The cybersecurity talent shortage still remains the top concern for most organizations across the globe. Combating this challenge requires them to rethink their approach and reevaluate the benefits they provide to cybersecurity professionals.
Cybersecurity breaches are continuing to be a major cause of concern for most enterprises. With the sophistication of cyber threats, organizations are finding it difficult to tackle these challenges and they are only becoming worse. Organizations are finding it difficult to find individuals who can take on cybersecurity challenges.
In fact, as per a report from Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), 95% of respondents state the cybersecurity skills shortage and its associated impacts have witnessed no sign of improvement in the past couple of years, with 44% saying that it has only become worse. This has led to having a lack of dedicated security professionals along with overworked departments trying to manage massive workloads. Organizations that are hoping to stay safe will require addressing this talent shortage.
Here are a few strategies that organizations can incorporate to attract new employees while simultaneously maximizing the impact of their present workforce:
Reassess the position descriptions
Most of the vacancies associated with cybersecurity job roles are often filled with corporate jargon. This means most of the job roles seem similar with a minimal distinction between them.
While in hindsight it seems obvious that not having attractive and specific job descriptions can deter the type of candidate the organization is seeking. If organizations lack the culture, it does not mean the organization should jump to immediately revamp it. Instead, they should adjust their job descriptions and presentations to paint a picture of their team being ingenious which helps them attract better candidates.
Double down on up skilling
Organizations should acknowledge the critical role of learning and development within their workplace. Whenever it is difficult to find candidates from the outside, they should make it a point to foster growth of skills within the organization. One way for organizations to achieve this is by providing career development opportunities or paying their employees to get new certifications and education. Another way organizations can help to get an experienced employee is by providing on-the-job training that will help them to grow less experienced employees into experts. Providing such opportunities to grow also keep the employees satisfied thereby preventing turnover.
Also Read: Organizations are Struggling to Manage Their Cyber Assets
Decrease cybersecurity workloads
Cybersecurity professionals often feel frustrated and burnt out. Most of them are stressed and under extreme pressure to tackle many challenges at once when they have a small team in place. One way for organizations to counter this is by fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness and should make cybersecurity a shared responsibility across the enterprise firm.
Providing a comprehensive training program to counteract phishing attacks is often enough to prevent it. If employees begin to practice good cyber hygiene, there will be less for security teams and they can focus their efforts on tackling more extensive and more complex challenges. This will also help to mitigate the overall impact of cybersecurity talent shortage.
Takeaway
While the cybersecurity industry continues to witness a shortage in the cybersecurity skill gap, it won’t go on forever. More and more skilled professionals are witnessing the opportunities and exciting challenges are opting to take relevant degrees and certifications to enter the workforce and realize the demand for security professionals.
At the same time, the available cybersecurity professionals will take steps to slowly catch up with the existing gap, thus resolving the issue of talent shortage. Until that happens, organizations can incorporate the above solutions and more to mitigate this impact.
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