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!
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.
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
Jan 13, 2023 | Management, Tips
Remote working looks like it’s here to stay. Or some form of it at least. Employees now have the legal right to request flexible learning from day 1.
Some of the biggest challenges for employers managing remote teams, often for the first time, include workers struggling with loneliness, managing their time, and communication among staff members.
This can be tough. But finding a practical strategy that works can help.Here are a few points that some of our home-working managers have shared with us that might offer some much-needed wisdom!
Set clear expectations when remote working
Make no mistake, inexperienced remote workers were suddenly thrust into unfamiliar working environments. They’re daily routines all over the place. With that in mind, ensure you give your team crystal clear expectations of what you want them to achieve. Clear direction from you takes the pressure off them. It helps everyone to know what success looks like to you. It may be worthwhile weighting their job descriptions if the balance has shifted due to home working. This will help your team to understand what aspects of their role takes priority.
Treat homeworkers as though they were in the office
If your team were in the office, would they have regular access to you? If that is the case, things should not change for them when working from home.
At the start of working from home, you may have had to contact your staff on a regular basis. Mainly to avoid any feelings of loneliness/isolation, until things settled down. While you and your staff may be in the swing of things, it’s still extremely important that a clear line of communication is continued. You need to manage your staff as if they were in close proximity to you.
People need to feel part of the team, wherever they are working.
Remote working requires regular contact
We’re probably all sick of the thought of Zoom meetings (both in a professional and personal capacity), but truly, what would we do without it now?
We are lucky to have so many communication options available to us. Using video conferencing is a really inclusive way of holding a meeting. Microsoft 365’s Team, Zoom, and Google Meet amongst many others are great ways of very easily holding a face to face team meeting. Telephone Conference calls, Facetime and Skype are other ways to keep in touch when you can’t physically meet with your team. Whatever you choose, try to forge an inclusive contact plan that offers everyone consistency, routine and the chance to be heard.
Video-based coaching
Notice one of your team is not themselves? Follow up with a call and use Video-Based Coaching to help them. Regular contact will help you spot such issues. Working alone from home is not for everyone. For some, being alone all day is their idea of hell. While others are more than happy in their own company. Keep in mind that everyone tends to offer a brave face – be careful not to ignore the signs.
A particularly useful method we have employed here at Langley James is employing a ‘buddy-up’ system. This is where two employees maintain regular contact and catch-up with one another.
Monitor progress
Maintain focus by setting objectives. Use a progress monitoring system to keep people on track. It’s vital your team understands why you need to follow their progress to avoid feelings of distrust. Instead, this is about the business remaining on course for success. Helping you to foresee any issues, offer extra support or opportunities to improve the process.
Trust your team when they are remote working
You might feel unsure as to whether the work will get done to the same standard as if they were in the office. To cope with this, set up work-from-home guidelines. Things like emails must be responded to within 24 hours. Use text for urgent matters. No calls between certain hours. This helps to make sure teammates are not working around the clock. Set the rules and trust the team to follow them. If they don’t, it’s easy to refer to the rule and avoid conflict and negativity.
With this being said, the same rules apply for employees who are working overtime. Indeed, many employers are finding that their staff cannot switch ‘work mode’ off after hours. It’s hard when your computer is just sitting there. The temptation to answer emails and calls on a Sunday evening. It’s become a frequent occurrence for many of the working-from-home army in recent months.
It’s important to help ensure your staff avoid feelings of ‘burning out’ and ultimately ‘switching off’ when the day is done.
Make remote working feel inclusive
Ensure that any news in the business is always circulated to home workers. Ideally at the same time that the rest of the team . There is nothing quite as demotivating as finding out a business critical decision from someone else in the business. Frankly it just makes people feel second class.
Remember, the remote environment can have mental implications for many – with feelings of anxiety, stress and loneliness at its highest. This is only exacerbated by the rising cost-of-living, with many employees fearing that they may be made redundant. Remote working is likely to make staff overthink about their position within the company, so being as open and transparent as possible will be crucial for work productivity and morale.
Remember the company vision
Ensure that home workers still feel part of the overall company vision and how they fit in. To work productively people need to know that their efforts are contributing towards the overall goal. Any changes needs to be properly communicated to maintain motivation and focus.
Remote working needs reliable tools
Ensure your team has the tools to do the job. Broadband is absolutely critical for most of us however, connection reliability may be an issue, especially in more rural areas. Suggest alternative venues for employees struggling with this issue such as working with other colleagues, friends or family. Look for alternatives like Dongles, mobile phone hotspots, etc and try to offer solutions instead of problems for your staff to solve.
