Technology businesses are still under the misconception that they can easily attract top tech talent through a high salary. Numerous applicants with proven track records have started turning down roles because they want more than just a competitive paycheck. Even when they have multiple offers, businesses fail to hire them.
In 2021, the average tech salary decreased by 1.1% due to the wrong reasons. Since hiring top talent has become a challenge, companies have started hiring junior tech applicants to fill senior positions on relatively low salaries. This led to a technical talent shortage in the industry, causing an increase in The Great Resignation movement.
The pandemic has shifted the interests of candidates as they have started preferring comfortable working conditions, such as working from home at flexible timings. Numerous organizations are constantly struggling in hiring new talent even when they have a solid financial position to hire talent on higher compensation packages.
The main reason for constantly failing to hire talent for senior positions is not the salary; it is often the hiring process. With that in mind, here are a number of strategies to compete for top tech talent, using factors beyond just salary.
Build a strong employer brand
It is time to reflect your company’s culture, values, and mission through an employer brand that automatically attracts passive recruits. You need a strong employer brand as conventional hiring campaigns have, in most occurrences, stopped working. Candidates prefer applying for jobs at an organization that has a solid culture and responds to reviews and questions on their website.
Keeping the company profile updated and sharing achievements also improves the employer brand. You and your brand ambassadors can share your organization’s videos, photos, and blogs that give people a sense of what it feels like working at the company. Rest assured, if your employer brand is easy to search, authentic, and compelling, you will be flooded with top talent applicants.
Write detailed job descriptions
Typically, organizations write job descriptions as a list of responsibilities and requirements for the role. According to the Wall Street Journal, this approach alienates qualified applicants. Therefore, you need to rewrite your job description according to the Needs-Supplies approach, which informs the candidate about what your organization can do for them.
There is no need to tell people what you want them to do for you. Instead, you need to capitalize on the needs of your potential employees instead of yourself by supplying them with benefits that attract them to apply to your organization.
Prefer personality over skills
Over the past 20 years, organizations have focused on the necessary skills to fill their position. Even when skills are an essential factor in deciding if the candidate is a good fit, you should not disregard the fact that the candidate can acquire skills even after hiring. On the other hand, personalities are innate and cannot be acquired.
Therefore, during the selection process, you need to consider how a candidate’s personality aligns with the job even if they lack the technological skills that may be needed. Of course, if your candidate has both skills and personality that align with the job, then you’ve found the perfect candidate.
Improve your candidate experience
Excessive automation has left a bad impression on job seekers who seek a personalized response from the organization when they apply. This leads to a negative candidate experience, and when left unchecked, can lead to the organization missing out on perfect fits. You can quickly improve your candidate experience by adding a personalized touch when contacting your applicants.
Deploy automated resume software that screens, ranks, and replies to every application to save time. Now recruiters can easily concentrate more on the selected candidates and create in-depth relationships to uncover their needs. You can actively persuade candidates to consider your offer and opportunity.
Reduce hiring time
Once you’ve identified the perfect candidate, it is time to move fast. If you insert delays in the hiring process, you can lose the candidate as you should consider that they have more offers in hand. Even when a decision is pending, you need to maintain your contact with the candidate. Discussing further details about the position will let them think that they are still on your radar.
However, you should not delay your decision for more than ten days as excessive delaying can hurt the organization’s reputation in the job community. Therefore, you need to speed up the hiring process and go forward with onboarding. You should immediately address all questions or concerns to make things easy for the candidate.
Attracting top tech talent, although difficult, can be achieved with methods and benefits besides just an attractive or above-average salary. Apart from a good compensation package, you also need to create a comfortable working environment for your employees. Offering them remote work at the same pay scale can also pay dividends. However, do not forget your current team, which also needs your moral support and guidance. These internal brand ambassadors can be an invaluable resource for helping your organization compete for tech talent in the future.
