How can you truly retain your top tech talent

With the shortage of qualified professionals continuing to outweigh the increase of job opportunities, candidates have more power than ever before to negotiate job offers. With the average tenure for tech professionals being a little over a year, the tech sector now has the highest turnover rate of all sectors in the market. As business leaders in the recruitment industry, we need to be asking ourselves – why is this happening?

According to our 2019 market report, 38% of respondents in permanent positions expect to leave their current role within the next year, with their reason for leaving ranging from lack of a salary increase, hostile work environment, desire for new challenges and longing for career progression opportunities.

Hiring a highly qualified tech candidate who fits your company’s ethos, attitude and ambition is one thing; ensuring you retain that talent is a whole other ball game – that many managers often lose.

To overcome this hurdle and keep hold of your top tech talent, try to provide your employees with a positive work environment that promotes the opportunity to grow and be rewarded within the company. The easiest way to do this is through proactive leadership from upper management, a structured career plan for each employee and a company culture that promotes respect and equality for each team member.

Being a Proactive leader

In our 2019 report, we learned that one of the decisive factors in professionals changing employers was lack of leadership and vision. Establishing credibility as a strong, proactive leader is all about sending out the right messages and giving employees a sense of purpose.

As a manager, it’s your responsibility to do this by creating a happy, healthy work atmosphere where people feel their contribution is noticed. You can do this by actively listening to your employees and their ideas, exemplifying great performances across the company and ensuring you provide open channels of communication throughout the different departments.

When an employee feels respected and valued as a critical player in the company’s operations, then they are guaranteed to be more dedicated to pursuing their career in the business, rather than looking for a new position elsewhere.

Upskilling and training

A great way to keep an employee engaged and avoid the pitfalls of them feeling under-utilized at work, is to develop a career vision plan for each individual. This can be done by providing regular one-to-one meetings with each of your employees to discuss their career goals, the opportunities they have within the company and where they would like to improve their skillset.

Within our 2019 report, we discovered 76% of our respondent’s employers paid the full cost of the qualifications that would improve their skillset. Investing in on-the-job training is an excellent way to make people feel engaged in their roles and provides a unique opportunity to create a win-win situation for both parties. Employees will enjoy a sense of progress, while employers benefit from the surge of knowledge and skillset added to the team.

Company culture

The culture you promote within your business will have a significant bearing on how engaged your workforce is. Your employee spends just under a quarter of their life at work, so they need to be in an environment where they feel like they can blossom, not just professionally, but socially and personally.

Benefits like flexi-work hours, free breakfasts and social nights out can change the impression your staff has for the company. Within the report, we discovered a 49% upturn in companies providing home working as an option for their employees, with other widespread benefits included a company laptop (66%), health insurance (57%) and a dental plan (54%). These simple gestures will demonstrate a sign of appreciation for your staff and the work they do, which will motivate their decision to continue working with you and hinder any reason to look for a job at another company.

Engaging with people from the start is vital, whether that’s a simple word of advice or a regular one-to-one meeting. The way your employees are guided will go a long way in shaping the culture your company fosters and impact your employee turnover, workplace morale, productivity and revenue.

The importance of collecting industry data

Every year we produce an independent report examining the full spectrum of the NetSuite industry. Through collecting data, we‘ve provided business owners with key findings on the NetSuite market, including trend insights and product updates, as well as a benchmark of salary and benefits packages against industry averages.

If you’ve had experience with the NetSuite industry, we’d love to get your input in our fourth-annual market report. You’ll have the opportunity to share your thoughts on NetSuite products, salaries, benefits and working culture, as well as have the chance to win a $500 Amazon eGift Card.

With our annual report, you’ll gain valuable knowledge of what NetSuite professionals want from their jobs, allowing you to find and retain the best tech talent and stay ahead of trends in the ecosystem. Take part in our survey and you’ll be among the first to receive the results when it launches at SuiteWorld on April 20, 2020.

By Zoë Morris, President of Anderson Frank