How to create an employer offer that will boost tech talent attraction

In our latest webinar, our Commercial Director, Dominic Harvey was joined by another expert panel to discuss the insights from CWJobs’ report, What Tech Workers Really Want and to share advice on how to create a compelling employer offer.

Sharing their insights were Sarah Woherem, Technical Recruiter at Vallum Associates, Reace Wade, Early Careers Manager of Graduates & Apprentices at BT, and Dilani Selvanathan, Research and Development Engineer in Robotics and a recent graduate.

The key research findings

Dominic began by sharing some insights from the 1,000 tech workers and 500 tech leaders that were surveyed for CWJobs’ research. He revealed that the top demands tech workers have for their current or future employers (aside from a salary increase) are flexible working options (49%), a bonus scheme (34%), clear career progression (30%), and a competitive pension (30%).

He noted that flexible working was more important to women and older workers, with 53% of women, and 46% of men saying it’s a top demand, and 65% of 55-65-year-olds saying the same, compared to 41% of 18-34-year-olds.

He also revealed that 78% of the tech workers surveyed agree that the potential for career development is important when considering a new role.

Speaking about the age comparison with flexible working, Reace said:

‘‘The age comparison of those that want to work at home and those that want to be back in the office is unsurprising. We’ve found that a lot of younger workers, recent graduates and apprentices, have missed out on that transition from academia into a professional role. And I think if we were to break these figures down even more, they’d be skewed towards the younger generation who want to be back in the workplace.’’

Dilani added that during the pandemic, young people have been doing everything online, and they’ve become used to it. She says that young people now expect any graduate or apprenticeship scheme to offer some sort of option to work from home. They also expect to be provided with the equipment to do so.

Sarah said that when she speaks to developers, the first thing they ask is if the role is remote. She said that being forced to work from home during the pandemic has made people comfortable in that space.

Reflecting on the importance of career progression and pensions, Sarah said that the two go hand-in-hand. She said that people are really thinking of the long-term and they want the ability to work from home and develop the skills they need for the future.

Where employers are going wrong in creating their offers

Dominic summarised that there’s a clear disconnect between what businesses are offering and what tech workers want. He shared that only 19% of workers say their company provides clear career progression and that 45% agree that quirky office perks show a lack of understanding around what employees need.

What’s more, only 30% of tech leaders are gathering feedback and ideas to decide on what benefits to offer employees.

He shared that the biggest warning signs for candidates applying for roles are no salary listed in job ads (43%), and unclear job descriptions (30%). He also revealed that 64% of tech leaders agree losing out on talent in the past has had a detrimental effect on company performance.

Reflecting on these warning signs, Sarah said:

‘‘With salary, it all comes down to transparency. Companies that aren’t transparent usually have internal issues that they need to fix. For example, there could be a wide disparity in salaries within individual teams. In a time when we’re trying to close gender pay gaps, it’s important that companies are open about this.’’

Dilani added that she’s experienced frustration during her job search when the job description in ads only contain a short paragraph. She said that it creates the impression that a company might not be great to work for. She said that job descriptions need to contain essential information like location. If the job is far away, candidates need to calculate travel costs and think about living expenses.

Reace said that one of the biggest issues he sees in his role is the conflict between managers wanting to give as much detail as possible about a role, and recruiters saying it’s too long, or too complex. He said that there needs to be a balance between the two.

How companies can get their offer right

Dominic summarised that to create a compelling employer offer, companies need to listen, tailor and train. The top measures employers should focus on to attract and retain talent are rewards and recognition (52%), listen closely to what the workforce really wants (42%), provide flexible working options (42%), and provide perks tailored to individual circumstances (33%).

He shared that 55% of tech workers consider a good work-life balance to be the most important factor when creating and maintaining a good company culture, and that 40% regard transparent communication and regular employee feedback (37%) as important. Also, 51% of tech workers want additional training opportunities from their employer.

Talking about perks, Sarah said that although things are slow, some companies are getting there. They’re more open to the idea because they know it’s the only way that they’ll attract candidates. She says that she’s seeing companies being more inclusive and more accommodating to everyone’s needs within the business. She added that smaller companies tend to do better, and that larger companies need to find a way to accommodate this.

Reace made the point that award recognition means different things to different companies. He said that at BT, they try to partner with lots of other companies so that individuals can get useful discounts through the rewards package. He said BT wants employees to be part of a reward system, where they can tailor their rewards to their needs.

Speaking about the importance of training, Dilani said:

‘‘The tech industry is always advancing, there’s always new things coming up. There should be training within every company to enable people to keep up to date with the latest technologies. But at the same time, having too much training can be exhausting, especially when you have to meet deadlines. So having training every quarter makes sense.’’

Key takeaways

To wrap up, Dominic shared some actionable advice to help companies craft their employer offer and elevate their tech hiring strategies:

Offer personalised rewards and benefits – Rewards and benefits need to be as tailored and flexible as possible.

Prioritise learning and development – Investing in employees’ development shows that they matter to the business.

Deliver clear communication – Create communications around things that workers really care about: company values, mental health support & diversity and inclusion strategies.

Adopt a DE&I mindset when hiring talent – Be intentional about hiring diverse talent. Use inclusive language and market insights as well as technology to reduce bias.

Benchmark salaries – Stay up to date with tech workers’ salary expectations to attract talent and manage hiring budgets effectively.

Focus on flexibility – Deliver clear long-term policies on remote and flexible working so tech workers know where they stand.

Create a culture of certainty – Build an employee offer that provides certainty and helps people grow their careers.