If you are struggling to recruit top tech talent, you’re not alone. Many organisations are finding it difficult to attract A-player tech professionals. The hiring landscape is tighter than it’s ever been. As the economy recovers in a post covid surge, we are seeing record numbers of tech job vacancies. A dream scenario if supply could meet demand. However, it’s no secret that job seeker numbers are at an all-time low and we are suffering a significant digital skills gap.
So why is it so hard, and can Ignite help? Here are some of the challenges you may be facing as you try to hire top tech talent and how Ignite can help you solve them!
There is a candidate shortage.
Skilled tech and digital professionals have never been in more demand. The pandemic fast-tracked the digital transformation efforts of businesses across every sector. It has highlighted just how critical it is to be digitally present. Digital transformation and hiring those who can facilitate it has been prioritised and pushed to the top of organisational agendas.
Every organisation is in a battle for the same skills. DevOps Professionals, Cyber Security Specialists, and Data Scientists are only the beginning of a long list of critical tech skills that are in short supply. Developers have never been more in demand than they are now.
There are many theories on why candidates are so scarce. These range from Brexit, free movement restrictions of EU nationals, economic uncertainty, and a reluctance to move roles thanks to Covid. Many tech professionals used lockdown conditions to reassess their priorities; the ONS has revealed that there are more inactive unemployed people than ever before.
How can Ignite help?
Our consultants are seasoned tech and digital recruitment partners. They have a huge network of tech and digital professionals from every discipline with every skill set you can imagine. Whatever tech job you need to fill, we know people who can fill it!
We are in touch with both passive candidates and active job seekers. Even if your next hire doesn’t know they want a new job yet, they soon will!
Many organisations are turning to contractors to fill the gap that can’t be filled by permanent candidates. Our contractor base is strong. We have significant prowess in reaching out to contractors. Many of our contract runners return to us time and again to find them their next assignment. Their network is our network. We are confident we can find you a contract solution if you are rethinking a permanent hire.
Geographical restrictions.
Perhaps you are finding that local searches for tech talent aren’t yielding you results. Widening your search geographically to include tech candidates from further afield will grant you access to a different talent pool.
Remote working isn’t without challenges, but technology facilitates collaboration, professional relationship building, and sharing solutions within a distributed team.
How can Ignite help?
Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to place and help onboard candidates remotely. If yours is an organisation that has always been an ‘onsite only’ scenario, we can help you create a seamless remote hiring environment and advise about remote onboarding and employee deployment.
Top tech talent wants top salary and benefits.
Top tech professionals are aware that their skills are in high demand. Their scarcity puts them in a great position to leverage top salaries and benefits packages.
Organisations are in a war to offer top salaries, benefits packages, and learning opportunities to tech candidates.
Competitive salaries must be on offer to attract candidates. But this isn’t enough. The money must be backed up with a top benefits package. If yours is a business that offers opportunities for promotion and learning and working with cutting-edge technologies, this needs to be at the front and centre of your recruitment campaign.
Even if you are a startup without the deep pockets of big tech, you can stick create a brand that is aspirational. Can you work more sustainably? Are you diversity and inclusion champions? These are all at the top of candidate wish lists.
The employer brand has never been more important. Businesses must use corporate websites, social media platforms, and review sites to sell their brand.
How can Ignite help?
Every day, we are in conversation with the top tech talent. We know what they expect. We can advise you on creating a first-class package including all that matters to them.
We are also immersed in the market. We know all about what your competitors are offering and what is competitive in your region. Our honest, partnering approach means that we will let you know if your salary or benefits package is a barrier to your tech recruitment.
Top tech professionals want speedy hiring.
The competitive market means that top tech talent has options. If you don’t make quick decisions, then they are likely to get snapped up by a competitor. Companies should try to fast-track processes to cut back on time to hire. Could your candidates complete multiple interviews with colleagues, management teams, and the HR team all in one day? Could those candidates then go on to take aptitude and technical tests, receive feedback, and be offered a conditional role on the next day? By prioritising recruitment procedures you will be able to retain the interest of top tech talent and make sure that yours is the offer they accept.
How can Ignite help?
We have helped businesses make sure their recruitment practices reflect timescales that are reasonable and expected. We can deliver feedback to candidates and schedule interviews. We will liaise with you and the candidate to make sure that everything is in the diary, remote invites have been sent and accepted, and tech tests will be completed on time.
Evolving tech.
The tech landscape is ever-changing, and the skills you need today won’t necessarily be the ones you need tomorrow. Good tech candidates are skill-heavy, but great candidates continuously learn. They are hungry to evolve their skills to meet the demands of the space. These are the candidates you need. These A-players know that tech is a fast moving beast and they keep up to date with the emerging tools and techniques.
Hiring candidates that have the skills you need now is one thing but finding ones that have these skills AND have the aptitude and drive to continuously evolve is one thing. These are the candidates that will future-proof your business and limit your need to rehire in the future.
How can Ignite help?
Ignite is immersed in the tech ecosystem. Our recruitment partners know tech, and we keep up to date with all the emerging trends. Using this knowledge we can anticipate the technologies you may need in the future.
We can help find candidates who have both the skills you need now and have the learning aptitude to develop new skills and expand their knowledge to suit new requirements.
We go beyond academic certificates and shortlist candidates who exhibit all the skills your business needs. Skills-based hiring is close to our heart. We’ll find those individuals who can demonstrate passion, ambition, resilience, and a genuine love for what they do alongside second to none tech skills.
In sum.
To attract and hire top tech talent is a challenge. The recruitment landscape, anecdotal evidence, and official statistics all point to long-term candidate scarcity. If you’re experiencing some, or all, of these challenges it may be worth looking at your recruitment process. It could be as simple as widening your search geographically or shortening your time to hire. Simple tweaks may make your company more attractive to top tech talent.
If your search has been a long one and you need the support of a talent partner who can add real value, reach out to Ignite to learn more about how we work. We’d love to help.