and diversity inherent in our profession.” Laurence will now go through as a finalist for the Global Contractor of the Year Award, the winner of which will be announced in April. For more information about the Harvey Nash Contractor of the Year award please contact Rachel.Watts@HarveyNash.com

Harvey Nash, the global technology recruitment company has announced the launch of its second Global Contractor of the Year Award. Following on from the success of the inaugural award in 2023, Harvey Nash is extending this award to include even more geographies including Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Australia. Working with over 11,000 active contractors each year, the award recognises the value these individuals deliver to businesses and economies across the world, using their skills and experience to deliver vital projects for organisations. Last year’s Harvey Nash Global Contractor of the Year Winner, Meisha Millwee was selected from an extremely strong pool of finalists from across the UK, USA, Netherlands, Poland and Belgium for her outstanding performance and commitment as a Harvey Nash contractor. Meisha then went on to be named American Staffing Association's 2024 National Staffing Employee of the Year for the Engineering, Information Technology, and Scientific Sector in the USA. Reflecting on the award Meisha said “Receiving this award was a wonderful surprise and I am truly humbled. I also recognise the importance of this award, not just for me, but also for my fellow contractors around the globe who make such an important contribution to businesses every day.” Nominations for the 2024 award will be sourced from existing Harvey Nash clients across the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Australia. This year’s award will also see contractors able to nominate themselves. All nominations will be judged by a panel comprised of global clients and the Harvey Nash leadership team before a winner for each country is named. Winners of the local country Contractor of the Year Award will then be entered into the Global Award with the overall Harvey Nash Global Contractor of the Year being announced in early 2024. Commenting on the launch of the second Global Harvey Nash Contractor of the Year Award, Bev White CEO of Nash Squared, Harvey Nash’s parent company said:“One of our core values is that we are human, and we understand the value each individual, whether a candidate, contractor or employee brings. This award not only allows us to recognise our talented contractors, it also allows us to say thank you publicly to them for all the value and skills they bring to organisations across the globe. Speaking personally to each of our finalists was a great honour and I’m very much looking forward to being part of the judging panel this year.” "The Contractor of the Year Award is a testament to our commitment to recognizing and celebrating the remarkable contributions of contractors in the tech industry. It's not just an event; it's a platform where dedication, skill, and innovation come to life. At Nash Squared our people have always been at the center of our attention. This is also the same for our employed contractors and freelancers. With the Contractor of the Year Award we want to provide them the platform they deserve." - Ronny Lommelen, Managing Director Harvey Nash Belgium For more information about the Harvey Nash Contractor of the Year award please contact Rachel.Watts@HarveyNash.com

Our CISO, Jim Tiller, answers a question he is asked often, and looks at the biggest cyber threats of the future. This article first appeared on ComputerWeekly.com. As a CISO and cyber specialist, I am often asked what I see as the big cyber threats of the future. Whilst I’m not a fan of crystal ball gazing for its own sake, nevertheless it can be helpful to think about what may be coming – and what we can do about it. So here are my four big threats – or what we may more colourfully term the four ‘horsemen of the apocalypse’ – together with some thoughts how we can prepare for them so that it doesn’t actually turn into the end of the world! 1 Virtual Humans With the advent of AI, especially natural language algorithms like ChatGPT, and their access to everything on the internet, combined with the ability to create essentially AI plug-ins for text-to-speech and imagery, very soon we’ll have more virtual humans online than real ones. Today we have botnets: networks of robots that were surreptitiously installed through malware onto computing systems around the world doing the bidding of cybercriminals. With the power of millions of computers at their disposal, industrious hackers can do everything from mine crypto to offer ransomware as a service to other criminals. Moving forward, cybercriminals and even nation states will have the ability to mobilize huge swaths of digital people seemingly operating independently but aligned with a larger mission. We see tiny examples of this today with virtual interviews resulting in unintentionally hiring a hacker or spy. Real humans are and will remain victims to fraud and confidence schemes. Even to this day, email borne attacks, such as phishing, are highly effective. Imagine a world where parents are having interactive video calls with their children asking for money. But what if that child is actually a digital fake? Given how much information there is about you as an individual, thanks to data breaches and social media posts, very rapidly there will emerge virtual replicas. Versions of you designed to leverage you for a greater gain by crossing