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“70% of digital leaders state that a skills shortage prevents them from keeping up with the pace of change” . Enterprise and Technical Architecture have become among the most in-demand skillsets in technology, as to specialist researchers such as Nash Squared*. It is a major challenge, as it requires a unique set of skills and experience that are not common among IT professionals, and because of the current fierce competition for this type of profile on the market.

Moreover, together with the shift to more agile organisational models, the role of the Business and IT Architect keeps evolving on a hard and soft level and becomes even more vital to create sustainable business agility.  As system thinkers they grasp the complexity of an organisation by using the right models and expertise and create the compass to guide decision makers in the transformation. Today, they need to be genuine change agents and catalysts who can  be the driving force of the digital transformation of the organisation. A successful architect is very broadly active in the organisation (as a generalist) and typically also someone who wants to keep learning and growing. Keeping these people on board is a matter of fully activating the intrinsic motivation (mastery, purpose, autonomy). 

To address  this challenge, some companies reach out to external staffing. This often turns out not to be a sustainable solution, with high attrition rates among experts who do not have the necessary engagement . 

What is then the solution? 

Companies should prioritise investing in developing their own people to retain and create happy (engaged) employees fitting into their culture. This means designing a fit-for-purpose growth programme for both the individuals and the teams.

(*) Nash Squared Digital Leadership Report 2022