Seven tips to attract and retain top tech talent in your small business

Since the demand for tech professionals has continued to increase, attracting and retaining top tech talent has become a challenge. More companies are willing to go further and provide outstanding six-figure salaries to the most skilled candidates. Tech workers' requirements are higher, and they're no longer happy with just a good salary.

If you're struggling to attract high-quality, tech leaders, here are seven tips that will help you improve your strategies.

Don't Make Your Hiring Process Too Slow

Many employers spend a lot of time designing the hiring process to guarantee they'll get the best results. They create a process with many stages to make the right decision and hire the right candidate. However, when the hiring process is slow, aspirants may lose motivation. So, speeding up the hiring process is a great option to keep tech workers engaged.

Another way to catch tech workers' attention is by involving your current tech team in the hiring process. This will allow potential team members to feel comfortable during interviews and potentially put them at ease. It will also give them a first-hand perspective of what it takes to be a tech team member with you and help them make the right decision about whether or not to join your team.

Let Tech Workers Feel Their Job is Meaningful

Nothing attracts a tech worker more than a meaningful job. If you are looking to become an attractive employer, you must make your company the best place for them to grow. Not having growth opportunities is among the main reasons people cite for leaving a job which means focusing on employee retention strategies right from the start will have a great return on investment.

Another excellent way to keep tech workers motivated is by promoting teamwork. When tech employees work in teams, they can learn new techniques and develop their interpersonal skills, equipping them to move up in the company and assume more responsibility. Promote employees when they deserve it and ensure you’re rewarding effort and performance often.

Demonstrate How Important They Are for the Company

Consistently demonstrating a team member’s value to your company leads to higher job satisfaction and often, improved performance. Aim to recognize positive contributions both publicly (in an employee newsletter or email, perhaps) and also privately during regular check-ins and reviews.

Many employers spend too much time thinking about how they can make workers feel unique, but, they forget about saying, "thank you." Sometimes a kind word and a simple “well done” goes a long way towards boosting morale.

Provide Feedback

Providing regular feedback, both positive and negative, can open the lines of communications between employees and managers and give both parties the opportunity to address any concerns early in the process instead of when the resignation letter is drafted and it’s too late to solve a problem. Schedule regular check-ins to get updates on projects, ask for feedback regarding resources needed to accomplish tasks, and where needed, offer guidance and support for areas of improvement.

Build a Learning Culture

The tech market is a fast-growing industry. Because of its accelerated evolution, tech employees must upgrade and update their skills regularly. If you build a learning culture, convincing tech candidates to work with your company won't be challenging. Many companies offer online courses to help tech workers stay relevant or provide workers with tuition reimbursement benefits.

When employees have tuition reimbursement benefits, they can enroll in vocational schools. These schools have become very popular because they allow students to learn in-demand programming skills. In other words, your workers will be ready to innovate and lead your company to success.

Invest in Tech

Investing in tech is among the best ways to attract and retain top tech talent. Of course, tech workers love to play with tech devices and gadgets. So, if your company is the right place to learn how to use the latest tools, how will they not feel engaged? Tech workers love to experience new things and learn new techniques to provide better results. Remember that when they use the latest technology available, they can help your company stay on top of the competition. 

Increase Your Perks and Benefits

Increasing your perks and benefits are excellent ways to increase employees' job satisfaction. World-class companies like Google and Netflix provide workers with benefits like health insurance, paid vacation leave, and paid parental leave. However, you can also offer on-site perks like free food, gym classes, and spa sessions. Find ways to offer extra perks unique to your company, location, and culture and ask employees for feedback about what motivates them or makes them feel appreciated. Sometimes, even just a flexible schedule is enough to motivate team members to stick it out in a rough period.

More than ever, our tech teams are critically important to our work. If you’re lucky enough to have a great tech team member or two, these strategies should help in retaining them and helping them grow in their role. If you’re just beginning to recruit for your new tech team member, it’s imperative to adapt and leave behind the old strategies to attract and retain top tech talent. At the end of the day, your small business is only as great as the team members that work for you so treat them well, celebrate successes together, and let them know they are a vital part of the company’s future.

Until next time,

Andrea Shirey