ethical boundaries you are not willing to take. 2 Super Computing Quantum computing has leapt off the pages of sci-fi into reality and has been actively processing data not just for a few years now, but decades. Many companies have developed quantum computers, but the reason we have yet to see something dramatic is, in many ways, because they all use a different architecture. It’s like Apple and Microsoft in 1986, separate and completely incompatible. Moreover, thanks to the nuances of quantum mechanics, networking quantum computers has proven to be difficult. Nevertheless, both these barriers are diminishing rapidly. Soon the race for processing the most qubits will be shortened and accelerated as scientists solve the networking challenge. Overnight, the global human race will have access to thousands if not tens of thousands of qubits. From a cybersecurity perspective, most encryption will instantly be rendered useless. All of a sudden, your secure transaction to your bank or all the data transmitted over you VPN are no longer protected. In fact, every secure interaction you’ve ever made is likely to have been collected, allowing adversaries to go back and decrypt all those communications. The underlying basis of blockchain crumbles, permitting the ability to rewrite financial history. 3 The Expanding Ecosystem As we delve into the world of digital transformation and Web 3.0, the ecosystem of technology is becoming increasingly complex and layered. In the early days computers existed in a single room. Soon, individual computers were able to communicate. As networks expanded, along with processing speeds and availability of cheap storage, computer applications began to interact, requiring less and less standardization across platforms. With this evolution has come more points of interaction and the ability to leverage specific capabilities from a wider range of technologies, and at different layers of computing. Today, cybersecurity is just coming to grips with the challenges of third-party and supply chain risk in computing. Companies that are currently undergoing digital transformation will likely not simply have three or four layers of suppliers, but that rather closer to twenty. Moving forward the combined demand for pace, growth and innovation will require more and more from the computing ecosystem. These pressures will result in greater degrees of specialization in the supply chain causing it to expand rapidly. As such, it will be a primary target of cybercriminals because its manipulation can undermine trust in surface-level computing, permitting hackers to take control of any system without detection. 4 Smart Systems The role of technology and its importance in the physical world is increasing exponentially and will soon reach a point where computer-related issues, including everything from errors to hackers, will have a tangible impact in the real world. Today, we’re exploring self-driving vehicles, intelligent power distribution, and automation in industrial control systems, all of which have direct physical interactions with people and places. As we evolve, increasingly sophisticated technology will not only be embedded into everything from the mundane toaster to the most complex infrastructure but will also be interconnected and operated across a set of automated systems. For example, smart medical devices will become increasingly common and will quickly move beyond tactical monitoring to automated delivery of off the shelf medication, prioritization of emergency services, and even control access to various facilities. While these capabilities will greatly enhance human services, improve healthcare, and reduce accidents, cyberthreats will target these systems to perform everything from theft to terrorism. Instead of your data being held ransom, hackers may hold your car for ransom, withhold access to your home for money, or deny you medication or emergency services without payment. Getting Ahead of the Future In the face of these seemingly insurmountable challenges, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Thankfully, I believe there is. For example, many companies are now developing quantum-resistant technologies, such as encryption algorithms, blockchain technology, and communication networks. These may help nullify some of the cyber risks of quantum computing – the challenge will be to develop the strength of the defenses in proportion to the magnitude of the risks as quantum computing takes off. In relation to the expanding ecosystem, although the supply chain is growing beyond comprehension, there are efforts such as Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), enhanced software updating and patching standards, and even IoT product labeling is being explored. Active expert thinking is being applied to the issue. When dealing with the future related to smart devices and now, with ChatGPT and its ilk, smart AI, I think we have to change our perspective of how we coexist as companies and individuals with technology. It’s less about being a hard target with strong defenses, and rapidly becoming all about being a resilient target rather than a victim. With solid planning and preparation, resilience is possible. Be aware of the risks and think ahead of them. Focus on having alternatives, out-of-band options, and, critically, awareness of potential threat capabilities so that your plan B and even plan C aren’t rendered useless. The cyber future may sound worrying – but at the same time, human ingenuity will also find ways to build new protections and mitigations.

