Attracting and retaining top tech talent - Part 2

As the pandemic fades away and the world returns to normal, the economy and job markets are rapidly growing. In this context, businesses are currently facing what is known as a “war of talent.” This fierce competition to attract employees to fill highly skilled positions has become a recurring nightmare for HR teams worldwide. 

However, attracting great talent is not enough for a company to succeed; talent retention is as important for companies to win the talent battle. Why? 

According to LinkedIn, 56% of organizations struggle to keep high-potential and top-performing employees. People leave jobs for new opportunities, as simple as that. But, failing to retain talent goes beyond losing key players of the team; it also reflects in a company’s finance as the total cost of losing employees can be twice their annual salaries. 

And who is the number one offender when it comes to losing talent? Concerns about a lack of advancement opportunities and a feeling of professional stagnation. For example, currently, 23% of employees voluntarily leave their jobs due to a lack of development and training. 

Here are five easy strategies on how to retain talent so your HR team can get rid of the nightmare of losing tech talent once and for all.

Promote Growth

It’s not all about promotions and salaries, for some benefits are as important to employees as money. Many employees consider opportunities to grow and learn as a reason to stay at their job. According to LinkedIn, 94 percent of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn.

But just offering employees with random learning opportunities won’t cut it. To retain talent, you need to give them the necessary amount o time and resources to learn in desired areas and facilitate them with the right tools to help them advance in their careers. Find out what motivates your team and provide the opportunities they’re looking for. This will help you improve employee engagement to build a healthy work environment.

First, focus on helping your employees to establish a career path within your organization; this will allow you to know their aspirations and choose training accordingly to help them achieve their goals. Once their path is clear, make self-directed learning available like webinars, schooling, training, or in-person events. 

Other growth opportunities you can look into to improve your employees’ experience with your organization include:

• Increased income
• More significant duties
• Bigger job titles

Whatever you might choose, make sure to demonstrate appreciation for all your employees´ work and assure them there´s enough space for them to grow within your company.

Improve Communications

As in any type of relationship, having healthy communication with your employees is key for a successful work dynamic. As important as your external communications might be (with agencies, clients, stakeholders, etc.), focusing on having a clear understanding within your organization might be even more critical for retaining happy workers. 

Remember, your employees must feel safe about communicating their feelings within the company. Therefore it is important to establish proper communication channels and keep improving them. From an “always open door” policy to conversation platforms, ensure there’s always space to address all employees' concerns and needs and let them know about the process and results.

Empathize

Successful companies do not treat their employees as mere workers but as human beings with complex emotions and lives outside work. Therefore, it is understandable that each of them goes through multiple situations and experiences that can and will impact their performance within the workplace. Even the best employees need help from time to time, so make sure you’re offering plenty of support, whether professional or personal; proving that you’re on their side when they need you is one of the most important things you can do to retain talent. It is vital that you take advantage of your communication channels and connect with your employees from a place of empathy. 

Remember, great managers, make employees feel supported during day-to-day operations. By leading with empathy, you can understand and accept when your workers are not operating at their best; understanding and working within the external situations hampering their performance might be the best way to create a safe place where people want to come to work. Give your employees time and opportunities to connect personally with you, and you’ll see how your relationship improves, making them less likely to leave. 

Listen to Feedback

Frequently giving feedback to employees is part of being a great manager, as you can’t expect employees to modify where they are lacking performance if they aren’t aware there’s an issue. Giving honest feedback can be daunting, but it’s key to a healthy culture. But what happens with your performance as a manager? How can you know where to improve to make your employers happier?

The best way to know what your employees need from you is to ask them and then listen when they respond. To receive honest feedback, it’s crucial to have a strong culture of respect and open communication policy within your company. 

Asking your employees to give direct feedback can feel intimidating for them, therefore make sure you are using all the right tools for them and assure them that doing so can only bring benefits to the company. For example, a good option is conducting regular surveys. This tool will assure your employees of anonymity and help you gain valuable insights into what the employees think and feel without them feeling exposed. Keep your surveys simple and connect with your employees as much as possible to get honest replies and eventually improve the employee experience.

Focus on Employees

This might sound like a no-brainer, but focusing on your employees is key to understanding your entire work environment from an employee’s perspective and helping you identify areas of improvement and growth. Having an employee-focused culture has become even more critical since remote working became the new normal. 

Try to implement mechanisms that improve your employees' experience. You can achieve this by maintaining a flexible work environment, allowing your employees to work in their preferred environment at their preferred hours to decrease stress and increase productivity. You can also advocate for a professional and personal life balance; you can do this by establishing healthy working hours or even making available mindfulness programs and mental-health resources for your staff. 

Be creative and bold; training, employee wellness programs, health insurance, or flexibility, you name it. As long as you maintain clear communication and know what your employees need, you will develop the right tactics to make your employees happier.

There is no need to fail in retaining top tech talent. We are here to help! Contact us and learn more about our staffing solutions. Let’s ride the tech wave and make great things happen – together.