How to retain employees in the tech industry
One of the great concerns facing tech employers right now, is how to retain employees and understand what prospective new recruits are looking for in their next placement. With the Great Resignation due to continue throughout 2022, being able to attract and retain top tech talent will help companies to continue to thrive, grow and innovate.
A big part of this is listening to your employees and understanding what they’re looking for in their positions. This could involve surveying your current workforce, to identify trends and patterns on how your existing team feel in their roles. If you do have an employee give notice, then perform an exit interview, which gives you the opportunity to find out whether there was anything more you could have done/offered as an employer that would have factored into their decision to leave. This helps to build a deeper understanding of what tech employees are looking for in their role, as well as to help craft future recruitment adverts to attract the best new talent to complement your team.
Transparency is important. When you’re looking for new team members, be upfront about what you’re offering in terms of salary, benefits, perks and company culture. When comparing multiple job opportunities, it helps candidates to apply for the roles they feel fit with their own aspirations, ethics and experience. Individualising your recruitment copy and being specific about exactly the kind of person you’re looking for, will help ensure that by the time you get to the interview stage, you’re meeting with candidates who are already likely to be interested, engaged and suitable. This is an area that a specialist recruitment agency can help you with.
With such a high demand for good IT and tech employees, as a company you need to stand out from the outset, and then follow through by offering a good employee experience from day one. This involves looking after an employee as an individual person, and making sure that they have support to help them do their roles, progress through the company and look after their mental well-being. Having a people-first focus will help employees to feel more secure and valued in their roles, and therefore less likely to leave.
Looking after younger employees
Workforce surveys from various sources all show that those most likely to leave their current IT role this year are younger employees. While it’s not realistic to expect graduates to stay in one position or company for the whole span of their careers, it’s worth ensuring that positions in your company are attractive to this younger generation. According to Computerworld, more than half of the tech workforce will be so-called Gen Z or Millennials (between them covering roughly workers of graduate age to around 40) by 2025. Therefore, it's important to have awareness, as a business, of what these employees are seeking in their employment.
This detailed article by Computerworld, explains the key factors that younger employees are looking for when it comes to staying in their current position or when searching for a new role. The top factors are higher salaries, better benefits (mainly in terms of healthcare), strong leadership, flexible working options and a strong company culture. Other considerations include a good work/life balance, mental health support and working for a company that matches their own personal moral and ethical values. There also needs to be adequate opportunity for progression, training and leadership roles.
Here at Spectrum IT, we work with you in partnership to source and hire the best IT & Technology candidates from across the South/South East. If you want to work with us and benefit from our knowledge of the sector when it comes to hiring and retaining the very best talent in the area, download our brochure today.