August 2021 - Langley James IT Recruitment

How to Recruit IT Professionals During a Skills Shortage

Aug 23, 2021 | IT

If you need to recruit IT professionals right now, you’ve probably already heard. There’s a huge skills shortage across the sector. Attracting candidates is harder than ever as the jobs market increases, whilst the talent pool decreases.

There are less people in the market than in over 23 years! This, combined with some uncertainty of the future of covid and what that means to the security of their pay packets. We find ourselves in a skills shortage like never before.

But don’t worry. There are good people out there. You just need to know how to find them. It’s no longer a case of advertising your job as anyone who has done that recently will tell you that the response has been poor. Candidates need to be attracted to your job. They need a reason to leave the security of their current role in these still somewhat uncertain times.

Here’s our top tips to recruit IT professionals during a skills shortage

Don’t delay

If you have been following our IT jobs market reviews, you will see the trajectory of current vacancies shows no signs of slowing down. And as more and more projects come back to life following the end of restrictions, the market is going to be squeezed even tighter. Even IT professionals who have been furloughed (although we admit there shouldn’t be that many now) may not be the answer. A shocking 11% of people still on furlough are looking for work. What’s happening with the rest?

Our advice is to act now. If you have a project coming up, or if you know of any team changes, start the recruitment process now. It can take longer than normal to find the perfect candidate, so it pays to get ahead. If you already work with a trusted IT recruitment partner, then ask them to start building a talent pool for you. And if you don’t have a partner, give us a call.

Market insight

Before you start to recruit IT professionals, you need to know what’s happening in the market. As part of our commitment to help all our clients attract the best talent, we share the facts you need to know. On a monthly basis, we produce a report on the UK jobs market. Find out what’s happening with vacancies numbers, salaries, skills availability and much more.

It’s also important to get some salary benchmarking information. A lot has changed in salaries over the last few months, and you need to make sure that you stay competitive to attract the best. Find the latest salary guide for your area and see all the salaries and day rates for the most popular jobs in IT.

Partner with a recruiter – someone who knows how to recruit IT professionals

In times like these, a great recruiter is worth their weight in gold. A great recruiter will know how to find your perfect candidate. They have the skills and the technology to search those on and off the market. They have a solid candidate database of IT professionals who may not only be interested in your role but may also be able to recommend others. We know all recruiters are not the same, so here’s some questions to ask when choosing yours –

What experience do you have of recruiting for our industry – ask for testimonials
How do you work and what can I expect?
How do you engage with top talent?
Do you have a talent pool of suitable candidates?
What are your terms?

We have helped companies to recruit some truly fantastic IT talent throughout the pandemic and beyond. We’d love to do the same for you. Our fees are just 18% with a 3 month guarantee period to help to give you peace of mind. Get in touch with one of our expert IT recruiters today and find out how we really can help you to recruit someone worth recruiting – 0207 788 6600 / 01244 566442.

UK Report on Jobs – July 2021

Aug 9, 2021 | IT Market Reviews

Employee Retention: 5 Tips for Retaining Top IT Talent

Aug 2, 2021 | Tips

Employee retention is a hot topic right now. With the jobs market at pre-pandemic levels already, more and more people are moving on to a new challenge. On top of this, the skills shortage we all experienced before Covid is now back with a vengeance. So it’s more important than ever that you look after your top talent.

After over 20 years in IT recruitment, we know why people move on. So we’ve put together our top tips to help you hold on to your most valuable commodity, and arguably your only true competitive advantage – your staff!

Employee retention start with recruitment and on-boarding

As many as 76% of companies are not onboarding their new hires properly! And when you consider how difficult it is right now to attract the best candidates, this is truly remarkable. When someone starts with your company, they are full of enthusiasm and are open to learning more. Use this time wisely.

Increasing the salary won’t cut it, or certainly not for long

Last week, we wrote a blog on counter offers and the shocking truth remains – these are the least effective way to solve your employee retention problems. Did you know that it’s proven that 80% of people leave within 6 months of accepting a counter offer? And what’s worse, 90% leave within 12 months. So, at best, you are just extending the time until you have to look for a replacement. Counter offers should be viewed as a short term strategy as they rarely work out in the long term.

It’s highly unlikely that salary is the only reason that is making someone in your team look for another job.

Make growth and development a priority

This is particularly important in IT. And, when it’s shown that companies who do make growth and development a priority experience 53% lower attrition then it’s worth investing your time. It doesn’t have to be anything formal, although this will help, but simply giving people the opportunity to learn and develop with you, will not only benefit them as individuals. According to LinkedIn, as many as 94% would stay longer if their company invested in their professional development.

Think about where your company may be in 2 – 5 years’ time. Have you got the technology in place to help take you on that journey? If not, then this is the perfect opportunity for some development for your team. Get them involved!

Recognition and appreciation – the key to employee retention

There areseveralways to approach recognition and reward and we would always recommend a combination for the best results.

Firstly, there are the tangible rewards. A thank you for a job well done. These can be shopping vouchers, additional days off or a bonus. But these rewards have an expiry date and people are loyal up to the point that they receive the award. Unless you are happy to run these incentives on a monthly or even quarterly basis, they are unlikely to prevent someone from moving on to a new job.

What will really make you stand out from the crowd are intangible rewards and recognition. These are the only things that are truly unique to your company. You’ll have heard the phrase ‘people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers’ and we see this on a daily basis. Being appreciated by your manager and having a good relationship with them is something that can’t easily be replaced.

Longer term rewards like promotions and pay rises that show you are paying attention to what your employees are achieving and rewarding them accordingly. This goes a long way!

Review your benefits

What people wanted from their benefits has changed dramatically in the last 18 months. Are you up to speed?

There has to be more focus on employee wellbeing as we begin the slow return to the office. if your employees feel supported, accommodated and empathised with, no matter the situation, then you will be repaid in loyalty. 90% of employees are likely to stay with a company that is empathetic to their needs, plus they are also willing to work longer hours too. To prove how important this is, as many as 60% would take slightly less pay if it meant that their employer was empathetic!