Have you planned to develop an AI-based app or AI-based software for your business? If yes, then you must know that it is not easy to find the right AI developers with the required skills. There are many companies that are looking to find the right people with strong skills and experience in AI. It is like finding a needle in a haystack. But don’t worry! We will tell you the major issues that you may encounter while hiring AI developers and how you can overcome these challenges.

Common Challenges in Hiring AI Developers:

1. Talent Shortage:

With the exponential growth of AI in the last few years due to its broad usage in every industry, such as e-commerce, real estate, pharmaceutical, etc, there has been a high demand for AI developers. However, there has always been a shortage of AI developers in the market, as only a few have reliable skills. As per a report by Tencent, there are just 300,000 AI researchers and practitioners worldwide, and there is a demand for millions in the market.

Also, the demand for AI experts will continue to grow exponentially in the market as more and more companies realize the potential of AI and its use cases. AI is capable of doing almost everything from driverless cars and smart cities to healthcare diagnostics and natural language processing.

2. Technical Expertise:

AI development is much more complex than traditional software, web, or mobile development. It requires a profound knowledge of different ideas and technologies. AI, whose building blocks are machine learning algorithms, allows computers to learn from the data and make decisions on their own. Neural networks are another primary concept of machine learning, particularly in deep learning, which can process great sets of information just like the human brain. Having thorough experience in these models is not everyone’s cup of tea. In addition to this, one should also be a good programmer in languages like Python and R for creating algorithms and working with datasets efficiently. However, due to the specialized nature of this field and intense competition, it could be challenging to locate knowledgeable developers with proficiency in these two languages for artificial intelligence.

3. Lack of Relevant Experience:

It may be possible that the candidates possess the required technical skills of AI development, such as programming languages and machine learning algorithms, but don’t have any hands-on experience working on live projects. They may not have any industry-specific knowledge. Basically, it will lead to misunderstandings about the industries where AI is applied, such as healthcare, e-commerce, fintech, etc.

For example, in the healthcare industry, there is a need for the analysis of medical imaging, drug discovery, or diagnosis of patients by artificial intelligence. Now, if the candidates have technical expertise but no medical industry experience, they will face difficulty in interpreting medical data and understanding healthcare practice regulations. Likewise, in the fintech industry, AI is leveraged for algorithmic trading, fraud detection, and risk assessment, which requires understanding financial markets and regulations.

Suppose you are building applications for the e-commerce industry. In that case, it has more challenges as it involves a plethora of AI use cases, such as product recommendations, customer segmentation, and supply chain optimization. Candidates without prior experience in this domain can’t even understand the fundamental differences in inventory management systems between online retail operations and customer behavior complexities.

4. Cultural Fit and Soft Skills:

Apart from expertise in AI, non-technical skills are also necessary when hiring AI developers. The non-technical skills include problem-solving & critical thinking, analytical and quantitative skills, strong communication and collaborative skills, the ability to work in silos as well as a team member, project management, and organizational skills. The technical skills make a person a good developer, but the non-technical abilities make him a professional whom you can trust for your project.

However, it is difficult for companies to figure out whether the person possesses these soft skills just by taking interviews or tests. This is because, until an individual starts working, they may not always be able to determine how well they will fit into the company culture or how well they will get along with others.

5. High Competition from Tech Giants:

Tech mammoths like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and others give their employees lucrative offers and benefits, making them the first preference of AI specialists. Thus, it becomes difficult for small companies and startups to get AI experts to work for them. Although a small company has much better projects that can provide a lot of learning to beginners, they will still choose these tech giants due to higher salaries or fancy perks. As a result, great AI professionals frequently opt to work for large corporations where they may earn more income and benefits. This makes it difficult for smaller businesses to recruit and hire mobile app developers who can build AI apps.

6. Talent Retention:

After hiring AI developers, getting them to stay put is pretty challenging. It is due to the rapid changes in artificial intelligence technology that open the gate of new opportunities. Due to this, AI developers might leave their current position for something more promising or fascinating.

How to hire AI developers?

AI has the potential to revolutionize every industry, and that’s why the demand for AI developers is skyrocketing. However, hiring the suitable AI candidates is a strenuous task, no matter what the size of your organization. We always recommend opting for AI staff augmentation or dedicated hiring from AI outsourcing companies. In these models, you don’t need to go through the hassle of drafting job descriptions, sourcing candidates, screening resumes and previous work experience, conducting technical assessments, assessing soft skills, and negotiating compensation. Instead, you just need to tell the AI developers your requirements to the outsourcing company. These third-party outsourcing companies hire the best AI professionals with all the required skills and outsource them to other companies that have AI requirements.

The best advantage of opting AI developers outsourcing model is that you are only required to pay for the hours of the project. If you don’t have any further need, you can terminate the services, which is not possible with in-house hiring. Also, it opens the gate to the vast talent pool of AI developers spread across the globe. 

Wrapping Up:

In conclusion, although there are several challenges associated with hiring AI developers, ranging from limited availability to cultural fit and retention, it is possible to mitigate most of these challenges by outsourcing your requirements. AI development companies can provide you with the resources you need for whatever time you require, and you don’t need to face any hassle. At Octal IT Solutions, the best AI development company in India, we have a vast team of AI developers who will become your dedicated resources and will solely work on your projects. Let us know your requirements.