Workforce: Evolve or Become Extinct

Published:: Monday, August 22, 2022

The higher education workforce is being hit by budget cuts, worker attrition, and widespread burnout. These forces provide a key opportunity for senior leaders and especially CIOs to evolve their institutions through innovative action.

The Intersection of Structure and Culture

Illustration of people holding hands and forming a spiral

With the higher education workforce experiencing its greatest state of fluctuation in recent memory, agility is proving to be an essential asset. Senior leaders and CIOs, regardless of reporting lines, will need to modify job functions, team structures, and work circumstances.

Read The Technology Workforce in Higher Education, 2022

Graph showing the difference in responses between those who report to the president, chancellor, or CEO and those that don't.

The Opportunity in the Crisis

With the "great workforce shakeup" and increased institutional needs, IT leaders can take advantage of new hiring opportunities to create teams with diverse viewpoints. Such groups not only outperform teams with members of similar backgrounds but also better reflect the diversity of the constituents of their institutions.

Explore the EDUCAUSE Inclusive Hiring Kit.

Two people putting together jigsaw puzzle pieces

Where Inclusivity Advancement is Needed in Hiring and Retention: 1. Planning and Recruiting; 2. Screening and Interviewing; 3. Hiring and Onboarding; 4. Inclusivity, Retention, and Belonging; 5. Overcoming Obstacles and Celebrating Success.

The Pathways to Higher Ed Careers

Shifts in the workforce and labor markets are leading to greater competition to develop strong teams and are also resulting in the creation of additional career avenues. IT leaders and other higher education professionals can explore various pathways to plan their careers, assess and develop their skills, and find current job openings.

Navigate the EDUCAUSE Professional Pathways

Pathways help higher education professionals Create A Plan To Move Toward Accomplishing Their Career Goals with information about needed skills, sample positions, and actions they can take immediately to advance in four critical professional areas.

Webinar | Showcase Coffee Shop

Missed the August 25 "Workforce: Evolve or Become Extinct" Showcase webinar? Access the recording to hear from EDUCAUSE researchers, experts in professional learning, and institutional leaders as they discuss strategies for building a more resilient workforce.

Hear from the Community

Go Further

Assess Your Progress

IT Spending and Staffing | CDS Interactive Almanac
EDUCAUSE QuickPoll Results: The Workforce Shakeup EDUCAUSE Review

Learn from Your Peers

Feed Your Curiosity

EDUCAUSE Career Center | Find Qualified Candidates or Your Next Job

Dig Into the Library

Connect with Community Groups

From this showcase, we hope you’ll take away workforce strategies to help evolve your institution. Next up, we'll explore strategies to keep your IT organization flexible, with insights from the future generation of technology leaders, benchmarks related to IT spending and staffing, and DEI tools to use at your institution in Future-Proof: The Flexible IT Organization launching September 19.