The Rules You Need to Follow to Retain Your IT Staff

The Rules You Need to Follow to Retain Your IT Staff

Feb 23, 2023 | IT, Management, Tips

It’s not enough to hire the best IT staff. You must also keep them on board

Hiring the best IT people is not enough to ensure success. It’s equally important to ensure that these talented individuals stay on board. How to retain IT staff is a challenge for many companies. They struggle with keeping their top-notch talent engaged and motivated.

The key to successful IT staff retention lies in your environment. It should encourage collaboration, innovation and creativity. Companies should also provide competitive salaries and attractive benefits packages. Therefore ensuring that their IT professionals remain committed and loyal. Additionally, offering training opportunities and career development is key. This can help create a sense of job satisfaction. In turn, leading to better retention rates among your team.

Give employees ample opportunities to grow and advance

Investing in the professional development of your IT staff is a key factor for success. It’s important to provide them with ample opportunities to grow. And toadvance their careers within your company. By offering employee training, you can give your IT staff the skills they need. Enabling them to become more productive and efficient. You can also offer professional development courses that are tailored to their individual needs. This allows them to gain new skills and knowledge. And this will help them succeed in their current roles. With these opportunities, you can create a culture of learning within your company. And this will lead to greater job satisfaction and higher IT staff retention rates.

But it’s not just about training. If you’re pushing your IT staff to do new projects, it’s going to keep them engaged. But don’t stop there! Encourage them to get more out of the technology you already have. Allow them to also investigate new technologies and how they can evolve the business. They’ll feel like they’re a part of the growth of your company, and they’ll be excited about their job—which means they’ll do it better. And that’s what we call a win-win situation!

money

Make sure your IT staff are adequately compensated for their skill level, talents and experience

Having a competitive IT salary structure is essential for any successful business. It is important to ensure that your IT staff are adequately compensated for their skill level, talents and experience. This will not only help you attract and retain the best talent. Additionally, it will ensure that your company remains competitive in the market.

It is important to review salaries regularly. You need to make sure they are in line with industry standards. Additionally they should reflect the value of each employee’s contributions. It is also important to consider other factors. Things such as cost of living and job market conditions. With a proper salary structure, you can ensure that your IT staff are adequately compensated for their efforts. Therefore making them feel rewarded them for their hard work.

Give your team adequate tools and resources

Having the right tools and resources is essential. This ensures that your team can complete their tasks without having to manage around inadequate technology. Having access to the best technology and resources allows teams to be more productive, efficient, and successful. With the right tools and resources, your team will be able to create better results faster and with less effort. This will result in a higher level of satisfaction from both your employees and customers. Investing in adequate tools and resources for your team is an investment that will pay off in the long run.

Foster a culture of collaboration, inclusivity and transparency

Building an inclusive IT team is a critical step in retention. Fostering a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and transparency. Inclusivity. This means that everyone on the team is given an equal opportunity to contribute and be heard. This can be achieved by creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable. Where they can  express their ideas and opinions without fear of judgement or criticism.

Therefore, it is important to create an environment where all members feel respected and valued. Regardless of their background or experience level. This can be done by providing regular feedback. Encourage open communication between members, and recognise individual contributions. Additionally, it is important to ensure that everyone has access to the same resources so they can do their best work. Creating a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and transparency within your IT teams. This way you can ensure that all members are working together towards common goals. And with mutual respect for each other’s skillsets and perspectives.

happy it team

Your success as a business depends on retaining talented IT staff

The success of any business today depends heavily on its ability to retain talented IT staff. As technology continues to evolve, businesses need to stay ahead of the curve and hire the best IT professionals available. The right IT professionals can provide businesses with a competitive edge. Therefore, helping them remain successful in their respective industries.

IT professionals bring a unique set of skills that are essential for any business’s success. They can help businesses develop efficient systems, manage data, and keep up with technological trends. They also have the ability to solve complex problems quickly and accurately. This is key for any business’s growth and development.

About Langley James

Here at Langley James, we know our candidates.  We have in-depth knowledge of their experience, down to the individual projects they have worked on, their strengths (and their weaknesses).  We have access to those details that you just can’t get from a CV alone.

Our talented and specialised consultants work hard to ensure that any candidates we send you are not only a perfect match for the role but your business.  To discuss your IT recruitment needs please call us on 0207 099 4839 or email us: langleyjames@langleyjames.com.

