‘Train to retain’ staff key after pandemic

This year's it@cork Leaders Awards will be a ‘celebration of innovation, impact, and excellence’

Gillian Bergin Rretention strategies will be key for employers over the next 12 months, because they will not want to lose good knowledge, talent, and IT’.
Picture: Darragh Kane

THE week ahead is important for Gillian Bergin and her colleagues at it@cork. They are making final preparations for their annual Leaders Awards on December 3, one of the highlights in the organisation’s calendar.

Acknowledging the best of southwest’s ICT community, the awards encompass tech-enabled organisations, renowned multinationals, disruptive start-ups, SMEs, and emerging companies. Recognising those who have gone further than most in using technology in their organisations and businesses, this year’s awards will be a ‘celebration of innovation, impact, and excellence’.

Some 93% of employees said they would stay longer in a company that invested in their development.

While this year’s event will be no less celebratory than usual, the restrictions of Covid-19 will influence the format.

“The Leaders Awards is one of our two major flagship annual events, along with our Tech Fest in May. All our nominations are in and the judging panels are under way in meeting the finalists,” Ms Bergin says.

“We are acutely aware of our responsibility regarding social distancing and safety measures, which have limited the extent of the event.

"That said, we are living in a time where good news is badly needed, and these awards really do underline the depth of talent and exciting enterprises emerging in the region’s tech sector.

"We are firing on all cylinders for an event that will be nothing but great news for the southwest region.”

In addition to its central role of promoting Cork and the southwest of Ireland as a centre of excellence for the technology sector, it@cork maintains strong links with academia, the private sector, and State agencies. It is also a member of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform and is active in collaboration opportunities with other European technology clusters.

“The post-Covid working environment will be very different,” Ms Bergin says.

"I see challenges and opportunities for Irish and global businesses, and I would see the area of leadership and people management being very different going forward.

"As a result of the remote-working shift, it will be a very different world, and there will be many managers who will find themselves leading large, globally diverse, time-zone diverse, and culturally diverse teams. If that kind of leadership doesn’t come naturally to them, or if they’re not trained to it, some of them will not thrive in that kind of environment.”

The it@cork message around leadership over the coming 12 months will be ‘train to retain’. 

In the last 18 months, vast sections of the global workforce have rethought their employment experience, so a solid retention strategy has become vital for all businesses. 

Investing in staff

According to LinkedIn’s 2018 Workforce Learning Report, 93% of employees said they would stay longer in a company that invested in their development.

“As part of our it@cork skillnet, we will be focusing on making it easier for employers to train their managers and people leaders, because to assume they can automatically move into great leadership in these type of roles is a mistake.”

With the welcome move toward apprenticeships, people as young as 17 will be entering the workforce, while, on the other end of the scale, there is the push to delay the retirement age, as people want to work beyond 65.

“Many organisations are multi-generational working on the same teams, with each generation having different needs and expectations of employers.

Companies will need to train their people managers in how to effectively manage in this complex environment.

Ms Bergin highlights diversity and inclusion as another focus area where it@cork will be leaning in. Having joined it@cork in 2013, she has witnessed significant sectoral changes: 

Remote working has changed how employers must deal with staff.

“Right from the start, I saw it as an organisation with a hugely diverse membership, representing both mainstream tech companies as well as visionary start-ups in creative innovative technologies.

“Over the past eight years, I’ve seen it@cork grow and evolve and become firmly established as a voice for the sector across the region.”

Ms Bergin works as senior consultant at Dell Technologies for business transformation. 

“I’ve been with Dell Technologies for 28 years. My role is about driving transformational change across global teams, creating environments where innovation flourishes, and removing impediments, so teams can move fast and with agility.”

Always attracted to the balance of tech and business, they influenced her direction of study and career choices. Having graduated with a BA in economics and computer science from University College Cork, she adds to her work at Dell and it@cork commitments with a blog that addresses topics such as careers in tech, business transformation, personal development, and the future of work.

Stem and women

Encouraging more women into Stem (science, technology, engineering, maths) also ranks high among her ambitions.

Women like to see other women succeeding and having an impact in Stem careers before they can see themselves in those roles, she says, and quotes activist Marian Wright Edelman:

You cannot be what you cannot see.

Ms Bergin’s own career was inspired by the women who blazed a trail before her: 

“I have been very fortunate that throughout my career, in the companies I have worked for which had strong female role models — from software engineers, developers, testers, and programme managers to directors and board-level VPs — all were delighted to share their experience and offer advice and encouragement.

"It’s up to all of us to share that message and support each other in our career journeys.”

Ms Bergin sees Cork and its hinterland doing well through the current decade. “It will continue to thrive, though it might look a little different,” Ms Bergin says.

"The technology industry needs to evolve to stay relevant, and there will certainly be plenty of jobs there."

The ease of movement between those jobs will be much greater as more barriers come down. 

“People who once came into the cities from rural areas because of jobs can now return to those rural areas and still work for large global leaders.

“Retention strategies will be key for employers over the next 12 months, because they will not want to lose good knowledge, talent, and IT.”