Sep 29, 2016
Time and time again I see companies trying to secure top talent within the IT space by glamorizing their office. This tends to be by declaring they have Pool tables, beer fridges, gym equipment and/or an Xbox. Many companies overlook the appeal that flexible working brings.
Although these perks are pretty awesome and definitely an added bonus, most IT professionals don’t care! And it’s certainly not why they are going to choose to work for you over one of your competitors.
First and foremost, investment in tech is a huge factor, and ultimately this is likely to be the main attraction.
What IT professional doesn’t want to work with cutting edge tech in a technical landscape that’s constantly evolving? Right?
I believe the second most attractive perk you could offer is flexible working / the opportunity to work from home!
The demand for flexible working and the opportunity to work from home within the IT space has never been so high, and as technology advances, it’s only going to become more popular and perhaps a pre-requisite if you want to hire great developers in the future?
Anyone hiring within the tech space understands it’s a struggle to secure great IT professionals in such a candidate driven market.
So why aren’t more organisations jumping on the bandwagon now to ensure they attract top IT talent before their competitors?
I’m working with a couple organisations at the moment that offers fairly flexible working hours as well as the opportunity to work from home full time. This has genuinely increased the number of candidates I’m able to represent for their positions within the development space. It’s a real differentiator and a lot of people that aren’t overly looking to move on from their current employer have been very attracted to this particular opportunity.
Now the tech is attractive, and they offer many other perks but the main appeal has been the flexibility. It’s still a challenge to recruit great talent, I’m not saying you’ll have a queue of developers ready to join but when candidates have so many options in the market it’s good to stand out.
For me, the flexibility also highlights that as a company you understand the modern software landscape and that great developers don’t have to be in the same room to build amazing software products. As a company you get it!
This is very appealing in itself as it demonstrates you’re a company/ manager that is committed to doing great things within the IT space, and that you will go the extra mile to secure and retain great employees within the tech space.
What I’d love hiring managers/companies to think about is that if hire a lot within in the tech space!
If you don’t offer flexible working or the opportunity to work from home you are missing out on top talent. Why not give it a try?
With the likes of Skype, google hangout and appear.in why do your employees have to be in the office full-time?
Offering flexible working / the opportunity to work from home is a real differentiator and will widen your candidate pool. Not to mention you could hire developers from across Australia to work remotely.
No one really cares about your pool table, beer fridge and Xbox and the majority of IT specific companies, and digital agencies have these perks so it’s certainly not a differentiator in today’s market.
What are you waiting for? Offer the I.T team flexible working and see the benefits it can bring in terms of attracting and retaining tech talent!
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