USA 
United KingdomJulia Braun
Chief Human Resources Officer at SoftwareOne
Julia Braun, CHRO at SoftwareOne reveals how the company is defeating the digital skills gap with a one-of-a-kind academy, support for women and working parents, and much more...
Julia Braun
Chief Human Resources Officer at SoftwareOne
Julia Braun, CHRO at SoftwareOne reveals how the company is defeating the digital skills gap with a one-of-a-kind academy, support for women and working parents, and much more...
Research shows nearly every business is currently struggling with a cloud and IT skills gap.
Employers must work hard to attract and recruit the right quantity and quality of talent into their business; and even harder to retain them. Offering meaningful development is critical to both address knowledge gaps and keep highly-prized workers from having their head turned.
Julia Braun, Chief Human Resources Officer at SoftwareOne is grappling with these challenges first-hand as she wages war on tech talent shortfalls within her business. Her firm belief is that if businesses are proactive, their digital skills gaps are 'inherently fixable.'
In this exclusive HR Grapevine interview, Braun maps out the vital tech and people strategies that are helping her deliver against the high bar for employee experience demanded today, including the SoftwareOne Academy which operates across 28 countries, boasts a 91% transfer rate of graduates into the business, and has driven down attrition rates in some markets to virtually zero.
Because the tech talent market is facing a significant imbalance. Our recent global survey found that 95% of businesses are grappling with a cloud and IT skills gap.
The root of the problem lies in the rapid evolution of technology. Skills that are in high demand today might not have existed a few years ago. For instance, Microsoft research shows that 76% of employees believe they need AI skills to stay competitive in the future job market. This creates a situation where even recent graduates find themselves unprepared for the current needs of the industry. And those who do possess the right skills are in an unprecedented position of choice, making the competition for their talents fiercer than ever.
It’s a challenge facing everyone, but at SoftwareOne we’ve decided it’s a challenge we’ll rise to rather than just settling for a shortfall in talented candidates.
We've recognized that the traditional approach of competing for the same pool of experienced professionals is unsustainable. Instead, we're focusing on often-overlooked talent sources. Young people outside major tech hubs. Career changers looking to enter the tech industry. Parents returning to work after a career break. These groups bring fresh perspectives and diverse experiences that enrich our workforce and drive innovation.
We've developed several initiatives to tap into these pools. We've also found that taking a truly global approach is key. By assessing untapped talent markets and educational outputs across countries, we can make strategic decisions about where to hire and invest in training. This global perspective results in a stronger, more diverse workforce.
Even recent graduates find themselves unprepared for the current needs of the industry. And those who do possess the right skills are in an unprecedented position of choice, making the competition for their talents fiercer than ever
The SoftwareOne Academy is a hugely important piece of the puzzle for our company. Launched in 2021 and now operating in 28 countries, the Academy is a flagship program for addressing the tech skills gap and offers a unique blend of paid employment, extensive on-the-job training, and educational programs.
Inclusivity and hands-on experience are a focus. Candidates from a range of non-traditional backgrounds work on real business projects, gaining actual experience alongside theoretical knowledge.
Each participant is assigned a Tech Mentor, ensuring they have guidance throughout their journey. The impact of the SoftwareOne Academy has been significant. It boasts a 91% transfer rate of graduates into the business. It’s also significantly reduced attrition rates for us in key regions, such as India, Colombia, and Brazil. Those rates are down to near zero from a previous figure of 38%.
It’s one thing to attract great candidates in a tight market but you’ve got to make sure you retain them too—and the Academy is helping us do both.
I believe attracting, supporting and retaining women in tech is an effort that’s essential to overall business success, and one that should be brought to the top of the priority list at every company. At SoftwareOne, we take specific action to make sure we play our part in improving opportunities for women in tech.
From the start of a potential candidate's journey, we’re intentional in leveraging debiasing tools to ensure our job descriptions are inclusive, and we make sure our interview panels are diverse as well. We also provide candidates with the opportunity to speak with women at various levels within the company. We've partnered with organizations like PowertoFly, which focuses on empowering underrepresented talent, including women from various backgrounds. We also collaborate with local NGOs to attract diverse talent.
We regularly analyze our data to identify how areas of the business are performing on diversity benchmarks. In terms of retention, we believe we’ve created a culture that provides an attractive balance of flexibility and support. This includes offering flexible working locations and schedules, as well as programs like our returnship initiative, which helps individuals reintegrate into the workforce after a career gap.
We know there is always more work to do, but we are genuinely seeing results at every level of the company. For example, female candidates have a slightly higher pass-through through rate with us compared to male candidates at some stages of our talent acquisition process — and overall, female candidates who receive a first interview have a 48% likelihood of receiving an offer, compared to 45% for males.
Females also have a strong opportunity for gaining representation at the Leadership level, too, if that’s what they want from their careers. In 2023, for example, women held 37% of senior Leadership positions at SoftwareOne. In addition to my own role at CHRO, I think of my colleagues Sonia Caso, Sales President LATAM, and Susanna Parry-Hoey, Chief Marketing Officer, as examples of women proudly leading our fellow “Swomies” in senior roles.
Building an equitable workplace is a practice that starts at the leadership and policy level, with inclusivity codified to protect employees’ rights to fair treatment and compensation. SoftwareOne makes a concerted effort to promote diversity in leadership and across job functions, elevating varied perspectives, encouraging dialogue around DE&I, and providing the resources and training necessary to provide equal opportunities. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that an equitable strategy needs to be dynamic. HR leaders need to be constantly assessing progress, soliciting feedback, and pivoting strategies as needed based on external shifts.
The big takeaway I would point to is that talent and knowledge gaps are inherently fixable issues. The key is adopting an open-minded, understanding attitude that meets employees where they are in their careers
We genuinely want to nurture the connection between professional and personal lives at this company. It’s a head-and-heart thing. Your head tells you, 'This is what fosters engagement, increases productivity, and improves overall retention.' More importantly, your heart tells you, 'This is what makes people happy and fulfilled.'
That’s why we’ve implemented policies and programs specially designed to support working parents including enhanced parental leave that surpasses regulatory requirements in many countries including the UK and US; flexible working hours from day one of employment; a phased return-to-work program that includes re-onboarding opportunities; internal peer-to-peer sharing groups for parents; adoption assistance and additional resources for those with children with disabilities; access to unique resources such as Milk Stork for US-based employees, a global service that helps traveling mothers ship breast milk home while she is away and traveling on business.
These policies are designed to support all working parents, whether through domestic partnerships, adoption, or other means of building a family.
The big takeaway I would point to is that talent and knowledge gaps are inherently fixable issues. The key is adopting an open-minded, understanding attitude that meets employees where they are in their careers. Fostering closer connections between team members is crucial. Each generation of talent tends to include a mix of different personalities, workflow preferences, and training styles. Creating understanding across these differences is critical to cultivating an engaged, productive, and diverse workforce. We've learned that teams should be constructed holistically, encouraging diversity of thought, and teaching new employees through experience.
The short answer is, proactively. We will look to anticipate skill gaps before they become critical and fine-tune our training programs and recruitment strategies accordingly. We will continue building on the proven strengths of the SoftwareOne Academy, fostering partnerships with educational institutions globally. And we will enrich our culture of continuous learning within SoftwareOne, investing in personalized learning paths for our colleagues and enabling them to upskill or reskill as they choose.
Passion is one of our most important values at SoftwareOne—and we’re particularly passionate about continuing to build our reputation as being a great place to work.