Create a Team-to-Manager and visa versa communication strategy
Managing a productive team remotely begins with a strategy for communication. Be aware of how disruptive ‘over-communication’ can be to your day. Set out a process so your team knows when it’s appropriate to call you. First, arrange for the appropriate number of weekly formal “report-ins.” Second, set guidelines about daily needs. Some people work better with a shopping list of questions and thoughts. Others like a trickle. An understanding of what is urgent will further mitigate inefficiency. This allows for ultimate productivity. Try asking team members to question “ Is it Urgent?” or can it wait. Encourage email or instant messages for less urgent issues. Reserving phone call interruptions for the meaningful stuff. That all said, be aware that some of your team may need reassurance or guidance to be productive so assess on a case by case basis.
Establish close bonds, help and support frequently
Empathise and appreciate your team member’s life by discussing family, commonalities and shared beliefs. Things they would normally discuss in the office with their colleagues. It’s worthwhile investing this time in getting to know them. Show you are supportive of their success by using inquiry to help them achieve their goals . Do this rather than just checking on their progress and numbers. Avoid closed questions like, have you done X?, or did you manage to call Y? You may have no idea what their day has been like. If something has interfered with the plan, the only answer they can give is negative. This can result in humiliation and defensive confrontation. Instead ask, What progress have you made on X? or, How’s your morning been? Qualify the situation first and then ask more detailed questions.
It’s important to share team success when remote working
Ensure that everyone gets to know about achievements. Make a real fuss. It will create a team feel good factor.
So, there you have it. Some really useful advice from people who’ve been through the highs and lows of remote working before.
Our expert IT recruitment consultants are here to take the pressure off you when recruiting someone new, permanent or contract. We liaise with candidates with the utmost care to ensure that their candidate experience is a positive one. Call us on 0207 788 6600 and let us help you Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.
Jan 6, 2023 | IT, Tips
Have you considered your IT Recruitment Consultant to be part of your interview process?
This is the first stage of the interview process.
When you outsource your recruitment to Langley James IT Recruitment, you are outsourcing the early stages of your usual IT recruitment process.
Our Recruitment Consultants will act on your behalf. They will meet, interview and qualify candidates. that may be employed by your competitors in line with the job description you provide, We will make IT recruitment decisions based on the knowledge we have of your requirements. Our IT Recruitment Consultant will represent you and your company.
With that in mind, let us clarify how you can optimise this stage of recruitment to ensure your company is properly represented and your shortlist thoroughly vetted before you meet a single candidate.
Share your company knowledge with your IT Recruitment Consultant
If you attempted to recruit directly you might buy some recruitment advertising. Sift through the applicants and select a shortlist using your qualification information. Then, you would invite them to attend an interview where you would explore their suitability against your job description. You’d ask key questions and explain to them what the job is. If you like them, you will probably enthusiastically describe the business and all the reasons why they should join you as you have that knowledge.
Using Langley James IT Recruitment, you will save time. We will be responsible for most of the process allowing you to focus on other business challenges. The information you provide us with at this early stage is crucial to conduct your 1st stage interview to a standard that meets your own.
Qualification
Pass on all your early-stage qualification questions to your IT Recruitment Consultant. Provide examples of the best possible answers so they can match candidate responses accordingly. Context is important here as you might want specific experience and skill application. For example, when you say Advanced Excel skills, what does that really mean?
Describe examples of how the desired skill might be exercised so our Recruitment Consultants can explore a candidate’s experience with more confidence. Be very clear on what is essential and what is desirable so we can prioritise.
Your IT Recruitment Consultant is part of your team
By giving as much information as possible, it will help our Recruitment Consultants represent you and your company in the best possible way. Therefore, the more information we have, the more efficiently we can find you the right people.
Interview Feedback
Do you ensure that you gain feedback from our Recruitment Consultants before setting up your own interview, Part of our process is to produce a report when we shortlist. Ask for our interview report detailing the reasons why they feel a candidate is suitable. Review the evidence gained form the qualification questions you gave them and build their findings into your own interview plan.
Our IT Recruitment Partnership
At Langley James IT Recruitment we aim to keep in touch with you throughout the recruitment process. We send out a standard weekly report to update you on our progress – however do feel free to contact us at any time. We understand that things can change, and you may need to refine or change your recruitment priorities and regularly ask for feedback.
Sometimes roles are harder to fill if the salary is not sufficient, the location is non-traditional, or the specification does not sell the benefits of the role. Whatever the problem, do not wait to find out weeks later. Do whatever you can to influence the recruiter interview process and identify changes early.
