We all know that there is a global shortage of IT skills on the Market, and no wonder, literally every Business needs some form of IT presence in order to function today. There aren't enough people in the workforce to meet the demand, and that's made it easy for good talent to shop around.
Businesses work very hard to attract top talent. And with the costs of recruiting being so high, no wonder Businesses expect perfection in every new candidate, as we're all too familiar with seeing in so many (not so) realistic job specs: "-minimum 10 years' experience in mind-reading", "-candidates must have 6 arms, can work three laptops at once, and can code in whatever language I decide I'm in the mood for on a given day"...
After all the hard work of getting IT talent in the door, it beggars belief that Businesses don't try harder to keep them there. We're seeing growing levels of dissatisfaction in staff, quiet quitting in droves, and more than half of the global workforce regularly looking for a new opportunity.
You might be thinking "surely all we need to do is to offer better salaries and benefits package, right?..."
Well, no.
It might come as news to some, but a good salary and benefits package has become a base expectation for IT talent today. It's not enough to keep them engaged for the longer term.
So, What is the secret to keeping employees happy and engaged??
Believe it or not, the answer is to have and nurture a positive work environment. Sounds simple, right? Then why is it that so many reports highlight "negative company culture" amongst the top reasons why workers are choosing to leave their previous employer? In fact, negative workplace "Engagement and culture" and "Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance" make up a staggering 66% of the total reasons employee's left their employer in 2022.
You can attract talent with competitive salaries and benefits, but it's in the day-to-day work where you'll earn their loyalty, and ultimately improve your employee retention rates.
How can we keep IT Talent feeling engaged and valued, while at the same time ensuring that our IT Systems are maintained and delivering for the Business?
Technology resources today are highly specialised, curious and ambitious creatures. This type of personality works great with modern IT applications. With system updates and new features added more and more frequently, Cloud Applications demand that their gatekeepers are constantly upskilling, regular checking for the next big component that needs to be addressed in your Architecture, or the next big thing that could be introduced to bring efficiency gains to existing Business Processes. After all, we're now in an age of Process Automation and AI, and we need to embrace that.
Good IT Talent wants to be the nerd in the room. They want to know the latest and greatest in modern tech, and they want to earn things like certifications to show that they are the Subject Matter Expert. Give them that, and you'll soon find your systems are being maintained proactively, with less of that stressful reaction to last minute requests, observations and deprecations. Offer opportunities and give time for growth and development, and you'll soon see an increase in employee productivity, and also you'll find your IT systems becoming more stable and better equipped to last for the long term.
The other area that's often overlooked is in recognising and rewarding your employees. It should go without saying how valuable regular conversations with your staff is. In fact, you should make this a part of your weekly or fortnightly priorities. Especially if your team is working remotely, it can change a persons' week with some simple words of encouragement and recognition.
In the longer term, showing appreciation to staff with career progression opportunities is vital. Yes, there are only so many managers that you can have, but not everybody wants to be a people leader. The emergence of Individual Contributor roles and the career paths that they bring are very attractive to people today, and introducing such roles to your IT Organisation can be quite easy to implement.
Winning the battle to retain IT Talent is about adhering to the basics; build your teams and processes around the human element of your Organisation. Do it right, and you'll find that not only are your team more loyal and productive, but that more and more talent will want to join your teams too.
----
With fully customisable and flexible plans to suit your needs, CB Navigate can help you understand your Business and IT Strategy, help you choose the right IT Solutions, embed those Solutions correctly into the Organisation, and most importantly, maintain those Solutions successfully over time.
If you'd like to hear more about how the IT Organisation Review & Design offering will bring value to you and your Organisation, please get in touch!
What are your thoughts? We'd love to hear your feedback, or if you'd like to discuss this topic and others with us in more detail, please reach out to us info@cbnavigate.com
Comments