What happens when there’s a crisis and you need to hire an IT or cybersecurity professional fast? If your company’s data was compromised, would you have to secure it as soon as possible?
Two recent situations in Toronto highlighted the chaos that can ensue when a hospital network issued a ‘code grey’ as their entire digital systems went down two weeks after a separate children’s hospital was hit with a ransomware attack. In dire circumstances like these, where time is of the essence, there may not seem to be many options available to you – but that’s where direct sourcing, like SkillGigs, comes in.
What is a “Code Grey?”
A “code grey” is an emergency code in British Columbia, Canada, indicating a situation where a facility has been hit with a massive systems failure that requires immediate action. The term comes from codes used by the military, but it has since been adopted by many other organizations. Regionally, emergency codes are different in Canada, and the United States has its own set of codes (which would use the term “Internal Triage” to refer to a similar situation).
When your company or facility are in a state of emergency, like a systems outage or cybersecurity threat, and need to hire IT/cybersecurity talent immediately, there often aren’t enough qualified candidates available. This can take an emergency from bad to worse very in a flash.
You might get lucky and quickly find someone who has some of the right experience, but may not have the skills or knowledge necessary for your company’s specific needs, lives too far away, or is already engaged with other clients.
The seriousness of not having the right talent when hit by a “code grey”-like crisis
When there’s an emergency, organizations need to be prepared to address their staffing needs quickly and effectively. In order to do so, they should have in place a comprehensive strategy to identify, screen, and source talent at a moment’s notice. This strategy includes:
- Identifying key skills required by the organization’s objectives and requirements
- Identifying internal or external candidates with those skills who can be engaged immediately or at short notice
- Developing an effective process for evaluating potential hires based on their fit with these requirements
Are traditional hiring methods efficient during emergencies?
No, traditional methods for sourcing talent are not the most effective in an emergency (like a “code grey” or systems crash). They often require too much work, take too long, and don’t quickly produce the right candidates. Finding the right talent in the fastest way possible ensures that your crisis doesn’t have more time to grow, and the talent you find is actually available.
It’s also important that the candidate has certain qualities: They need to be able to work under pressure, they need the right mixture of skills, and they should be able to work and respond at any given moment during an emergency. Traditional recruiting fails at all of those requirements.
What are my options?
The only way to achieve those goals, find the best candidates, and avoid the pitfalls of antiquated traditional hiring practices is easy to see: Direct sourcing. It’s simple, straightforward, and effective, while also being faster and more pain-free.
In times of crisis, when you need to source IT/cybersecurity talent in an emergency, SkillGigs can help. SkillGigs is a platform that allows you to directly source talent based on skills matches, not the biases or guesses of a traditional recruiter. Think of it like e-commerce for cybersecurity and IT talent – you see what you like at the price you can afford and click “buy.”
Curious about Skillgigs? CLICK HERE!
Interested in Travel Healthcare? CLICK HERE!
Grow your Travel Nursing Career. Apply directly to the Facility with Swipefox!
