Recruiting Advantage: What’s working to attract and retain key IT talent!
We talk to IT professionals and IT hiring managers every day. While some other industries may have their own unique challenges, we are hearing an overwhelming majority of professionals saying three main factors influence their decision to either stay at their current position or choose a new role.
These three areas can provide a recruiting advantage to attract and retain key talent:
FLEXIBILITY
According to a survey by Bain & Co. (via Bloomberg), U.S. workers indicate that flexibility is tied for second as the most significant motivator when evaluating a job, landing only behind compensation and benefits. Bloomberg
For those companies requiring employees return to the office, a hybrid schedule is very appealing to maintain the work life balance achieved in the last few years. Remote roles are very appealing to candidates and could be a difference maker in creating a competitive talent acquisition strategy. Additionally, this broadens the talent pool to additional candidates that companies could not have previously considered for their roles.
“In a twist of fate, companies now find themselves offering remote and hybrid options as a strategy for retaining talent rather than for any performance considerations—after all, you can’t boost employee efficiency if you don’t have employees.” Forbes
EXCITING / NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Tech team members want to feel motivated and challenged in their daily work. “…the top technical talents are looking for one thing: excitement. Whether it’s working on a new project, learning a new technology or tackling a new challenge on an existing project, it’s all about having something to stimulate their mind. I recommend keeping an eye out for any team members who may be getting into a rut—consider a new assignment to keep them engaged.” Dave Todaro, Ascendle
In a Stack Overflow study developers reported they want the chance to experiment with new technologies as first on their list, followed by a supportive company and workplace. The developers who participated in the study also show a commitment to continuous learning. 75% noted that they learn a new technology at least every few months or once a year and 37% learn something new every few months. “This demonstrates how quickly innovations happen and developers are constantly learning to keep their skills fresh,” the StackFlow survey’s authors report.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT / UPSKILLING
“The already tight labor market just became even tighter as competition for tech talent reaches near-record levels. For any employer relying on the old hiring playbook, it’s time to rethink approaches to recruiting and retention,” Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA
Upskilling or reskilling existing employees is another opportunity to address hiring gaps. “Looking ahead, the most successful companies aren’t just reducing requirements — they’re building relationships with alternate training programs to signal their interest to candidates early on,” Jamie Kohn, a research director in Gartner’s Human Resource practice.
According to Gartner 58% of job candidates today say they’ve taken courses in the last year to learn skills outside of their current job. “As a result, we’ve seen an increase in reskilling programs for particularly hard-to-fill tech positions, such as enterprise architecture and data science,” Kohn said. “The key is to identify which baseline skills give the best chance of success for developing the needed skills.”
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