The talent gaps in the tech space are huge, and finding the best resources for your businesses can be challenging. Although a growing number of STEM graduates enter the workforce every year, they still fall short of the demand. Securing top talent is even more daunting for growing companies because you may require resources on the fly as new projects come. HR managers struggle to stay ahead of the competition for qualified talent. But fine-tuning your searches and recruitment practices can keep you on top of the hiring game. Let us share some valuable hiring advice for growing tech companies.

Highlight your unique offerings

When demand is more than supply, you have to give candidates valid reasons to join your company. Know your unique offerings for potential recruits and highlight them to showcase yourself as a better employer brand. Consider factors beyond compensation and benefits because employees can get them anywhere. Think of ideas like freedom, flexibility, and ownership as your USPs to attract top talent for your growing company.

Enable growth and development

Exceptionally talented professionals prefer to work with companies that offer growth and development for their employees. You cannot expect to retain them for the long haul if you do not prioritise ongoing training initiatives. Moreover, you must give them the freedom to share new ideas, try their hand with innovation, and experiment with new ways of doing things. Including training in the onboarding process is a good start, and you can go the extra mile with regular sessions.

Create space for outsourcing

Evolving tech companies may require resources on a project basis. Hiring permanent employees for short-term projects does not make sense. Consider creating space for the outsourcing model in your conventional hiring practices. But IT recruiters must know how to classify exempt and non exempt employees to keep things on track. Freelancers, contractors, and interns are the non-exempt ones. You must implement best practices for managing compensation and ensuring compliance while having non-exempt employees on board.

Collaborate with local schools

Collaborating with local schools and colleges is a good way to empower your company with talented resources on a budget. You can run internship programs to pick students and give them real-world exposure. If they are happy enough with their experience, they will probably join your company after completing their studies. You can also conduct campus recruitment drives to pick fresh graduates from these institutions.

Focus on your culture

Like any other business, tech companies should focus deeply on their culture. The core of your company culture exists in your mission, vision, purpose, and values. Start by choosing cultural fits as you do not need to work hard to bring them on the same page. Moreover, employee acquisition and retention are easier if you have a positive and strong culture. Build a workplace where people feel at home and a valuable part of. 

Getting the best candidates for your growing tech business need not be a daunting challenge. Follow these best practices to acquire and retain top talent for the long haul.

“Hiring is the most important people function you have, and most of us aren’t as good at it as we think. Refocusing your resources on hiring better will have a higher return than almost any training program you can develop.”  –  Laszlo Bock

The ongoing pressure to fill positions while setting new goals for the upcoming year can certainly dampen your New Year’s celebrations.

The never-ending cyclical nature of different professions requires recruiters to apply some novel solutions. There are many obstacles to overcome from not meeting the candidates’ expected remuneration to juggling with the long notice periods.

On top of all that, taking weeks to complete the in-person interviews makes the recruitment process tediously long. The best companies develop a world-class talent acquisition process with a high degree of professionalism and a clear set of protocols.

Let’s take a look at some of these smart recruitment hacks:

1 – Brand yourself – The simple concept is if you don’t let people know your story, they will make it for you. Before the candidates make a story of your business, take the lead and narrate one. The whole idea is to give candidates an insight into your professionalism and position in the marketplace. This is somewhat similar to representing yourself as a leading brand in your domain. Having an intuitive website’s career page was the approach taken around a decade ago. Now, it’s about taking the initiative and sharing your business profile and corporate videos with the candidates to give them a clear idea about your business.

2 – Make the process transparent – You need to keep the candidate engaged and confident in the recruitment process. This can be done by joining hands with an IT recruitment firm like sourced.nz or others. This way, you can keep an intermediate between two parties (you and the candidate), making communication swift and smooth for both. The best part is that the recruitment process does not hamper your overall operational proficiency.

3 – Develop networks – The ultimate key to recruiting the best talent is to develop a solid and widespread network in relevant markets. This happens when you scale up your networking skills and learn to create new relationships in the industry. One of the easiest ways is to create and join communities. There are several online communities on social networking channels. Such networks become a great source to let candidates know about your company, background, and other valuable insights. Of course, this also helps build a never-ending pipeline of candidates to consider whenever required.

4 – Set recruitment bars and process – When it comes to setting a detailed recruitment process, you need to consider having a word with different organisation segments. Here, we are talking about a detailed discussion among the department heads, management team, and the talent acquisition department in the office. This is an ideal approach to meeting everyone’s expectations without compromising their convenience and workflow. One of the biggest examples is – HRs (human resources) sending assignments to candidates. This lets the candidate have ample time to give the best shot without getting in the way of employer’s time and work.

5 – Learn the art of predictive analytics – In this regard, Peter Weddle, CEO of TAtech.org, says, “Employers have to be able to assess the probable yield of a recruitment ad in a certain location, among a certain demographic or at one salary point vs. another, and then instantaneously measure the results and make changes to that ad placement and content on the fly”

The talent acquisition team should consider framing a series of HR metrics to decide the credibility of candidates. This can be done on the basis of parameters like salary expectations, experience, niche, project-handled history, industry type, previous employers’ and much more. The idea is to put multiple filters and keep the recruitment process short and effective for all (candidates, management, and recruiters).

A great way to facilitate the filtering process is through online Recruiting CRM software. Recruitment CRM software enables talent sourcing managers to effectively identify and isolate the best candidates for a job opening by filtering through large pools of applicants based on their qualifications, experience, and other relevant factors to select the most qualified candidates. It also helps to effectively keep track of all the interactions and negotiations with candidates, automate various tasks, and analyze the data to make more informed decisions.  Additionally, recruiting CRM software can be helpful to companies that need to keep track of large volumes of resumes and job applications and analyze recruitment data such as candidate sources, time-to-hire, and cost-per-hire, providing valuable insights to optimize the recruitment process. This software is designed to help individual recruiters or small to mid-sized businesses manage and streamline their recruitment processes and result in more hires.

6 – The personal touch – Technology has given us many tech-driven methods and approaches to facilitate the overall recruitment process. But there is nothing better than a personal touch that facilitates a sense of trust and confidence between both parties.  Above all, don’t forget that the market is overloaded with different opportunities. Minor negligence can result in losing a potential candidate forever.

7 – Simplify the job application process – Online applications are the first interaction that potential candidates have with a future employer. If you believe in creating a positive first impression, make everything as engaging and simple as possible for your potential applicants.