Anyone who has ever tried hiring and retaining developers knows all-too-well the depth and extent of the challenge. If you are facing a challenge to hire and retain developers, these top tips on how to hire employeeswill surely help.
1. Understand what the developer talent market really looks like
Understanding the developer market is crucial. According to recent studies, the unemployment rate for software engineers in the US is at an all-time low of 1.3%. This means that the developer market is extremely competitive, and because of the high demand, the talent is scarce.
An interesting fact is- every tech candidate in the US on an average has 4 offers to choose from. This means that all your competitors are in the market to lure the top talent with the best job offers. When every other job offer a developer receives is the best offer, the competition invariably increases, and the monetary rewards becomes less distinguishable. In such situations, what can help you win the talent is the understanding of what makes the developers tick.
According to a recent study, a recruiter has to connect with 20 quality candidates and not 100 random candidates to get 1 quality candidate to accept an offer. This means you should limit your input, such as emails, cold calls, etc. to every candidate and focus on sending customized messages to only a few selective candidates.
2. Sourcing candidates the right way
If you want to source the right candidates, you need to be there where your candidates are. You should leverage networking events and social media to make your potential candidates aware of your company and its culture. Also, be present at conferences, meetups, and hackathons to attract the right candidates.
While sourcing candidates, keep the following in mind:
- Your potential candidates want to know, “What’s in it for me?” Let them know the benefits of joining your company.
- While approaching the developers, don’t just request them to connect with you. Present them the value upfront. Inform them about what they would work on, what they will learn, and how they can make a future at your organization.
- Hyper-personalize your outreach efforts. Instead of blasting 100 emails to random candidates, write 10 well-thought, personalized emails that are worthy of making a human connection.
- Keep your messages short and sweet. LinkedIn reveals that InMails and emails containing less than 100 words have higher response rates.
- Ask candidates if they have any questions. Help them clear their doubts.
3. Got their attention? Now keep them engaged!
Make a connection with them, ask them — what attracted them to the role that’s being offered? Where do they see themselves in the next few years?
Ask them what motivates them. Discuss things that are not mentioned on their resumes.
While going through the entire hiring process for recruiting tech talent, let them know the number of steps in the hiring process. Take their feedback about the process, and if needed, discuss it with your hiring managers.
Compensation is a make-or-break factor for any candidate. Let them know of your expectations from them and ask them what they expect from the company in terms of compensation.
You need to understand what exactly the candidate is looking for. Create an opportunity that’s in their best interest and an environment that allows them to say yes to your job offer.
4. Offer them a path for career progression and opportunities to learn
In an age of fierce competition, giving your employees opportunities to learn can differentiate you from others and help you retain top talent. Once the developers are onboard, develop a clear career progression.
Whenever possible, promote from within the team. This helps build a sense of value among the developers, and they feel that they play a vital role in the organization’s success.
Encourage a culture of continual learning. This helps the developers stay on top of the latest trends, stay invested in your business, stay engaged, and work towards career progression.
5. Encourage a healthy work-life balance
Make sure that your employees are not stressed and overburdened with work. If there is an imbalance in the work-life equation, it leads to burnout. And burnout is a precursor of turnover. Encourage your developers to take regular time off from work and keep a health work-life balance.
Author Bio: Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager for Jobsoid – Applicant Tracking System. She is responsible for leading the content and social media teams at work. Her expertise and experience in the field of HR enables her to create value-driven content for her readers – both on Jobsoid’s blog and other guest blogs where she publishes content regularly.