In today's digital age, job hunting has moved online, making it convenient yet leaving job seekers vulnerable to a new kind of threat: phishing scams disguised as enticing job opportunities. These scams are designed to steal personal information, financial data, and even infect your devices with malware. At Harvey Nash we take these scams extremely seriously and want to provide you with advice on how to spot these fake opportunities. How to spot a potential recruitment phishing scam. Often using a reputable company's name, brand, logo and tone of voice these recruitment scams may on the surface seem authentic, but the following checks and tips will help you to protect yourself. If in doubt, contact the company. Do not respond to the message directly, this goes for email as well as WhatsApp messages. Go to the company’s website and contact them from there to check the validity of the offer. Too good to be true. If an offer seems too good to be true it usually is, so trust your instincts. Examples can include seemingly attractive salaries for little work, promise of earning a lot of money quickly. Relevancy. If the job opportunity you are being contacted for has no relevancy to your skills it is likely to be a scam. Upfront payment requests. Harvey Nash will never ask you for any payment to get a job, nor will other reputable recruitment agencies. Unprofessional communication. Poor grammar, spelling mistakes, unprofessional email addresses or overseas phone numbers are all tell-tale signs of a scam. Urgency of response. If the offer insists on an immediate response without giving you enough time to think or research, be cautious. Unsolicited links or attachments. Never click on a link or open an attachment that you suspect to be a scam. What to do if you suspect a job scam using the Harvey Nash name or logo? If you are unsure if a Harvey Nash communication or job offer is genuine, please contact Harvey Nash directly by emailinginfo@harveynash.com. If contacted through WhatsApp we would also suggest blocking the sender and reporting the account.

George Lynch, Head of Technology Advisory at NashTech shares his thoughts on what generative AI mean for software developers. This article first appeared on ComputerWeekly.com. This year has seen a remarkable explosion of interest in Generative AI. Go back just six months, and most people had never heard of it. Now, it seems as though everyone – from tech professionals to students – is using it and experimenting, in particular, with the ‘poster child’ ChatGPT. This has also generated increasing discussion of whether AI and Gen AI spell the end for human roles, including in software development. Does ChatGPT and its Gen AI cousins (such as Bard, Copilot and Bing Chat) mean the demise of the software developer – given that Gen AI can already generate code snippets? It occurred to me that a good first step in considering this question was… to ask ChatGPT. As always, it gave an instant, eloquent answer, and the thrust of its response was ‘no’. ChatGPT and similar language models, it wrote, “are unlikely to replace software engineers entirely”. This is because software engineering “involves much more than just natural language processing” and requires a range of skills such as problem-solving and collaboration that are “beyond the scope” of Gen AI. However, it did also say that Gen AI “can automate certain aspects of software development” and “augment the capabilities of software engineers.” Clearly, then, it’s not a case of ‘RIP software developer’ – or at least, not yet. But at the same time, there is no doubt that the advent of Gen AI will bring about significant changes and disruptions. Field of opportunities It’s helpful to divide the impacts into opportunities and risks. So, I’ll start firstly with the many positives. Gen AI will significantly speed up certain aspects of the software development process. It can already manage some of the lower-level tasks, such as entry-level code writing, code snippets, testing and documentation. It can also write excellent comments in code – something software developers tend to be less enthusiastic about doing. And that’s just as at today. These capabilities could (almost certainly, will) rapidly improve and increase going forward. What catapulted ChatGPT into the mainstream was its ability to leverage modern advances in computing power that allow Large Language Models (that underpin ChatGPT) to be trained in a relatively short period of time. The potential for Gen AI to leverage advances in quantum computing could open up even more opportunities for developers. Who knows what agile will look like when Gen AI really develops? Imagine sprint cycles of not two weeks but two days or even two hours! The speed and productivity could be beyond our wildest dreams. The challenge will be handling all the code generated, curating it and managing it. In short, there is massive potential to do things faster, potentially more cheaply, and to spend more of the human time involved on the higher-end, value-adding aspects. These could all be huge positives in terms of productivity and client delivery. I don’t think there’s any question that senior developers and engineers will always be needed – they are where art meets science, they have the experience and the know-how and the creativity/problem-solving ability to bring it all together. The role of the programmer and indeed business analyst will still be to elicit requirements from clients that can then be converted into prompts for GenAI to generate, test and document code snippets. These will still need to be woven into the fabric of the overall solution. It’s also worth remembering that to get the most from Gen AI, you need well-constructed prompts. In a way prompting Gen AI is a protocol all of its own, akin to pseudo-code. Gen AI at the moment does not remove the need for thinking about how a software solution needs to be structured, which for the most part is the biggest value a software developer brings. A range of risks We must be honest and say that Gen AI does