The UK’s tech sector is constantly growing; every second, an estimated 127 new devices around the world connect to the internet. Tech roles are in demand and ambitious candidates/employees are aware of their worth. For those highly valued and talented employees in your company, there may be proposals from other competitive companies to turn their heads towards them. Big tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook can offer higher salaries or other benefits and tech candidates will value an opportunity to develop and progress in their careers. Rehiring can be very expensive; replacing a position within your company can cost up to twice the employee’s annual salary. So how can you keep your retain your top employees in a fast-paced competitive industry?
Work culture
Something that is highly valued by an employee is good work culture. 47% of active job seekers cite company culture as their driving reason for looking for work. So, it is important to build the most comfortable work environment possible. Look at the things that your employees value or would like for an incentive to work. One way you could do this is to create a survey for them to complete, find out what they need to feel happier at work if given the chance, and how would they improve the organisation’s culture. Or do something similar through in-person weekly meetings. Encouraging your employees to brainstorm and share ideas helps create an open, comfortable culture, as well as access to new ideas to keep your company innovative.
Offer training or chances to develop within your company so they don’t feel the need to look for career development elsewhere. Find out what they want to learn and accomplish. Perhaps offer access to learning platforms, courses, and give feedback to help them improve.
Ubl reveals that more than 50% of employees believe technology in their workplace is completely or moderately outdated. Another way to improve the environment and overall efficiency of the office is to develop technology that is used and continue looking for agile ways of working and evolving tech brands. This shows employees that you are innovative like other companies and you invest in your organisation’s growth. Roughly 70% of employees would be willing to take a pay cut in exchange for software and tech twice as good as what they currently use.
Another way to create a happier, motivated atmosphere is to incentivise your employees, giving them regular goals to work towards. Perks are a great way to provide genuine things that could improve your employees’ lives. Plus, they can be more affordable if it’s not feasible to raise salaries. Try and offer things such as monthly health and wellness funds, enhanced parental leave, equity options, or private health insurance.
Building your brand as an employer
Other people’s opinions on your company matter and employees care about how your organisation is perceived by others, either by previous/current colleagues or customers. Business reviews are mainly informed via digital means and reach a wider audience this way. Websites like Glassdoor can offer a plethora of reviews and opinions from previous employees or customers. These opinions will affect future hiring, so it is key to make sure employees have a positive experience.
Most employees/prospective candidates will want to feel that their values align with a company’s before applying to the role as a way of making sure they fit into that work culture. Therefore, making sure your company’s digital presence portrays itself in a positive light is important. You can make your organisation look appealing by making the values known on its website and showcasing the causes it supports. Employees will want to feel proud within a company and emphasising charity is important for morale. You should demonstrate support for charities and fundraising on the company website and social media platforms. Include examples of posts; they could be displaying your organisation helping the community, holding fundraisers, and sustainability (as these are the majority of people’s key values).
Remote work
Allowing flexibility for remote working will increase employee loyalty due to job satisfaction as many desires a healthy work/life balance. Plus it can help increase productivity. Reducing commute-recognised surroundings can help reduce levels of work-related stress and improve overall well-being. Also, 76% of workers have said they would be more willing to stay with their current employer if they could work flexible hours. This is something that many companies offer in order to entice top talent in the hiring process, so if your company is not offering this, it should be something to consider as you don’t want current employees to be tempted by other organisations. Not only this, but offering flexibility in working hours to allow for school pick-ups, holidays, etc, can help increase retention as it reduces stress, and develops a healthy and happy work culture. 80% said working from home was the most important benefit a job could offer, something that would affect their decision to take or leave a job offer. Not only does remote working positively contribute to employee mental health but it contributes to more productive and efficient work. Just over half of respondents (51%) said that they are more productive working from home during the pandemic. When asked why many cited fewer interruptions and quiet work environments (68% for both) as part of the reason for their increased productivity.
Offer stand-out-from-the-crowd benefits
Many companies retain employees in tech companies by supplying competitive benefits. Unfortunately, start-ups rarely have the budget to compete with large companies in their salaries. Fortunately, to the majority of today’s talent pool, job quality matters more than how much they’re being paid. 58% of employees would stay at a lower-paying job if it meant working for a great boss. Take advantage of the flexibility you have to create your own unique benefits that other companies may not offer to make you stand out. Employee benefits are proven to create a positive workforce and improve employee well-being and productivity. Examples: offer discounts to nearby restaurants or vouchers for shops/cinemas.
Overall, it is important to have an organisation that offers employees a comfortable culture, work-life balance, and the right core values to motivate the team. Giving them a voice to discuss what they prefer in the workplace is key to understanding how to improve it and make your organisation more desirable to prospective employees.
