5 Tactics To Lure Top Tech Talent
The lack of skilled IT workers is hurting the deployment of emerging technology, according to a new survey from Gartner. In areas from cloud to cybersecurity, this crisis is expected to last for years to come.
Hold Contests
Prospective employees often appreciate
a fun challenge, and many companies have held contests of various sorts to
engage job seekers. Game dynamics work for reality television, and they work
for real companies too. The trick is coming up with a puzzle that attracts the
right people.
Offer Benefits
The
most obvious way to recruit top talent is through material rewards. Almost
anyone can be tempted with a sufficiently lavish offer. But organizations need
not break the bank to attract top
tier technical experts. Start by offering flexible work hours and up the
ante from there.
"One
of the hardest things to achieve, as expectations for technology teams continue
to grow, is work-life balance," said John Reed, senior executive director
of Robert Half Technology, in an email. "So one tech startup in the
Midwest is offering unlimited vacation time to their technology talent and
giving their employees $7,500 to take a vacation."
Reed
also points to career development as a popular perk.
"Technology
professionals are especially focused on staying up-to-date on industry
trends for their career growth and development," said Reed. "One
retail company has industry leading speakers come to the office to teach
in-demand skill sets, and they pay for extended education courses and
conferences."
Offer Cash
Athletes often get signing bonuses. In
the past few years, a growing number of recent graduates have been offered
signing bonuses, often in technical fields according to Bloomberg. While organizations may not
want to pay a premium for workers, such an upfront enticement is a pittance
compared to the golden parachutes offered to executives. Gain sharing
(profiting from reducing waste or improving efficiency) and profit sharing (profiting from
increasing corporate profits) can be effective variants on direct-reward
payments.
Be Cool
Having a positive corporate image
makes recruiting
easier. Not every company can muster the brand appeal of Google or Facebook,
but doing work that makes the world a better place can help. According to the
National Association of Colleges and Employers, the ethics of an organization
represent a critical factor for new college graduates seeking
jobs.
One
way to be cool is to be open. "Organizations are making it easier for
talent to get an 'inside look' at the culture," said Reed. "One
creative agency holds an open house for tech talent. This allows the potential
candidates to see their environment, meet some of the employees, and
potentially get the first interview completed at this time. They hold these
during off-business hours to accommodate working candidates."
Make Them Feel For You
Generating positive feelings for an
organization can help recruiting. In 2012, the Swedish Armed Forces, with the
help of DDB Stockholm, created an interactive exhibit in which a person
imprisoned in a box placed in a public area could only be released if another
person selflessly took the
prisoner's place. In the military, not to mention other organizations,
willingness to endure discomfort for the benefit of others obviously has value.
Organizations
can solicit empathy by presenting scenarios that appeal to common humanity. For
example, an IT group could offer to fund an animal shelter if a particular
puzzle or challenge is solved. Or it could present a pressing social problem
that can be solved by code.
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