The competition for recruiting, acquiring and retaining technical talent is fierce, especially for smaller firms that have to compete in the same world with the juggernauts like Google, Amazon and Apple. So while it’s difficult enough to recruit and hire much needed technical talent, the real game shifts to the challenges involved in keeping that talent around.
To be successful, it’s important to look beyond the entry point of compensation and benefits to really understand what keeps talented and technical ticking over the longer term. That often means creating the kind of culture, environment and opportunity that allows technical talent to grow and thrive.
So what are the challenges with retaining technical talent, and how can smaller firms hope to compete for that talent? The technology space is a progressive and constantly evolving industry that has created an aggressive talent market into the foreseeable future. The simple truth is if someone is not happy in his or her current job the individual will look elsewhere and quickly recognize an abundance of opportunities. It’s also true that the current and emerging generations of technical talent are composed of many entrepreneurial-minded people, many of whom want a landing space to learn and gain experience with intentions of starting their careers after some time.
While money and benefits are of course significant, this demographic seems to be looking for more than just that – something that’s more environmental than financial – in a word—culture. Culture shapes performance and attitudes in many ways. Cultural norms within an organization can make or break a company’s success as they define what is encouraged, discouraged, accepted or rejected by a group. When done right and aligned with personal values and needs, culture can foster an organization’s ability to thrive. Yes, the day-to-day work is essential, but the environment created for talented people turns out to be doubly important. In the end, it’s the “juice” that helps to retain technically talented people and is one of the primary drivers of technical talent retention.
A recipe for success must have the right mix of ingredients, and that is where smaller firms can create an advantage for themselves in this ambitious marketplace. Crafting such a recipe is generally easier to do in a smaller company with a hundred employees versus a larger company with thousands of employees. While it is a continuous process, one way to get started in putting together the right mix of these ingredients is by monitoring what’s going on in the market and listening to one’s workforce. Part of the talent retention recipe is to keep employees happy, and there is no better way to do that than asking them directly what makes them tick.
Another part of the recipe is recognizing that the people within the company are an integral contributor to the overall culture, which is why every recruiting opportunity is so significant. People like to be surrounded by other smart and focused people whom they can learn from and enjoy working with, making their job that much more satisfying. Plus it’s important to note that this aspect is not just a demographic matching exercise. A well-balanced mix of ages, experiences, perspectives and backgrounds usually makes for a more stimulating work environment. It’s often easy to fall into the trap of hiring the same aged people with the same work and life experiences in the hope that it’ll be a more natural environmental mesh. That is not always the case, but making these types of assumptions should be avoided.
While acknowledging that there is no single “ideal” culture for keeping technical talent happy – it’s constant trial and error and adjusting to the changing needs and desires of that talent pool – there are some practices that make it more likely to retain technical talent over time. A short list includes:
• Listen and respond to your workforce
• Remain open-minded about what is possible
• Have an open-door policy
• Create a learning environment
• Stick to your word
• Seek feedback constantly
• Let change happen
• Stay attentive and observant to employees’ needs
• Have some fun along the way
Moreover, even when the right environment and culture exists for retaining technical talent, some individuals will inevitably become restless and leave. If this happens, talk to them to see if there is something within their scope of work experience and responsibilities that might make them happier in their job. It’s also sometimes the case that an individual might not be a good fit – for the company and themselves – and if that is the case, the conversation changes to arrive at a mutual decision for that individual to explore other opportunities. That said, it’s important to remember that retaining technical talent is always a long-term strategy. If an employee leaves because he or she believes they’ll be better off someplace else, or because it’s not a good fit at the moment, that doesn’t preclude them from returning, assuming they left on favorable terms. Stay in touch with them and keep them updated on company happenings.
However, when an employee does depart for whatever reason, an excellent source of continued culture and workplace improvement is the exit interview. While each scenario is different – resigning, agreement and next steps – valuable insight can be gleaned when exit interviews that are taken seriously and are done well, providing feedback and different viewpoints for ways the company might improve. It’s impossible to make everybody happy, so being open to change and recognizing that attrition is an opportunity to progress are essential lessons.
The good news and the bad news is that the competition for technical talent is going to continue to intensify over the foreseeable future. That presents an opportunity for small-to-medium-sized companies to tell their stories in a way that’s different from larger, more popular companies. The key is to continually refine the technical talent recipe with the right mix of ingredients and in the right amounts. So throw some new spices in the technical talent retention recipe and get cooking.
By Alyssa Reuter, X by 2