Sep 25, 2022 | IT, Tips
‘Quiet firing’ – are you guilty of it? Could it be the cause of your recent resignations? The internet is currently awash with people talking about quiet quitting. This is when an employee literally does the bare minimum to get by without losing their job. It’s become a common issue of late, especially with companies embracing flexible working. But, it can actually go both ways.
What is ‘quiet firing’?
‘Quiet firing’ isn’t actually a new thing. It’s been happening for years. Going unreported and simply being part of the employment landscape. But now it has a name and people are starting to talk about it. Maybe it’s happened to you and you just didn’t realise? ‘Quiet firing’ is essentially when a manager demoralises their employees enough, that they choose to leave. Sometimes, it’s not intentional. And other times, it most certainly is.
When was the last time you took a step back and looked at your current management practices? If, like many other companies, you have gone from managing an on-site team, to managing a part or fully remote team, your management practice has had to change. Even if you haven’t made this transition, there are other issues afoot. With the cost of living incase and desire for career progression, employees are looking for more support than ever from their manager.
Are you guilty of ‘quiet firing’?
This can happen in various ways, such as increasing worlds to unmanageable levels, not responding to requests for promotions or salary increases, or by eliminating opportunities for career growth. But that’s not all. Micromanaging, excluding employees, cutting back hours, or removing soft benefits. All the things will make an employee feel unwanted, under-valued and neglected. And with so many vacancies in the market right now, candidates are in a strong position when it comes to finding a new job.
We encourage companies to look at their management practices and identify any instances of ‘quiet firing’ by poor managers. These are the managers who do not want to invest the time and effort to support, motivate and engage their teams. And sometimes this isn’t intentional. There are time pressures on managers across all areas of IT. It could be that the manager just simply doesn’t have the time to really consider the wellbeing of their team. These trends are causing concern for HR teams who are trying to recruit and retain talent in a tight job market.
Avoiding “quiet quitting’
Interestingly, there is a distinct connection between ‘quiet firing’ and ‘quiet quitting’. If there are members of your team who used to do well but are now showing signs of doing as little as possible, ask yourself this. Why? What is it that has made them feel so disengaged that they have lost to desire to do their very best? People don’t leave jobs that they feel supported in. Jobs that pay sensible salaries, a work-life balance and offer opportunities for career progression.
This year has seen a 24% increase in internet searches for “how to fire someone” compared to last year! And, as much as a 180% increase in the term “when to fire someone”. And with the current skills shortage, it’s surprising to see these increases.
Stop quiet firing, and you’ll avoid quiet quitting!
About Langley James
We have been helping companies to attract and retain the very best IT talent since 1999. But we don’t just simply find the best candidates. We can advise you on the current jobs market conditions. Share data on average IT salaries. Talk to you about the benefits that candidates are looking for. In fact, we do everything we can to help ensure that you get the very best people for your team. Get in touch with our team to find out how we can help you to recruit the best!
Jul 20, 2022 | Hiring Resources, IT, Tips
When it comes to attracting candidates, the benefits of offering hybrid working are something you should still consider. As yourself, is it necessary to have your team on site for 5 days? We appreciate that some roles in IT are hard to perform remotely. However, it still seems that most candidates are looking for flexibility and some form of hybrid working.
We’ve all been experienced the benefits of working from home. Saving money and time on commuting, having a better work / life balance. There are many great things about being able to work flexibly. But what about the benefits to you, the employer? What have you got to gain from offering hybrid working? Our expert recruiters share their insight.
Larger pool of candidates
We are living in a time where there is a real shortage of skilled candidates. With vacancies over 1m in the UK and unemployment figures low, it’s getting harder to find the best IT talent. However, if you can offer remote working, your candidate pool suddenly becomes the whole of the UK, or even the World! Think of the diversity this could bring to your team. And the greater availability of exceptional candidates for your IT vacancy.
Improved loyalty is one of the benefits of offering hybrid working
According to various reports, we are in the middle of The Great Resignation. Around the world, workers are quitting their jobs in record numbers – and bosses are still scrambling to figure out how to keep them. However, offering hybrid working can help combat this. Lots of people were working from home during lockdown and let’s be honest, we all got rather used to it. Companies adapted and in most cases, business continued as normal.
But now that we are back in the office, the promise of flexible working is slowly disappearing. But candidates are looking for flexibility. Therefore, if you are genuinely able to offer hybrid, flexible or remote working, you should have a larger pool of candidates to choose from. Plus, if you continue with flexible working, employees are likely to stay with you for longer. Why would they move for another job if it meant going back to an offer 5 days a week?
