Securing top tech talent can be difficult and competitive enough, and it doesn’t end there – once you’ve got top talent, you need to nurture it and retain it, which in the current climate, could prove difficult without a strong strategy in place.
Did you know that the technology sector ranks in the top 3 for turnover rates by sector, followed by retail and media?
Industries within technology, internet, computer software, and IT & services rank amongst the top for turnover rates, at 14.9%, 13.3%, and 13.0% respectively.
88% of technology managers are concerned about valued employees on their team leaving for new opportunities, at a time when 86% of technology professionals are confident that their skills are current and relevant if they had to look for a new job.
Tech companies small and large can struggle with turnover, which can leave them wondering where to focus their attention.
What are the top 4 things that tech companies can do to retain top talent?
Did you know that 50% of tech professionals planned to seek a remote-only opportunity for their next job role?
Though remote working is only one element of employee benefits, it’s an area that has received mass attention, and for good reason.
Companies expecting all employees to be entirely office-based run the risk of alienating employees who have benefitted from the opportunity to work remotely – with hybrid working on the rise, it would merely be a matter of choosing an employer who does offer that level of flexibility.
One of the easiest ways for a tech company to ascertain what it is that their employees are looking for in order to stay in their current role is to look at the reasons why employees leave their jobs.
In the US, health insurance and paid vacation days continue to rank top of the list for most important benefits for tech professionals.
Interestingly, child and elder care benefits are an up-and-coming benefit, with 27% of tech employees citing it as an important benefit, which can have a positive impact on an employee’s work/life balance.
Training and education is another area in which there is a significant gap between the demand from employees and the number of organisations currently offering it as a benefit, with a 25% gap.
Other current areas of interest according to Dice include paid sick days, flexible working options, wellness programmes, and maternity/paternity leave – all areas worth considering your current offering in order to stay competitive.
Tech employees are relentlessly ambitious and therefore know their worth and what they hope to achieve in their career.
It is important that tech companies focus on their company culture to this end – if a tech company doesn’t seem to value growth opportunities for its employees, for example, then there is a lack of value alignment.
Did you know that the cost of toxic environments – referred to as unfairness-based turnover – in tech is $16bn a year?
Diversity and inclusion, CSR, personal development, company branding, and strong employee benefits all make up the shared values that can help a company to thrive and retain staff.
Even with the best employee benefits, if innovation and growth aren’t embedded into the company culture, employees may find their job roles too stagnant and stationary for their goals.
Primarily, employees want to know that there are progression and growth opportunities available, and that the company that they work for aligns with their values too.
Benefits may be making their way up the list of priorities for employees, yet salary is still one of the most common denominators in high turnover rates.
If an employee decides to research the average salary for their role and location and finds a disparity, it is likely that they will seek work elsewhere to resolve this – competitive salaries are essential in securing top talent in tech.
In top tech hubs such as Austin for example (the second fastest-growing tech hub by salary in the Us), the average salary is $109,176, which saw salaries increase 12.1% year-over-year.
With tech unemployment rates being considerably lower than average unemployment rates, tech companies everywhere are far likelier to pay more for those with in-demand skills and experience.
Dedicating time to researching industry averages and applying the evidence proves a commitment to investing in your employees and valuing what they bring to the table.
Any tech professional will likely tell you that training is essential to their career – with so many new and emerging technologies, it’s essential to stay on top of these changes through training and upskilling.
The type of training will be dependent on the tech company, but there are a multitude of options out there, from external workshops to in-house professional development opportunities, and even subsidised formal education.
As mentioned above, investing in your employees shows that you value them and their ability to progress even further in their careers.
Most tech professionals love a challenge, and the opportunity to learn more is appealing and exciting and also avoids the trap of employees feeling limited in their career.
This also ties into career advancement, as employees can be upskilled for more senior roles, which can often be easier than looking outside of the company to hire for a more senior position.
Tech employees know their worth.
With such a competitive market, it’s absolutely vital for tech companies to have a competitive edge if they want to secure the best talent on the market, which requires an awareness of what tech employees value most.
Making a consistent effort to be up to date with salary trends, offering employee benefits that prioritise work/life balance, and providing career progression opportunities are just a few of the ways in which tech companies can retain the talent that helps them to remain innovative and dynamic.
Looking beyond compensation as the sole factor in employee retention can help to move companies towards a broader, more effective retention strategy in the long term.
Get in touch today to discuss your tech recruitment needs with us.