Why Tech Talent is Hard to Attract When You’re Not Google or Facebook (And What to Do About it)

The tech world has always been competitive. A tech company must make innovation a priority and evolve continuously. Nowadays, if your business lacks the buzz of Silicon Valley, then you probably face some difficulty when hiring tech talent. And why not? Companies like Google and Facebook are offering incentives like free food, flexible hours, career growth opportunities, and whatnot.

Talented software developers and engineers are actively being pursued by tech giants and it’s difficult for small companies and startups to get the top tech talent. As the demand increases, the number of passive candidates is also increasing, which is making the market even more competitive.

If you’re out and about looking for your next tech superstar, then this article will give you the answer to the why (it’s difficult to attract tech talent) and how (to change the paradigm).

Lack of a Solid Online Presence

In the information age, establishing a solid online presence is very important. No one’s going to know that you exist until you find them, and tell them. And the best way to find top tech talent is online.

As Bill Gates stated:

“If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.”

Almost everyone owns a smartphone and uses it for practically everything from ordering groceries, to booking a cab and looking for a job. Additionally, Google is a developer’s best friend, and developers spend almost 70% of their waking hours in front of a screen, and that’s where you should reach out to them.

Establishing a strong online presence will let your potential applicants know that you’re a company to work for. A well-designed and fast website, active social media presence, blog, email, and content marketing are just a few tools in a tech company’s toolkit. Not only will it attract the best applicants but also leave an ever-lasting impression on every visitor.

Lack of Career Development Opportunities

According to the LinkedIn Job Switchers Report: 45% of people left their jobs because they were worried about their career advancement. On the other hand, 59% of people joined a company because it offered a stronger career path.

In 2021, benefits and compensations are not enough to retain an employee in the tech sector. People prefer growth opportunities and a more meaningful career over monetary benefits.

To retain tech talent, it’s important to provide learning opportunities that will develop your employees’ careers. When your employees see that you’re investing in them and their career is advancing, they’re less likely to switch jobs.

Devise a Solid Tech Talent Recruitment Strategy

From planning to screening, tech recruitment is a long process. Before diving into recruitment, it’s important to devise a solid tech talent recruitment strategy to spell out various steps in the process.

Step 1: Planning

Every good strategy starts with careful planning, and that’s how you should go about tech talent recruitment.

Planning starts with identifying vacancies in various departments and establishing whether the position is required. Once the positions are identified, the recruiter runs a job analysis to determine the role, responsibilities, and skills for the specific position and prepares a job description.

Job descriptions include information on the scope of the job and the roles and responsibilities of an employee. It’s important to make the job description interesting. If your job description is like any other, then it won’t be enough to attract the right talent. Remember, you’re trying to hire a creative individual, and they’re worth the effort.

Step 2: Recruitment Strategy Development

Recruitment strategy works is a well-defined plan that elaborates the roles you’re recruiting for. It must be tied to the overall object of your organization and must be easy to implement and communicate.

Step 3: Searching

In the searching step, recruiters identify which external and internal sources will be used to search for the right talent.

Internal recruitment means hiring employees from within the organization via:

• Promotions
• Transfers
• Internal advertisement
• Employee referrals
• Previous applicants

External recruitment means hiring employees from outside the organization via:

• Employment agencies
• Direct recruitment
• Advertisements
• Campus recruitment
• Word of mouth

For many companies, recruitment starts from the outside, but external recruitment is both expensive and time-consuming. On average, it takes companies 52 days and $4000 to recruit external candidates. There’s a fair chance that there’s a qualified candidate among your own ranks. Before looking outside for the talent, first, give your current employees a chance to fill the vacancy, and then move on to external candidates.

Step 4: Screening and Shortlisting Candidates

Screening involves filtering applications to remove unqualified or irrelevant candidates. It starts with reviewing the cover letters, resumes, and conducting interviews to shortlist the top candidates. Once the top candidates are identified, it’s easy for the hiring manager to make a decision.

Step 5: Evaluation and Control

At the end of the day, every company needs to ask the million-dollar question of whether the recruitment process is effective. They can do so by analyzing the recruiter salaries, advertisement costs, recruitment costs, and other relevant expenses.

Non-Technical Recruiter Hiring Tech Talent

Recruitment is never an easy process, but it becomes even more difficult when the person reviewing the application is not well-versed in the tech jargon. A tech recruiter must know where they can show flexibility and where they can’t. Too much inflexibility can result in missing out on someone who’s actually an incredible fit for your business.

For example, suppose a non-technical recruiter is looking for someone with experience in the LAMP stack. Looking for an explicit mention of LAMP, they may miss out on the acronyms i.e. Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Python/Perl. On the other hand, when looking for someone with Scrum/Agile experience, they may overlook someone with only Agile listed on the resume.

Tech companies must ensure that their recruitment process is guided by someone with a background in tech. That way, small nuances like Scrum/Agile are not overlooked, and they can spot and hire the best tech talent out there.

Think Globally – Hire a Remote Tech Team

To attract creme de la creme, you have to think big – think globally. If you’ve watched the popular Pixar movie, Ratatouille, then you probably remember the memorable quote by Peter O’Toole:

“Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere”

Coding is an art, and to find the best artist, you have to look far and wide. The world is too big, and there’s talent everywhere. Now, it’s possible to hire and manage a remote tech team with people from around the world.

In the wake of Covid-19, people from around the world are working remotely. The WFH (Work from Home) concept is gaining popularity mainly because of its flexibility. When the employees have peace of mind, they work more efficiently, which results in better productivity.

Tech giants including Twitter, Google, and Slack are offering their employers flexible schedules. Even Salesforce has announced its plan for a hybrid work model. Remote work is here to stay, and tech companies must adapt to it.

The demand for tech talent is increasing by the day as more and more companies are investing in technology. Building a qualified and passionate tech team is difficult, but it’s totally worth the effort. A well-designed recruitment strategy paired with a solid online presence, and innovative mindset can take you anywhere. All you need to do is start with a passion, keep an open mind, and remain vigilant along the way.