It focuses on mental wellbeing
Mental wellbeing has been big news recently. There’s a renewed focus on the mental health of our teams. And companies who have a wellbeing policy are more likely to attract more candidates. By offering flexibility in working patterns, or work locations, you will be seen as a company who looks after their employees. It also shows that you have trust in your teams, and this can go a long way.
Are you recruiting?
If you are currently recruiting in IT, you’ve no doubt noticed the huge reduction in applications. That’s where we can come in. We’ve been recruiting IT candidates for over 20 years and have a large database of highly skilled IT candidates. Even in the skills shortage, we are still able to secure exceptional levels of IT talent for our clients. We’d love the opportunity to do the same for you. Get in touch with our team today and see how we can help you to recruit someone worth recruiting.
Jun 10, 2022 | IT, Tips
The Great Resignation is well and truly here! According to a recent survey conducted by PwC, 18% of workers cited that they are “very or extremely likely” to change jobs within the year. Plus a further 32% saying they were “moderately or slightly” like to move on. So, what’s causing this great revolt? It’s not just driven by pay, despite this being one big reason due to the cost-of-living crisis. In fact, the PwC study also found that 72% of UK workers are planning to ask for a pay rise in the next 12 months. But another important factor is job satisfaction that now scores high on an IT candidates wish list.
So, let’s look at what you can do to survive the great resignation in your company –
Review your salaries
There’s no getting away from the fact that it’s costing more to get to work than ever before. The cost-of-living is increasing at an alarming rate and people are looking for ways to cope. By reviewing your salaries across the board, you may be able to secure more staff. Get your teams together and ask about their concerns about the cost-of-living crisis. Taking a proactive approach in this situation may create more loyalty from your team. Also – acting early may mean that you actually save money. The increases we are experiencing are not likely to go away for a while. In fact, it’s more likely that they will continue to increase. It’s possible that your team will expect a more significant pay rise the later in the year you deal with it. It’s certainly something to consider.
If you are looking for guidance on salaries, we can help. Each month we produce an IT Salary Guide that shows you the latest average salaries for the most popular jobs in IT.
Look at your company culture
Was your company culture affected during lockdown? What steps did you take to ensure that the culture was still attractive to your teams? There have been some significant changes to the way we work together. By speaking to your teams and listening to what they have to say about the culture, you could save yourself having to replace as many people. What does your team want? Don’t assume! There’s no getting away from the fact that creating a culture in the world of hybrid working isn’t an easy task. But getting it right can make all the difference.
Flexibility can help you through the great resignation
Right now, around two-thirds of people are working remotely. This is either on a full-time or part-time basis. But it’s important to remember that offering remote working isn’t essential to a happy IT team. Flexibility is the key. Everyone will have different needs and it’s important to meet these where you can. It may be that you are more flexible with the working hours. This is particularly helpful to staff with children. Allowing later starts, or even giving time off for the school pickup, for additional hours to be completed from home. These things can make a big different to retaining your team. Think about what can work for you.
Are you offering the right rewards?
It’s more than just a strong basic salary that will secure your team. What else are you able to offer? This may be bonus payments of completion of projects. A bonus for achieving KPI’s on a helpdesk. Whatever your business will benefit from, attaching a reward is likely to not only increase productivity but also engagement too. We appreciate that not every company has a bottomless pot to keep paying out to keep their team. But some rewards don’t have to cost you more. You could offer additional holidays, memberships to platforms like PerkBox, or even a monthly social event. Again, the best way to find out what will be best received is by talking to your teams.
Learning and development
This is something our IT consultants are hearing a lot at the moment. Great candidates are considering leaving their current employer due to lack of skill building. Most candidates in IT are passionate about learning new skills. What can you do to help facilitate that? Are there courses that your teams can attend that will benefit your company? Or maybe some on the job training will help? It’s not only a great way to keep your staff engaged, it’s the ideal way to up-skill your team. This could develop into clear career progression plans. Another area that candidates are particularly interested in right now.
Start pooling candidates – no one will be unaffected by the great resignation
Despite your best efforts, it’s unlikely that you will survive without losing any of your team. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It can be your opportunity to really think about the skills you want. What personality fits best with your team and company culture? But to prevent too much disruption, it’s important to be prepared. Recruiting the right candidate is taking longer than normal. Finding good candidates can be tough, but that’s not all. Counteroffers are happening more and companies are competing for the same candidates. By working with a specialist IT recruitment agency, you will be able to not only interview candidates quickly, but you’ll also know about their other opportunities and gain insights on how to secure them for your company. Get in touch with our team to see how we can help.
