Digital Skills Gap
The ever-increasing demand for Salesforce skills and the inadequate rate at which new talent can be created to meet it continues to be a pressing issue. The digital skills gap is a big problem that’s made up of many ‘smaller’ concerns: outdated education, poor awareness and communication around opportunities in tech, and a lack of diversity and inclusion in the industry to name just a few.
But with significant efforts having been undertaken to bridge the skills gap over the past few years, by Salesforce, its partners, and community organizations alike, it appears the needle is moving gradually in the right direction. Our survey data indicates some movement on the skills gap front. Currently, 56% of hiring managers (down from 63% in our previous survey) acknowledge the existence of an IT skills gap within the Salesforce community. Of those respondents, 46% indicate that the skills gap has increased in the past 12 months, a decline from 55% in our previous study.
What is your organization’s biggest challenge in closing the digital skills gap?
Among those who believe there is an IT skills gap, 52% highlight the scarcity of qualified talent as the main challenge in bridging the skills gap in their organization. This is a shift from our last survey, where the time taken to find talent ranked as the top concern—this now ranks second.
To what extent is the skills gap affecting organizations’ strategic objectives?
- Severely
6%
- Significantly
36%
- Moderately
44%
- Minorly
12%
- Insignificantly
1%
How is the skills gap impacting businesses’ strategic objectives?
Increased workload of current staff
Increased costs due to hiring contractors
Less growth than expected
| Increased turnover (e.g., as a result of employee burnout or losing staff to competitors) | 34% |
| Difficulty keeping up with demand for services | 34% |
| Missing project deadlines | 27% |
| Decreased profitability | 20% |
| Other | 2% |
Under two-thirds (57%) of hiring managers express concern about the impact of the skills gap on their organization's performance.
How are organizations looking to address the skills gap?
- Building skills in-house
62%
- Hiring new permanent staff
45%
- Hiring contractors
30%
- Not sure
8%
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Conclusion
Though the skills shortage may be easing off a fraction, finding and keeping talent with the right skills is still a major challenge for Salesforce customers and partners alike. With an incredible 99% of respondents stating that the skills gap is having an effect on their organization’s ability to achieve its objectives, there’s obviously a lot more work to be done to bolster the Salesforce talent pool and make sure every business has access to the talent they need.
Plugging the skills gap is a vital concern, especially because it’s not just the seats businesses can’t fill that have an impact. Half of our respondents said that the struggle to find Salesforce candidates was creating higher workloads for existing employees, potentially leading to burnout and attrition of staff that businesses can’t afford to lose. Increased spending on contractors is another issue resulting from the skills shortage, with 38% of respondents citing its effect on the attainment of its strategic goals.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the Salesforce ecosystem.
