Right now, there is a lot of discussion about workers resigning or re-considering their jobs in record numbers. According to the Guardian, *almost one in four UK workers are planning a job change. A rising awareness of improving mental and physical health and a desire to find fulfilling work, has caused workers to re-evaluate their lives and prioritise what they really want, enjoy and essentially what makes them tick. Mindsets have changed to looking at a more flexible working life, where employers are offering a package enabling a more acceptable and bespoke work-life balance than pre-pandemic, which for many included a stressful rush-hour commute to get to the office and rigid 9:00 – 5:00 hours.
Ways to avoid the post-pandemic tech talent gap within businesses:
Upskilling/reskilling and re-imagining tech training
Allowing members of your team to enhance their knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of a subject matter or role will benefit the business and engage employees. Remember this doesn’t necessarily mean formal training courses, it is often more about creating opportunities for people to grow and try new things in a supportive, empowering environment. As you upskill employees’, in turn, you create a more well-rounded, resilient and cross-trained work environment.
Offering flexible working and facilitating emphasis on work-life balance
Remote working is very much here to stay, offering the flexibility of remote work is a no-brainer, according to Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trends Index, *73% of employees want flexible remote working to stay. Flexible working will be something people will be expecting and in turn, creates happier employees as they can flex hours around their lives.
Focus on company culture, fostering diversity and inclusion is at the core
It is important to forge a company culture that is inclusive and diverse. Inclusivity is at the centre of creating an engaged team. It means you create a culture where every voice matters and is given the same weight no matter what position held. Building an organisation full of people who have different ethnicities, genders and identities, brings different experiences, thinking and knowledge into your business. This diversity enables better decision making, more creativity and ultimately the creation of a sustainable, forward-thinking business.
Talent comes in many forms, shapes, sizes, and funnels
Look for opportunities to work with and build relationships with colleges and universities. This can help with hiring future candidates by connecting organisations with self-motivated applicants.
As people look to retrain into new careers, think about what you can offer them and how their experiences might enhance your existing team. You might also consider apprenticeships and the government kickstart scheme as well.
Benefits and perks
A business needs to sell itself to the candidate equally as much as the candidate is looking to impress with their skills and experience. Previous office perks will no longer hold the same appeal compared to initiatives that enhance an individuals’ life, such as allowing the employees flexibility on where they can live and work. As the working environment adapts and changes, it’s just as important to keep your benefits in step too. Asking your employees what they value most is a great place to start.
Fulfilling the tech skill gap with extra hands-on-deck
With an increasing demand for tech talent driving a shortage of available skilled workers, it is worth considering the option of staff augmentation. This can quickly provide highly skilled, tested and trained individuals without the time and financial cost of recruitment, offering you a flexible way to build your dream team with a specific skillset, on either a short-term or long-term basis. It can enable you to upscale and downscale your costs as a business without disruption and can fit in perfectly with projects and become the most cost-effective approach for your business.
How Software Solved can help
At Software Solved, we pride ourselves on recruiting talented people and nurturing our dedicated and talented team of employees. We help them grow and thrive through our inclusive and supportive culture, as well as providing flexibility, communicating openly, listening and measuring what matters. Our ability to understand our clients’ challenges, allows us to operate as an extension of their team and develop true partnerships. We want to use our skills and experience to benefit other businesses and support them to grow. By working with us, clients have access to all of the skills we have in house and can draw on them as much or as little as needed without needing to recruit full time roles. By having our committed team join your business, this will minimise over-spending and we will help match you with the perfect resolution in far less time than it would take to recruit in-house.
If you’re looking to add value to your software development team, please get in touch to discuss further or learn more about Staff Augmentation.
1* The Guardian; Almost one in four workers is planning a job change