May 28, 2022 | IT, Tips
Exit interviews will be more commonplace. With one in five employees expected to change jobs this year, you may have already lost some of your team. Did you hold an exit interview? If you didn’t then you could be missing out. It’s your opportunity to find out things that need to be actioned to help improve your retention rates. No matter the size of your company, it’s likely you don’t really know how your employees are feeling. So, utilising the exit interview for an insiders view is invaluable.
But how do you make sure that you get the best out of your time? You need to carefully consider what you’d like to find out. And more importantly, what you’ll do with it.
First, let’s cover some exit interview do’s and don’ts
Exit Interview Do’s
It’s always best practice to get a member of the HR team to conduct the interview. Your employees may be more honest with HR than with a line manager or director. Your employees will need to feel comfortable that their honesty will be appreciated. It’s important that they don’t feel judged. Reassurance is also key when it comes to confidentiality. An employer is likely to share more if they know it’s not going to be widely shared.
Exit Interview Don’ts
You know the well-known phrase about making assumptions. It’s important not to assume anything. Keep an open mind and don’t allow bias, or even disappointment to creep in. Don’t email a list of questions and expect an honest response. Exit interviews should always be conducted face to face if you are to really benefit. And finally, don’t forget to say thank you. Thanks the employee for their time and their honesty. Remember, they are likely to share some of their experience with their colleagues.
Questions to ask
It’s key that you approach each exit interview individually. Having a set list of questions that you use for every employee isn’t going to give you the answer you need. However, here’s 10 examples to get you started –
- What was it that made you start to look for another role?
- Was it the salary or the culture that attracted you to this new role?
- Do you feel that you were supported in your role?
- Did you feel that you could cope with your workload? – Burnout is on the rise. This is a key question to determine if it’s a problem in your workforce
- Have you been given extra training?
- Did you receive regular feedback from your line manager? – If so, it’s good to ask if it was predominately positive or negative
- Do you feel that you have all the tools you needed to do the role?
- Is the company culture what we promote it to be?
- Do you feel that your contribution was recognised?
- What would be one thing you could change about your role?
Looking to recruit?
If you are performing an exit interview, it’s likely there’s also the need to hire. The jobs market isn’t what it used to be. With more vacancies than ever before, it’s getting harder to find the right candidates. That’s where using an agency comes in. In times like this, it’s important that you are still able to secure the best people for your role. Working with an agency can make it all a lot easier. When you choose to work with Langley James, you get to benefit from our decades of experience and network building. This is where your next hire can be found.
So, if you are looking to recruit into your IT team, get in touch with our IT recruitment experts today and let’s help you to recruit someone worth recruiting.
Apr 26, 2022 | Hiring Resources, IT, Tips
Onboarding IT staff correctly is one of the foundation building blocks in ensuring success when it comes to hiring. Often an area that is daily overlooked, it’s time that things changed! With the IT staff shortage reaching all areas of IT, businesses are starting to invest more in recruitment and retention. So don’t let your hiring process fall at the final hurdle. Our team share their top tips for onboarding IT staff in 2022.
But first, let’s share 2 key stats so that you can see why this is so important.
Here’s our Top 3 Tips for Onboarding IT Staff
Don’t wait until day 1
We’ve all been there. Working your notice period can be a lonely place to be. Plus, with the market being flooded with jobs as it is at the moment, it’s a vulnerable time for all. If you’ve secured a strong candidate, don’t then lose them for the sake of a few emails or calls. Keeping in touch with your new starter during their notice period is vital. Why not use this time to start to introduce them to their team? An email to make an introduction is enough, but you can take it further too. Arranging a virtual lunch with their teammates over Zoom or Team is a great way to make them feel involved before joining. Failing that, reach out to them on LinkedIn and ask their colleagues to do the same.
At Langley James, we pride ourselves on our exceptional levels of customer service. To both our clients and our candidates. That’s why, if you recruit with us, we will be in touch with your new hire each week during their notice period. This helps to alleviate any fears, answer any questions and to generally support them through their notice.
The art of storytelling when onboarding IT staff
It’s another hot topic in the employment market – employees like to join companies with shared values. And whilst their values will have felt aligned during the interview process, it’s important to share the story again when onboarding IT staff. You want your new hire to be professionally invested in your company. You want them to feel a sense of belonging and a sense of achievement. What purpose do you have as a company? Keep this at the forefront when designing your onboarding process. What exciting projects have you already been involved in, or, what do you have in the pipeline. Engaging your new hires with captivating stories about your company will make their first week an exciting one.