represent a threat to junior roles and entry level tasks. However, in a way this is no different to the new frameworks and automation tools that keep appearing in the market. It’s a factor the IT industry is already used to living with. It may be more pronounced with Gen AI, however, as clients may expect software firms and consultants to reduce the size of their (human) teams due to the fact that they can use Gen AI – either that or get jobs done faster (or both).An inflection point may therefore be coming. But tech has always been resilient and adaptable. It always reinvents itself. I have no doubt that new jobs and roles will be needed to support Gen AI (prompt engineers for example) that many junior team members can fill. Gen AI will be a disruptor, but I am confident that the industry will embrace Gen AI as it has other advances in computing science. Whilst the industry will not only survive but thrive, the level of disruption Gen AI has caused and will continue to create may be a step too far for some digital leaders. They may decide to step back, allowing a new crop of leaders to step forward. But there are other threats or risks that need to be managed, not just those around jobs. There is arguably a danger of stagnation if Gen AI can only generate code similar to code used to train the underlying models. Will it ever be able to make innovative leaps forward? This is where human intelligence will likely always be needed and will remain at a premium. Then there is the risk of error. There have already been cases of Gen AI being ‘confidently wrong’, suffering from ‘hallucinations’ caused by a lack of data, dirty data, or other constraints/errors in the models. Gen AI’s outputs, therefore, need to be checked, tested, validated etc – another area where humans are likely to keep their jobs. It is essential that this happens. Otherwise, the speed at which false and/or malicious information (or code) could spread could be truly frightening and have potentially serious consequences. Advice to digital leaders, consultants, practitioners So where does this leave everyone in or connected to the IT industry? My five key pieces of advice are as follows. Try it out. Actively engage, test it, and experiment. Don’t be held back by the ‘fear factor’. Be transparent within your business and with your own clients that you’re using or trialling Gen AI. After all, they probably are too! This can open up valuable exchanges of experience, insights and sharing. Trust, Risk, Security – these are the three key lenses to assess Gen AI through. Stay focused on those. Can you trust the outputs; is it introducing any substantial risks; is it safe and secure? Treat Gen AI like any other tech you’ve used, implemented or experimented with in your career. Apply the same principles and best practices that have always guided you. Don’t try to build your own – the cloud providers are all developing a host of applications and services, so make use of those. We are entering the “Gen AI as a service” era. As an example of how we are approaching it at NashTech, we’re actively trialling it and are about to start using a ChatGPT product, which we have developed and fine-tuned ourselves based on GPT4, for first line tech support for clients. A place to thrive These are exciting times. No one can really be sure of the scale of the changes to come, but we can be sure that they’re going to be significant. The advent of Gen AI has parallels with the advent of low-code/no-code in the last decade. Although low-code has replaced bespoke software development in many ways, there are actually more software developers now than a decade ago. This is because low-code/no-code, and also Gen AI, will always focus on the low hanging fruit of software development. Once those fruits have been picked, forward thinking enterprises are keen to climb the tree further for the next innovation, and usually that requires bespoke work. How high is the tree and will Gen AI/low-code ever get to the top of it? We think very, very high, and no. So, I don’t believe there is any danger of ‘RIP software developer’. Tech will remain a place where humans can thrive, building on the ever-more sophisticated outputs that AI brings us.

With 70 per cent of organisations struggling to keep up with the pace of change due to a skills shortage, digital leaders need to get creative with filling those gaps. Lily Haake, Head of Technology & Digital Executive Search at Harvey Nash and George Lynch, Head of Technology Advisory at NashTech share their thoughts in this article, which first appeared on ComputerWeekly.com. The technology market continues to be hampered by severe skills gaps and talent shortages, a problem which shows no sign of abating. In the 2022 Nash Squared Digital Leadership report, 70% of digital leaders said skills shortages are preventing them from keeping up with the pace of change. Everything from data analysts to cybersecurity specialists and technical architects are in short supply and in high demand. There are many facets to a successful talent recruitment strategy – attractive remuneration, flexible working arrangements, a strong brand, and a clear and compelling employee value proposition – but another key aspect is who you target. We would argue that exceptional times mean CIOs and other digital leaders must look beyond the traditional, established intake groups and channels. Fishing in non-traditional pools needs to become an integral part of the talent strategy. Here are five non-traditional groups/approaches that we believe are rich in potential, along with our thoughts on how to access them, based on what we are seeing amongst our clients in the market. 