Hiring is tough! We all know that. But hiring people in the IT industry is way tougher than hiring in any other field. According to a survey conducted by KPMG, around 65% of technology leaders said that hiring challenges are hurting the industry.
Tech talent shortage, pandemic-induced digital disruption, limited pool of skilled talent, and rise of the hybrid work culture are some of the major reasons why you might be failing to fill in the empty seats in your technology department.
We ourselves are an HR tech company and we know how hard it is to not only hire the best engineers or developers but also to retain them. There’s always a requirement for high-caliber tech talent.
The competition in nabbing the right talent is so fierce that HR professionals fear candidates not showing up for onboarding even after issuing the offer letter. Even after that, there are high chances of your new employee leaving the organization in the near future if he/she gets a better job offer.
So there’s no doubt that the IT industry is struggling to get hold of the right talent pool.
No organization- whether it’s Uber, Tesla, Google, or any other megacorporation- is immune to employee attrition. So what can you do to control this attrition and attract more skilled tech talent to your organizations You can try out these tips to overcome the tech hiring challenges.
Prioritize Skills, Not Degrees
There’s always a talent shortage in the tech industry because candidates do have degrees but not the required skills. So instead of focusing on making IT degrees a requirement for your job role, focus on the skills of the candidate.
Sometimes self-taught developers are more qualified than the ones holding degrees from renowned universities. At Zimyo, we have a lead developer who doesn’t have an impressive academic background but is as accomplished as any other member of the team. We know that the organization can completely rely on him for any development needs because he surely does know his way around the field.
Widen Your Search Net
While government policies might compel you to hire local candidates but one must always keep their door open for candidates from other parts of the world. If it hadn’t been for the pandemic, no one would have believed in the efficiency of remote hiring. Remote hiring is effective and is a great way to hire skilled tech professionals.
Apart from that, don’t overlook the importance of employee referrals and internal hiring. In this era of smartphones, it’s also advisable to leverage the benefits of social media platforms such as Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter to get top talent onboard.
Most young professionals have a presence on these platforms and there are high chances of finding the best fit for your organization from these platforms. You can also consider job boards such as Naukri.com, Indeed, Monster, etc. to reach out to prospective candidates.
Less Boring, More Buzzing Job Descriptions
Yes, job descriptions (JD) do play an important role in hiring. Job descriptions provide candidates with a run-through of the organization, job responsibilities, skills required for the job, also the benefits offered. Therefore, it’s always important to craft an enticing job description that makes you stand out from the competition.
Consider your job descriptions as your company’s resume. Keep it short and clear, mention what you have to offer to the candidates, and instead of asking employees. “why they want to work for you”, show them “why they should work for you”?
This way you can attract more skilled professionals who want to work for organizations that have an out-of-the-box approach to hire new employees.
Catch The Eyes of Prospective Employees
It is no brainer that a high salary package is one of the most common reasons why people switch their jobs. However, it’s not the only reason. There are many factors that employees consider before joining any organization. It’s no secret that the majority of tech professionals work long hours and are often overworked and underpaid.
These long hours not only cause stress but are a major reason for employee burnout and turnover. These crazy hours are a definite red flag that shuns away great talent from your organization.
Therefore, companies should focus on creating a positive work culture, introduce a “No work after working hours or No work during weekends” work policy, and offer remote working options to attract and retain top IT talent.
Offer Desirable Employee Benefits
Recently, BharatPe made headlines for offering BMW, KTM, Royal Enfield as a joining bonus to its employees. That’s a great strategy to woo young tech talent.
However, not every company can afford such lucrative benefits. Therefore, if you are someone who has to offer desirable employee benefits while keeping an eye on the budget then you may try offering health benefits, insurance, retirement benefits, vacation packages, paid time off, maternity and paternity leave as well as mental health leaves to your employees. Also, you can offer a free subscription to various OTT platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, etc.
Don’t Forget Recruitment Technology
Most recruiters are not used to bringing technology into play to hire employees. This makes hiring a remote workforce challenging. Many HR professionals lack the necessary skills or training to recruit candidates virtually. They still rely on traditional or manual methods of hiring which are lengthy, prone to errors, and not relevant to this digital age.
The shorter your recruitment process the higher your chances of hiring the talent before they are nabbed by your competitors.
Therefore, one must invest in recruitment technology such as an Applicant Tracking System or ATS that automates and streamlines all your hiring processes and helps you hire better and faster.
Final Words
We are living in an era where companies don’t choose employees, instead, employees choose companies. The younger generation today is pickier and it won’t settle for any organization that doesn’t fit their lifestyle, needs, preferences, and other aspects.
Therefore, every organization must keep its company and LinkedIn profiles updated, get positive feedback from its existing employees, foster a positive work environment, and offer flexibility and autonomy to its employees. This way companies can increase their odds of hiring top tech talent.