Set them up for success
Thinking that spending 10 minutes with your new hire on forms and formalities is enough is a mistake. It always takes time for a new hire to settle in. However, this has, in some cases, been further exacerbated by hybrid working. it can take longer for them to get into the team culture, establish a routine and understand new processes. Your role is to make their first few weeks as easy as possible. With lots of people spending so much time alone over the last couple of years, some may not have the confidence they used to. Make sure that they know where to turn if they have a problem. Let them know about lunch arrangements and even arrange for them to have a lunch buddy for the first week. Whilst this may not be necessary for more senior hires, it will certainly make a difference for more junior and mid-level roles.
About Langley James
We live and breathe everything IT. We know that market and know what it takes to attract the very best IT talent. Why not work with us on your next IT vacancy and experience the difference of working with a specialist who really does know the market. Get in touch with our expert recruiters today and let’s help you to recruit someone worth recruiting.
Mar 4, 2022 | IT, Tips
The remote interview is here to stay! Despite final restrictions now being lifted, remote interviews are still the first choice for hiring managers and candidates. Not only does it give more flexibility to the candidates, but it also allows you to screen faster and in a more structured way. With the current IT skill shortage, reducing your time to hire can make a big difference when it comes to securing the best IT talent.
So how do you make sure that your remote interview structure is geared for success? Here’s our guide –
Make sure your remote interview has structure
Just as you would in a face-to-face interview, it’s important to have a structure for your remote interview. The advantage of a remote interview is that you can have an out of sight prompt to assist. Decide what’s important and what you would like to discover from each interview stage. Creating a defined structure will not only ensure that you stay on track. It will also help you communicate the process with your recruiter prior to the interview. We’ve created guides on effective interviews before and some of those tips do still apply. However, when it comes to a remote interview, there are some additional things to consider.
It’s all about communication
It’s not just the interview where communication is key. It all starts beforehand. When arranging remote interviews, it’s important to communicate what to expect. You need to share some key information with your recruiter to make sure that the candidate is prepared.
- Who will be in the interview? Will it be a team interview or individual 1-2-1`s?
- What will the candidate need to prepare? What tech will you be using? Are there any tasks to complete?
- Will you be expecting a screen share?
Making sure that the candidate is prepared in advance will allow them to showcase their skills to the best of their ability. Your recruiter should be asking you these questions as a matter of cause.
Be flexible when arranging a remote interview
When arranging remote interviews, it’s important to still be flexible. There are lots of people still working from home. But, whilst that may make you think that they are more freely available, this isn’t always the case. Companies have implemented new remote working practices and monitoring. It’s important to be mindful of this when arranging interviews. However, regardless of this, there’s no doubt that remote interviews are the quickest way to secure the best IT talent.
Test your tech
You’ve no doubt seen this discussed for candidates, but the same applies for companies – probably even more so – and especially in IT! You may be an expert at Zoom or Teams meetings now but testing that everything works before the interview is still good practice. Make sure you are in a quiet area with no interruptions. Check your battery if you are not plugged in. Simple checks can save lots of embarrassment.
Dealing with issues during the remote interview
We’ve probably all been there. We are in a virtual meeting and something really important is being said. And that’s when the connection drops out. But how do you deal with this in an interview? Whilst your connection may be working fine, sometimes you’ll be in a situation where the candidates’ connection is poor. This can be a stressful situation. Not only is the candidate nervous and trying to perform the best – they don’t want to have tech issues to deal with too. If connections are poor, then don’t waste too much time. Suggest that the interview is rescheduled for later in the day. Maybe the candidate can arrange to be somewhere with better connection?
The next steps
If you have stuck to the structured plan for each interview, then you should be able to score the candidates fairly. Identify which areas are more weighted than others. How did each candidate perform? This will help you create a shortlist for a hiring decision or a final interview. But what can you do on the second stage if it’s still a remote interview? Why not assign a task? Something that fits with a key competency for the role. Or maybe even a live task – something they will be required to do if successful.
How Langley James can help
We have been helping companies to recruit the very best IT talent for over 20 years. During this time, we have learnt lots of tips that we can share with you when it comes to interviews, attraction methods and more. If you want to work with a recruiter who really knows their market and can help you recruit someone worth recruiting, get in touch with our team today.
Feb 21, 2022 | Hiring Resources, IT, Tips
IT talent has always been in high demand, but no more so than right now! We are now at the point where many companies are chasing the same scarce talent. Therefore, we are seeing double-digit pay increases in some areas of IT. But where does it end? And what about the companies that are unable to pay inflated salaries? What happens to them?
We’ve researched the current IT jobs market to find ways to enable you to recruit someone worth recruiting, without having to pay 6 figures salaries.