1. Recruitment remotely from overseas In the post-Covid, hybrid working environment, a new truth is being established: anyone can work for anybody from anywhere. Last year’s Digital Leadership Report established that this has already become a pattern – a quarter of UK organisations said that they had begun to recruit people based abroad. It’s an extraordinary thought that you may have people who are part of your team that you’ve never physically met – but it’s a reality today. Talent sourcing from overseas is no longer a cost-driven decision, but rather a simple matter of availability. We are seeing evidence of this growing trend in the tech sector, with Home Office data recently showing that the number of applications for new skilled worker visas and visa extensions for programmers and software developers were up 36% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021. If the talent exists in another market, why not bring it on board? Employment law and regulation can be a barrier in some cases but is rarely insurmountable. Accessing this talent is partly about finding a way to recruit with a global reach and mindset, and clearly, partners who have an international presence can help here. It’s also about taking advantage of today’s ‘global village’ – people are more connected with other people through social media and networking sites, so take advantage of that through contacts, recommendations and targeted outreach. 2. Automation and generative AI If you can’t find the people, could a machine do it for you instead? This may apply more to processes than whole roles, but what we’re seeing amongst technology teams is that they are eager embracers of generative AI in particular to help them do more with less, more quickly. In the tech team context, it doesn’t directly replace the need for people, but it can help them become more productive. This can have a longer-term easing effect on the recruitment challenge – instead of bringing in three people, maybe one person with expertise in using generative AI will achieve the same results? And that person can then help upskill the rest of the team so that they can harness it too. As a digital leader, make sure you’re actively exploring the possibilities of ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Github Copilot and the proliferating array of generative AI tools coming onto the market. And don’t forget ‘traditional’ automation too – you’re used to helping the business automate its workflows and processes, but are you turning the lens onto your own function as well? 3. Low Code/No Code It’s a simple equation: moving more technology onto low code/no code platforms will mean that fewer human tech skills are required. Rather than a software engineer, for example, a technical business analyst may be able to use a drag-and-drop platform to build an app themselves – perhaps with some extra support around specific aspects of security and data. It’s fair to say that low code/no code solutions are often regarded with some antipathy by traditional engineers and coders. Leaders need to be sensitive to this. But it feels like we have reached an inflection point. There is undoubtedly a middle ground where it can be exactly the right solution – and one that helps manage down the skills shortage pressure. 4. Cross-training and returners The problem is not that talent has disappeared – it’s how to access it. It’s essential to keep your intake channels open to as wide a range of sources as possible. Graduate intake is obviously key for some organisations, but less traditional mechanisms such as apprenticeships and programmes specifically geared to attracting more diverse talent are gaining huge traction. It’s also about recognising talent and ability at every stage of the career lifecycle – returning mothers, for example, and older workers looking to get back into the workforce. Don’t overlook the ‘double deeps’ either – people who are already working for you in one role, who worked in a technology role earlier in their career. They may need some support and upskilling, but there could be a wealth of technology talent hiding in plain sight. There are providers that can set up and run targeted talent intake schemes for you at pace. For example, Black Valley who specialise in recruiting black heritage tech talent in London, while at Harvey Nash a number of providers are supporting us with our own hire-train-deploy scheme, NextGen, which will launch next month. Meanwhile, there is a plethora of jobs boards focused on specific groups such as returning mothers. Understand what’s out there and develop your strategy to leverage it. 5. Outsourcing Outsourcing is not a ‘new’ tactic by any means – but it is changing. Whereas it used to be primarily about handing over a brief for a product or service and letting it run, we’re seeing organisations looking at their outsourcing providers very much as an extension of their own teams. It is less a case of ‘them and us’ now, and more about finding a service provider that supplements the team’s available talent and resources. You could almost say that outsourcing has become more like insourcing now! As a digital leader, ask yourself whether your outsourcing arrangements are helping strengthen your talent position rather than merely providing an arms’ length service. Is it enabling a process of co-creation? These are five non-traditional talent pools that we regard as key – but arguably there is a sixth, too: not doing a project. Key here is discussing the resourcing strategy of potential projects right up front, even before the project is signed off. What technically might look good on paper will stay there – on paper – if there is no one available to build it and often, deciding not to pursue a project or implementation where there are skills gaps is simply the more pragmatic and productive option. Or, alternatively, choose a technology that might be a slightly less bleeding-edge solution for which you do have the skills required. Talent is an ongoing challenge and there is no ‘silver bullet’. But widening your perspective has become an indispensable part of the solution. Think about a broader set of talent groups and, with your recruitment provider, work out the most effective strategy to reach them. Think too about how you can make emerging technology work harder for your own team. These measures won’t solve the problem on their own – but they could have a significant positive impact.