The cost of hiring the wrong person is high — from onboarding and training, to re-recruiting and re-onboarding.
The stakes are even higher when it comes to tech talent. Finding the right person, with the right skillset is difficult, and unfortunately will only become more difficult. According to the BLS, the demand for technology occupations will grow 12% by 2024 — far above the average for other sectors, and the supply of candidates won't keep pace. It is estimated that the U.S. already faces a shortage of high tech workers. The pressure to find the right candidates is going to get worse.
If you are wondering how to recruit and retain the tech talent you need, here are three tips that should put you on the right track.
1. Call an expert
Tech is different to other sectors. It requires finding people with very specific, tangible skills. Not all recruiters know how to assess them, and some aren’t even sure what they are. Teaming up with a recruitment firm that specializes in technology recruitment, or better yet for the exact software or kind of programming you need, will pay dividends. They will have the experience and knowledge needed to accurately assess the qualifications of potential candidates, and help your company make smart hiring decisions.
2. Millennial values
Your tech recruitment base is millennials. There are over 50 million of them in the U.S. alone. And what do millennials want? They want innovative workplaces and benefits they can actually use. For example they like flexible schedules, work-from-home options, and an employer culture that respects the fact that its employees have lives. Make sure you speak their language in job descriptions and through your recruiting brand image.
3. Keep the grass greener
A recent study found that tech companies in the Fortune 500 have the highest turnover of any industry, partly due to poaching. It is understandable. If you are a Microsoft Dynamics technical expert, or an experienced Business Intelligence analyst, or Salesforce.com developer—you know that you have options. These individuals don’t stay put if they are unhappy, feel undervalued or are not experiencing the role as it was sold to them. The best thing to do is to make sure that you are offering what you said you would, and that these employees are well managed to ensure they stay happy. In other words, keep your grass greener. Look at competitor’s job descriptions to find out how you fair with regards to packages, or speak to your tech recruitment consultant for advice.
Going to great lengths to find and retain tech talent may seem unnecessary at first—but as the candidate pools continue to dwindle, and as your organisation’s tech needs grow, it will become clear that it IS necessary. It will require thinking creatively about what this intelligent group of individuals need and want, and then delivering it. Those that succeed will end up with an unbeatable team, and as a result, better products and services.
About Oliver Parks
Oliver Parks Consulting offers search-based recruitment solutions to the technology sector, specialising in the ERP, CRM, CMS, ECM, BI and Open Source Technology spaces. The firm’s multilingual consultants operate in narrowly-defined niche market segments, enabling them to gain extensive knowledge of the people and companies operating in each technology. Oliver Parks has a proven track-record with more than 100,000 candidates worldwide and more than 300 clients globally.