IT Talent Most in Demand
According to data from CIO.com, the 10 most in-demand tech jobs for this year are –
- Database Administrator / Architect
- Information Security Analyst
- Software Developer
- Network & Computer Systems Administrator
- Computer Programmer
- Web Developer
- Information Systems Manager
- Systems Analyst
- Helpdesk / Desktop Support
- Network / Cloud Architects
And we are hearing the same reports from the job boards too. Of the hardest job titles to fill, 8 out of 20 are in the IT sector and are remaining vacant no the job boards for 3 months+. Again, not terribly helpful if you have an urgent IT job to fill.
But this could be a double-edged sword for many companies. Not only are you trying to secure the best candidates (and paying more for them!), but your own teams are also asking for pay rises due to inflation, or even worse, they are offered a considerable increase to move to another company. You then have a decision to make. Is it cheaper to agree a higher salary to keep hold of them? Whilst this does work in some cases, over 80% of people still move on within 6 months of accepting a counter offer. So, think carefully before you react to any resignations.
Shorten Your Time to Hire IT Talent
Is your recruitment process preventing you from securing the best talent? Candidate expectations are changing and to secure the best IT talent, you need to shorten your interview process to just 1 or 2 stages. These stages also ideally need to be remote so that the candidates can fit them into their day. You can always invite the candidate in to receive the job offer at the end of the process. But don’t let a 2- or 3-week interview process stop you from achieving your business goals. Here’s our advice on timescales –
- CV Feedback – 24 hours maximum. Ideally same day.
- 1st interview – within 2 days of receiving CV. Ideally remote
- 2nd interview – if absolutely necessary within 1-2 days of 1st interview
- Offer – within 24 hours of final interview
Whilst sticking to these timescales doesn’t guarantee that you’ll secure your first-choice candidate, it does give you a better chance. However, it also means that you are less likely to be wasting your time on interviews that candidates are quickly going to withdraw from.
Purpose Before Profit
Do you have a company mission? What is it that your business does that helps others? IT talent, especially younger candidates are very selective about who they work for. If an in-demand candidate receives 3 equal job offers, there decision is likely to be based on your purpose. Gone are the days of wanting to work for a ‘growth-at-all-costs’ company. For some companies there is a clear mission. One that can easily be communicated to candidates at interview. However, there are companies that need to be a little more creative when it comes to communicating their mission. Take a look at yours and make sure it’s fit for purpose before interviewing.
How Langley James can help you to secure the best IT talent
Not all recruiters are the same! It’s important to choose carefully who you work with, especially in times of a skills shortage. You don’t want a recruiter who just posts your roles on a jobs board. We’ve shown above that this is no longer the answer! The superstar IT candidates are not to be found in advert response. They are the candidates on databases, in recruiters’ networks, and recommendations. So be sure to ask the right questions of your recruiter next time you are hiring IT talent. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have, show you testimonials and even put you in touch with our clients. Just ask – we are here to help.
Feb 11, 2022 | IT, Management, Tips
Today, discussing leadership style has become an extremely popular area. Many argue that a manager’s leadership style is one of the fundamental elements that determines the extent of both business and employee success. Therefore, it’s important that you understand your leadership approach. You can then decide if it’s working for you, your employees, and the overall business. You want to ensure that you are driving the business to meet its goals and objectives and be the best it can be. Therefore, it might be necessary that you take a step back, evaluate your approach and adapt it accordingly.
Below are five common leadership styles. Have a read and figure out which one best describes you. Hint – there isn’t one best way!
Transactional Leadership Style
This tends to be thought of as the traditional leadership approach. A transformational leader implements strict rules and shows little understanding for people’s circumstances outside of work. For example, people would have to use their holidays to attend doctor’s appointments or attend their child’s sports day. The rewards and punishments your IT team receive are contingent upon their performance. As a result, rules, procedures, and standards are essential in transactional leadership. Your focus is enhancing your own success and development along with that of the organisation. However, in some situations this approach does work well. For example, research has found that transactional leadership tends to be most effective in situations where problems are simple and clearly defined. It also works well in crisis situations.
Transformational
Being a transformational leader means focusing on the needs of others, rather than your own. You treat each employee as an individual. Helping them find a work, life balance that suits them. This can often result in implementing flexible working hours. You’re all about motivating and encouraging your IT team to achieve both their own and the organisation’s goals and objectives. But do so without micromanaging. You strongly believe in trusting your employees to get the job done and the job done well. Give them the opportunity to be creative and look to the future. What’s great about a transformational leader is that they are often extremely passionate, energetic, enthusiastic and love to challenge the status quo. You are a brilliant role model and strive towards setting examples of how things should be done.
