Proactively Building a Tech Workforce for the Future

Organizations across all industries are planning for their technology workforce for the future stacked with data analysis, artificial intelligence, business analysis and other sought-after skills. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Lightcast, the tech workforce will grow twice as fast as the overall U.S. workforce over the next 10 years while the replacement rate for tech occupations will average about 6%, or 350,000 per year through 2034. Attracting and keeping skilled tech talent will continue to be competitive, which may challenge credit unions.

It is the nature of most credit unions to operate with lean IT teams. In these situations, tech workers do their best to keep up with the daily pace of managing applications, infrastructure, compliance and cybersecurity. This is especially true for small institutions, which make up more than half of all credit unions. Stretching day-to-day tasks across a few people leaves little time to invest in automation, AI, cyber defense or upskilling in modern technologies. Overextending IT staff can lead to burnout and leave credit unions vulnerable, but many don't find out until a critical technology staffer leaves or a cybersecurity event happens.

Credit union CEOs and board members may not know these risks exist, and IT leaders should not assume the risks alone. Assessing, maintaining and evolving your tech workforce should include a long-term technology and IT workforce plan to help avoid these risks.

IT Landscape Assessments Are as Critical as Business Strategy

Credit unions revamp long-term business strategies every few years and start each year with a business plan. Analyzing the long-term IT landscape at least every three years, with annual checkups, should be an equal priority. This assessment should highlight significant risks, steps to mitigate each risk, and outline how your credit union will support tech employees' career initiatives and the credit union's growth.

Heads of IT can use a successful approach to assess the IT landscape that includes exploring objectives and challenges from the people, process and technology perspectives. These insights can help leaders identify gaps and create a ready-to-use technology workforce plan. The results will reveal if there are enough employees with the right skills to achieve strategic business objectives and the IT infrastructure needed to support them – without overextending team members.

Start by Getting to Know Your People

Whether IT teams are large or small, the first step is to understand the team's current skills and each employee's career goals. Use individual development plans (IDPs) to document the information and track progress. Credit unions use business strategies to advance their objectives, but employees rarely consider developing a strategy to achieve their career aspirations. Encourage IT workers to leverage their IDP as a strategy to further their career. Cross training, stretch projects or outside certification programs and continuing education can help teams strengthen their skills.

Tracking hours is another helpful tool in understanding your team. This does not mean micromanaging. Instead, tracking time helps make sure tech employees are working on the most valuable initiatives and tasks and are not overextended to the point they might compromise quality or security. It also helps avoid burnout and employee turnover. Understanding where employees spend their time, along with their skills and goals, will be valuable to help place people in the right roles and arm them with the necessary skills to help the organization and employees achieve long-term objectives.

Dig Into Processes

Removing repetitive tasks can free up time for professional development and projects that enable credit union growth and improve employee and member experiences. Thoroughly review procedures and workflows to identify bottlenecks and uncover opportunities to streamline repetitive tasks through automation or outsourcing to trusted partners.

Data from time tracking can also identify processes that should be reengineered or automated. Identify tasks IT team members spend the most time on and tag them as potential opportunities for automation. As America's Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote in a letter to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in January 2024, "From member service interactions to AI chat-bots to mortgage origination – credit unions are seeing firsthand how AI is increasing staff efficiency, automating previously laborious tasks, reducing paperwork and expediting loan decision making processes."

Evaluate Technology Needs

We can count on today's automation, machine learning and AI trends continuing to evolve into new and better efficiency opportunities. No matter the trends, it is critical to get the foundation right. Do the necessary discovery to confirm there are adequate controls and governance in place prior to determining the technology that will work best for your organization. This includes continuously looking at your credit union's future needs, your existing technology infrastructure and current processes. Then circle back to your IT staff skillset evaluations to identify areas for further development and growth. Some credit unions opt to bring in trusted partners to build deeper IT skills faster.

A critical event does not have to happen for credit unions to become proactive. It takes continuous planning to build the tech workforce that will help your credit union be successful in the future. Engage your CEO, board members and other stakeholders to ensure your technology and workforce plans stay in sync with the credit union's broader strategies. The result will be a positive impact on your credit union's bottom line, member experiences and IT employees' job satisfaction.