How to effectively engage the next generation of tech talent to enhance your workforce
As tech is a rapidly growing industry, entry-level talent is the key to filling roles and bringing a fresh perspective to the way your business thinks and operates. So, what can tech companies do to engage, attract, and retain a young workforce?
The tech industry has faced numerous challenges this year, especially as redundancies have impacted the reputation and appeal of some employers. Even highly ranked companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon have struggled to recruit and retain talent as a result.
Despite these challenges , Google keeps the top spot for preferred employer amongst tech students, with Microsoft and Apple not far behind. So, what are they doing differently?
Universum’s Student Survey highlights how young talent perceives employers in the market and therefore, aids the decision making when looking to boost employer branding strategies.
Using talent insights to boost tech recruitment
Taking a data-driven approach to your recruiting strategies allows employers to attract more relevant talent to your company. Universum’s report provides companies with insights and data that are relevant to their brand’s positioning in the market when it comes to attracting entry level talent.
From this, you can better understand how competitors are performing in terms of engaging new talent, and which of these companies you could be losing talent to. It also offers insight on the communication channels you should focus on, and how you can tap into the data you need to make informed decisions about your employer brand.
Utilising this valuable guidance will allow you to strengthen your company’s employer brand through a better understanding of your target audience’s needs, and the tools and techniques used by leading employers.
Elevating your employer branding strategy
Employer brand is fundamental to attracting, retaining, and engaging entry-level talent. Most importantly it differentiates your business from competitors. Universum’s client platform, ACCESS, is a great tool for acquiring relevant data and insights into your employer brand’s positioning among talent.
This tool not only helps to attract high quality candidates but enables you to find talent who shares your values and objectives, but also understand where you can focus your employer branding efforts to successfully reach these individuals.
The market is constantly changing; therefore, it should be a top priority this year for companies to focus their efforts on enhancing employer branding and marketing strategies. It’s crucial that you offer the type of benefits and recognition that make young talent feel valued.
Providing a path for career advancement
Reskilling and upskilling are becoming increasingly important across all industries but especially to younger talent looking to develop their careers. According to Universum, a clear path for advancement is one of the most important factors that students look for when applying for job roles.Prioritising and promoting training schemes and development programmes across all roles and departments should be a top priority for the tech sector this year. Companies that offer career development attract more relevant talent and see increases in employee retention. Upskilling programmes engage entry-level talent as it gives them the opportunity to build and develop their skills that can help to advance their career in the future.
These skills are not only valuable but also transferable. Young talent will develop skills like teamwork, flexibility, crisis management, attention to detail and multi-tasking, all of which will be an asset in any future role.
Encouraging work-life balance
At any stage of your career there needs to be a healthy balance between professional and personal life, which is why work-life balance is extremely important for young professionals. Research from Universum highlights that one of the main preferences from students was employers encouraging a healthy work-life balance.
Businesses that promote a healthy work-life balance are more likely to acquire an engaged workforce that will stay with the company long term, in addition to the lower absenteeism and increased retention.
Young professionals are much more productive when they feel valued by their employers. Implementing a healthy work schedule that prioritises the mental wellbeing of employees decreases stress levels which can have a large impact on the productivity levels .
Do you want to be among the top considered companies? Download the report to uncover these insights to ensure you have a data-driven employer brand strategy and to help you improve and drive these strategies further.