Authentic Leadership Style
Authenticity is described as ‘owning one’s personal experiences. For example – thoughts, emotions, needs, wants, preferences and beliefs’. Therefore, an authentic leader must understand their values and act accordingly. Rather than forcing their employees to follow their lead, they show authenticity by inspiring them to do so. Acting with integrity and agreeing on shared values. As a result, authentic leaders can achieve strong employee loyalty and commitment. There are four key components of authentic leadership. Self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and internalised moral perspective (do the right thing). However, entirely authentic leadership can be hard to achieve as people’s perceptions of what authenticity means can vary on a large scale.
Servant
Servant leaders work to achieve long-term, organisational goals by. They firstly facilitate the growth, development, and general well-being of the individuals in the IT team whilst sharing their power. This approach is great for building strong relationships with your employees. It truly demonstrates that you want to serve their needs. To help them be the best they can be. On the other hand, however, there is a danger that your employees might walk over you. You may find it hard to gain the respect that leaders with different styles can achieve. This is a balancing act so approach with caution.
Laisse – Faire
This is an extremely hands-off approach. Although you provide the tools and resources needed, you offer your IT team very little guidance. You give them complete freedom to make decisions on their own. As a result, people often have a lack of role awareness and poor involvement in the group. This can be demotivating and uninspiring. However, in some situations, this style works well. For example, experienced and highly skilled individuals require very little guidance, and some people appreciate the autonomy. This allows them to feel more satisfied with their work.
Leadership Style Round Up
Globalisation and social media amongst many other things has allowed leaders around the world to witness different culture’s leadership styles. This has prompted them to re-evaluate their own and we are now finding that people are steering away from traditional approaches such as transactional. There is now a huge emphasis on the importance of employee wellbeing. Most would agree that in order to run a successful, profitable business, you must ensure that your entire workforce is happy, fulfilled and motivated. However, it would be extremely difficult to adopt just one approach, therefore, taking different traits from the each of the different styles can help you become a leader that works for you and your business. Being able to do this shows you are diverse and after all, a diverse leader makes for a successful one!
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Dec 8, 2021 | Hiring Resources, IT, Tips
Recruiting over the last 12 months has been an interesting ride. Remote working, skills shortages and record numbers of vacancies has all had an impact. But as we creep ever closer to the end of 2021, what will next year bring? We’ve scoured the market to find the most important recruiting facts and stats you need to know for 2022.
More than 76% of UK professionals intend to look for a new job in 2022 (CV Library)
The great resignation is set to continue into 2022, so it really is time to be prepared! Looking after your current team must be high on your priorities or you may spend most of the first half of 2022 interviewing replacements. The top 5 reasons that candidates want to move from their current job are –
- 42.1% want or need a career change
- 41.3% are looking for a higher salary
- 40.7% have delayed changing jobs due to the pandemic – they are now ready to move
- 38.9% are looking for more flexible work options
- 33.2% are experiencing burnout in their current job
Flexible working has changed the face of recruiting
To be able to attract and retain some of the best IT talent, most companies are now offering flexible working, but that’s not all. How we work how we interview, how we hire and how we onboard have changed. So, here’s what to expect for 2022
- 86% of workers want to continue to work remotely at least part time (Glassdoor)
- Candidates are willing to sacrifice up to 12% of salary for flexible or hybrid working
- 61% of candidates expect video interviews to become the norm for 1st stage interviews
- 73% of companies plan to increase freelance or contract hires in 2022. However, except to pay more! Nearly 90% of businesses have been forced to increase contractor rates since April 2021.
Candidate expectations
The power is most definitely with the candidate now. The skills shortage has made sure of that. But when it comes to recruiting the best candidates, there are some things that you need to be aware of –
- 49% of candidates have declined a job offer due to a poor recruitment experience (be sure to partner with a reputable recruitment agency like Langley James instead!)
- Company diversity is important to over 75% of candidates
- If you have a reputable brand, you are likely to receive as many as 50% more qualified applications
- 84% of job seekers use social media for their job search
How to make sure your recruiting plans for 2022 are right
According to LinkedIn, the average time to hire in IT is 44 days. So even if you start to recruit the minute you return from your no doubt well-deserved Christmas break, you’re looking to March for your new starter to join. And if the predictions are right, this process could be set to take even longer next year. This where you need a recruitment partner that you can trust. Someone who can research the market for you and make recommendations to ensure you attract the very best IT professionals. We have been helping companies to recruit IT staff for over 20 years. We’d love to do the same for you. Get in touch with our experienced team today and find out why so many people choose Langley James as their IT recruitment partner.
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