We’d love to hear your views on this.  Are you struggling to retain your IT staff?  Tweet us @ITRecruitment, or follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn

Why IT Hiring Managers are Choosing Experience Over Qualifications

Why IT Hiring Managers are Choosing Experience Over Qualifications

Feb 10, 2023 | IT, Management

Is it time that you chose experience over qualifications when looking to secure your next IT hire? We look at the facts.

A 1st Class degree:  the hallmark of the ideal candidate… or is it? It’s true that a strong qualification does give candidates a good grounding to build from. And it seems that lots of people still agree with this. The number of people applying to study computer science degrees rose by 13% last year. That’s the biggest increase of any UK university subject!

But is it the right choice for your company. In a market where, when star candidates are available, they are being snapped up fast, it may to time to change your approach.

Why let your competitors snap up all the talent?  Could it be time to broaden your search by taking experience into account over and above formal qualifications?

Experience over qualifications?

Which is better? Three years working in the IT industry? Gaining in-depth experience in a real-world situation but with no immediately measurable way of proving a level of knowledge? Or three years studying? Gaining tested and proven knowledge of a wide range of systems but with less time for practical application of that knowledge.  And what about those candidates who have no formal degree. But years of experience through which they have gained many ‘non-university level’ qualifications in various systems and skills?

It’s believed that more than half of employers still use degree to screen job applicants. But this can mean that they are often overlooking candidates with relevant skills and experience. But there’s something else to consider too. A third of employers agree that university candidates are either ‘fairly’ or ‘very poorly’ prepared for the workplace.

Lizzie Crowley, skills adviser at the CIPD, said employers must stop thinking that university degrees were always the best indicator of a person’s potential at work: “They [employers] think they’re getting ‘off the shelf’ capability rather than assessing the specific skills needed for roles, then wondering why they have ongoing skills gaps.

it support

Does this mean that academic qualifications have no place in candidate selection?  Not in our opinion. Qualifications remain a measurable indicator of the quality of a candidate. Additionally, they are certainly a sign of commitment to the industry, as well as ambition.  But they are not the only measure.  To be sure of finding the ideal candidate for your IT role it is becoming more and more necessary to broaden search criteria.

As you know, IT is a uniquely fast-moving industry. Systems that were in place a decade ago are often unrecognisable.  It could be argued that the content of a ten-year-old degree is now largely irrelevant. That the knowledge gained through experience since earning that degree has become more important than the degree itself.

Broaden your criteria

So, how can you broaden your criteria for the perfect candidate without opening the floodgates to unsuitable candidates?  After all, for a candidate to list a skill on a CV tells you very little about their level of expertise.   There are several things to look for when shortlisting for a position:

– Look for candidates who have listed their achievements on their CV’s.  This will give you an idea of the level of experience they have a particular area.
– Look for projects that the candidate has led or been involved in.
– If you are looking at a Web Developer’s CV, take time to examine the sample URL’s they have provided.
– Most importantly, we can help you find a candidate who is the best fit for your company and individual role.  We will know what you are looking for and will ensure that all the information you need to know about each candidate is provided in addition to the CV.

Of course, formal qualifications will always remain a valuable asset to any candidate.  Completing a degree or other qualification takes dedication, an aptitude for the subject and plenty of fresh industry knowledge.  However, with dropping numbers of IT graduates (The University and College Union (UCU) report, stated that only 169 computer science courses were available in 2012, down 18% from 2006), and university applications down for a second year running in 2013 according to UCAS, combined with a marked growth in IT vacancies, perhaps it’s time for a change in the criteria by which the ideal candidate is chosen, without having to compromise on quality.

We can help

Here at Langley James, we know our candidates.  We have in-depth knowledge of their experience, down to the individual projects they have worked on, their strengths (and their weaknesses).  We have access to those details that you just can’t get from a CV alone.  Our talented and specialised consultants work hard to ensure that any candidates we send you are not only a perfect match for the role but your business.  To discuss your IT recruitment needs please call us on 0207 099 4839 or email us: langleyjames@langleyjames.com.

We’d love to hear your views on this.  Do you rate qualifications over experience or vice versa?  Tweet us @ITRecruitment, or follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn