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Hiring the best software engineers can be a challenging process but retaining them can be even harder.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for software developers is predicted to grow 22% from 2020 to 2030. In such a highly competitive environment, its unsurprising that software developers are choosing to search for better opportunities more often. With that, organisations must know how to retain software engineers.
This article will discuss 7 ways to improve retention of talent within organisations:
1.🚀Growth Opportunities
One area often neglected is growth opportunities. A good software engineer is one who has a strong desire for learning and improving, and many companies don’t give developers challenging enough work. Treating software engineers as data-entry workers rather than creative professionals will result in work becomes unfulfilling, and employees having a bad experience. In fact, a 2015 LinkedIn survey found that 45 per cent surveyed would change their jobs due to a lack of opportunities for improvement. Whereas, in 2020, a survey of 116,648 developers from 162 companies revealed that 59% of developers ranked learning new tech skills as the most important form of professional growth.
If the organisation provides professional growth opportunities like courses, workshops, boot camps, and certifications, developers are more likely to choose it and stay there. You can even provide funding to attend Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) or a Coursera subscription.
2. 💰 Ensure salary is in-line
A Glassdoor survey of 1,400 Software Engineers asked developers about their reasons for changing jobs. 78 per cent of developers responded that compensation is the reason, but primarily more than half of those engineers also said they would take less money to work in a great culture or for a great brand, which leads us to the next point.
3. ⚡ Good engineering culture
For organisations to attract and retain the best software engineering talent, it is a must to create the perfect ‘engineering culture’. Several general studies recognised that a strong culture leads to higher levels of productivity and career development.
Organisations should revamp their policies and values, to minimise the stress of the engineers. Software developers usually work continuously under tight deadlines. This leads to a stressful work environment that can quickly lead to burn-out, especially among employees who are expected to work overtime on a regular basis with few opportunities for time off.
4.💙Recognise software engineer’s work
Another way to retain talent is to recognise the work and effort they put in.
Something as simple as providing performance-based incentives, recognition programs, or award ceremonies can help your staff to feel like they have a future with the company.
That’s why it is important to hold frequent meetings and have more frequent employee reviews where we use the opportunity to tell our employees their work is valued and give them guidelines and goals for the next period.
5.📉Understand the company’s pitfalls
It is essential to conduct regular surveys ensuring every engineer can voice their concern, and for the organisation act upon it. If your staff feels like they have a voice in the workplace and something is being done, they’ll be more likely to stick around.
Make sure, as an organisation, you address these complaints and issues in a timely manner
6. 👨🏻💼 Ensure managers want to be managers
Often with growth opportunities, talent gets pushed to become a manager when the desire is not entirely there. This also means that they are typically unprepared for their transition. To retain talent within organisation it is important to ensure managers rightly want to be in that role, and if so, are trained specifically to transition.
Once the person is in managerial position, they must adopt a business mindset and develop empathy.
7. 🔏 Ensure a clear workplace model is set
With COVID-19, remote work was popular and essential. With the world going back to normal, there are different workplace models set – Hybrid, Remote, or On-site. However, it is essential for the organisation to be 100% certain about the model, in order to retain the talent. Talents are likely to leave if there is no certainty about their future of work. If flexibility is offered, this has to be made clear too. Flexible work arrangements can, in fact, be part of inclusive and family-friendly policies, which will aid in the retention of a more varied workforce and SWEs in general.
Looking for a change in career? Get in touch with hello@umatr.io and work with us today. At UMATR, as tech recruiters and career consultants, we are committed to helping you find your dream role Because You Matter.💙
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