Story by Ivy Secrest
Published November 14, 2022
The field of Information Technology (IT) has become incredibly competitive in the modern era. The demand is higher than ever for IT professionals, and for the Division of IT at Colorado State University that means needing to kick-start a hiring initiative, changing the way they hire within the division.
Making recruitment a top priority
Divisional priorities have always valued growing our team by hiring high-quality professionals, but it’s complex. While previous strategies have been an ebb and flow of posting jobs with the hope of good results, the new initiative will sequence concurrent searches to reduce inefficiencies in the search process so that positions can be filled more rapidly.
Kris Seidel, Senior HR Manager for the Division, shared, “We are now managing our searches like a project. We have assigned project management, established an aggressive timeline, created assignments, implemented a communications plan and we conduct bi-weekly check-in meetings to ensure that we are staying on track. We are also working with a recruitment outsourcing agency to increase exposure to our job postings. Our goals for hiring are aggressive for an organization of our size, so the pace can be a bit uncomfortable at times, but we are committed to filling our vacant positions quickly so that we can continue to serve CSU to the highest standard”.
“We currently have a great opportunity to shape the future of the Division of IT as we look to hire 20+ team members in the coming months,” Brandon Bernier, Vice President of IT wrote in email correspondence. “This effort will not only allow us to help advance CSU today, but it will set the stage for the future by bringing in new technologists, functional experts, and leaders who bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to our team.”
The demand for IT support has continued to grow as a result of the pandemic and increasing reliance on technology. In order to keep pace with this demand, a number of employees have taken on additional responsibilities while waiting for the previously long hiring processes to provide additional support. The collaboration across teams was greatly supported by DoIT staff members; however, after several months of picking up the slack due to open positions, it has become even more pressing to address the vacant positions that will enable the Division to move beyond just keeping the trains running on time.
Mission-focused, value-driven team
Like most higher education institutions, CSU finds it difficult to attract highly talented IT professionals, primarily as the level of compensation a university provides, pales in comparison to a large corporation. Often it is the culture and mission of CSU that attracts individuals to work for the Division of IT, who play a significant role in supporting faculty research, student learning, and administrative operations for the University. There are also benefits to being part of a Division that values a diverse and inclusive workforce and environment, where collegiality, reliability, service, community, and simplicity, are at the forefront of our work.
Benefits such as remote and hybrid work and community engagement are also important to our staff members, creating the healthy balance between work and personal needs. These values are not only upheld in the community, but also expected of new hires.
“It’s important that all staff members help in advancing the Division of IT values (Community, Collegiality, Reliability, Service, and Simplicity) and our Purpose Statement (Innovating IT, Empowering CSU),” said Bernier. “For us, we don’t want these to just be words, but we want them embodied in the actions and work of all of our staff members. It’s important to use the hiring process to ensure we find team members who are dedicated to supporting these actions. This initiative will help us set the stage for the future of the Division of IT as we continue to bring in new team members who will help us evolve our services, culture, and our impact on campus,” said Bernier.
Division of IT employees at CSU are adamantly committed to the mission of the institution, where the average years of service for our employees is 13 years. Many of DoIT’s long-standing employees often voice that it is the CSU community that keeps them here, which is something the Division hopes will continue, especially as our staff have the opportunity to engage in a number of activities and events that are geared toward personal enrichment and professional development.
For those individuals who enjoy the benefits of working for a higher education institution that includes a supportive and dynamic work environment, the Division of IT at CSU will likely have some appeal. With the new hiring initiative speeding along the process, the hiring team is hoping to fill positions at a much higher velocity.