12 Nov 5 Mistakes Costing You to Miss Out on Top Tech Talent
The skills gap talent drain seems to be growing for most industries. However, the discrepancy can be most observed in the tech and the IT industry.
Attracting and retaining IT and tech talent could not be any more important to IT leaders. Here are 5 mistakes you’re making that is costing you top tech talent in Singapore:
1. Lousy Benefits Package
As more and more industries are embracing the digital revolution, organizations are getting more competitive among one another. Which means that other companies are scrambling to put together a better benefits package compared to yours.
Since the tech and cybersecurity field is already known to be a lucrative field, try to focus on providing benefits apart from money. Candidates in this field want a job that constantly offers them unique challenges, as well as opportunities to up skill. Other benefits include the budget to allow cybersecurity employees to experiment with new and different software and technology.
Good workers also expect training opportunities. Organizations that fail to fund its employees’ professional development can expect to lose some of the best employees they’ve sourced.
2. Work Life Balance
Young workers (i.e. millennial and generation z employees) are on the constant lookout for a job that offers great work life balance. Some might call this generation lazy and entitled, however, digital technology (e.g. emails) makes it hard for the average millennial employee to “switch off” completely after work.
In fact, cybersecurity is a field notoriously known for its lack of work life balance. Studies show that 62% of cybersecurity experts have described the industry as being “very stressful” or “stressful”. Whilst more than 40% of professionals surveyed claim that they don’t feel like they’re achieving a work-life balance.
The struggle with burnout and fatigue is common with cybersecurity. Combine this with the lack of talent and skills available in the field and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. In fact, the shortage of skills and talent available should be the one reason why employers are willing to invest more in their cybersecurity and tech talent.
Employee burnout is no longer an individual issue – it causes significant problems to companies as well. Burnout leads to major career issues such as lowered job productivity, lesser job engagement, and is the major cause of job dissatisfaction. Not only that, burnout is also one of the main causes of a number of health issues. Research shows that burnout is a cause of a number of diseases including Type 2 diabetes, insomnia, depression, and heart disease to name a few. Is your organization willing to pay for it all?
3. Tedious Hiring Process
As an IT recruitment agency, we get why job candidates feel frustrated and drop out of the hiring processes available out there. For instance, organizations who use outdated applicant tracking system (ATS) require candidates to jump through many steps and hoops just to apply for a job.
Currently, a standard ATS application form requires candidates to:
- Create an account
- Upload a resume along with a cover letter
- Fill in a multiple page questionnaire
- Hit the “submit” button
Creating a more streamlined hiring process might be the key to retaining talented job candidates. Other common mistakes that hiring managers and HR staff make during this crucial process include:
- Not keeping in touch with the candidate: We get it, you’re busy with your piling daily responsibilities. But leaving your candidates hanging for too long might be a bad move on your part. One easy solution to keeping your candidates engaged? Just keep them updated on the status of their interview.
- Recruiters fail to create a personalized experience: This sounds troubling. Especially since the hiring process is not a service that most candidates pay for. However, experience is the key to attracting the organization’s ideal job seeker. One way to do this is to write content that directly engages with the ideal candidate.
Failing to create a personalized recruitment experience is a detrimental step in a review-centric world. The wrong move and you might be scaring away potential talent interested in working with your company.
Recruiters fail to understand: Let’s be frank. Not everyone on the hunt or lookout for top tech talent understands the intricacies of the tech industry. This could be one of the major mistakes costing you top candidates.
Learn more about recruiting the best candidates like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft here.
4. Gender Bias
Unfortunately, tech and cybersecurity are industries dominated mostly by men. Only 26% of roles in the computing and tech industry are held by women. Top leaders and tech organizations are often aware of the benefits that a diverse workforce will bring in.
They include:
- Boost organization brand and reputation
- More engaged employees
- Lesser rates of employee turnover
- Varying perspectives, to avoid controversy
- Increase in profit margin
A quick search of tech and computing roles online reveal that a number of organizations use terms such as “computing wiz”, “programming ninja”, or “coding warriors”. Whilst the intention might be to sound more creative, the outcome is that you’re unintentionally excluding women.
In addition, unlike their male counterparts, women require a unique environment to work in. They gavitate towards more inclusive workplaces, with other women holding positions in leadership or management. Don’t forget that women who work are in need of a unique benefits package which includes maternity and childcare leave. Alternatively, creating flexible work arrangements for new mothers might also be an attractive incentive to some women.
Learn more about attracting top female tech talent with CIO here. Alternatively, click here to learn more about the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
5. Not Using a Manpower Outsourcing Agency
Finding and recruiting IT and tech talents take a whole lot of time and effort. Many companies and hiring managers slip up and make simple mistakes when it comes to recruiting the right staff. This inadvertently slows down the hiring time as well. Waiting it out to find the best talent might just increase your risk of being compromised with a potential hack or a data breach.
With a manpower outsourcing agency, you’ll be able to outsource your hiring problems and headaches in exchange for good talent. At a manpower agency like A Very Normal Company, we have access to more than 500 cybersecurity and tech experts.
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Outsource your cybersecurity headache to trained tech recruiters with A Very Normal Company. At A Very Normal Company, we offer the best manpower available to act as your first line of defense. Find out more about A Very Normal Company here. Or contact Victor at ([email protected])for more information on how outsourcing and recruiting temporary cybersecurity talents is a great option to consider when it comes to protecting your company, its resources, and reputation online.
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