Tech hiring 2.0: Redefining your HR strategy amid Covid-19 and beyond

Last week, CWJobs’ Commercial Director Dominic Harvey was joined by Steve Ward, UK & Ireland Director at Universum, to discuss insights into the current status of the UK tech job market, the impact of Covid-19, the importance of employer branding now and share tips on how to attract top tech talent.

Watch the webinar

Here are some key highlights from the webinar:

The UK tech job market has remained largely resilient

Dominic began by sharing how resilient the UK tech job market has been during Covid-19 compared to other industries, although not immune to its impact. The biggest impact on jobs posted and applications seems to be in May 2020 as uncertainty continued, but we are starting to see the first signs of recovery with an increased number of jobs posted and applications in June.

Tech job applications rose by one third in June and job postings went up by one quarter. In June, we also saw a 20% increase in active candidates on the CWJobs platform, so we’re starting to see a comeback.

Dominic Harvey, Commercial Director at CWJobs

Following the Covid-19 outbreak, the focus in the tech sector was on infrastructure and IT support as businesses were trying to facilitate working from home and adapt to the changing situation. That could be the reason for lower demand within software development, one of CWJobs’ strongest areas, as projects were most likely put on hold to support businesses’ infrastructure. However, applications within software development rose again in June with a 9% year-on-year increase.

Considering these statistics from an employer branding viewpoint, Steve confirmed that the sector has seen an interesting period. He said that, based on findings from Universum’s Employer Branding Now 2020 survey, employee engagement initiatives are on the rise. He highlighted:

‘‘Covid-19 is providing a learning curve for many brands. The focus has been on care, wellbeing, enablement and support. It appears that the market is starting to look more internally at its people. Many organisations have come to life with how they’ve helped employees and how prepared they are moving forward is crucial. How you handled the pandemic will define your employer brand going forward.’’

Confidence levels among tech professionals remain high

Dominic highlighted the key finding from the CWJobs Confidence Index 2020 that 81% of IT professionals are confident in the state of the UK tech industry. This is slightly less compared to 2019 when confidence was 89%, but still high considering the current situation with Covid-19 and its impact on the UK and global economy.

He summarised the reasons for this continued confidence as being:

• the UK’s existing tech skillset
• the tech being produced in the UK
• the UK’s status as an IT leader
• investment in the industry
• UK’s previous achievements in tech

The Confidence Index 2020 revealed that 52% of tech professionals list Covid-19 as their biggest concern regarding its impact on the economy. Interestingly, 20% of the tech workforce thinks their salaries will decrease in the next year, whereas 46% of IT and telecoms workers specifically, think their salaries will increase. This could be attributed to how fast we have adopted remote working, a practice that tech professionals are most suited for, and also how important tech has been in our professional and personal lives during Covid-19.

One area that causes uncertainty in the future is IR35 and its implementation in a year’s time. 35% of IT leaders agreed their companies were not prepared for IR35 this year and 31% that the delay of the legislation benefited their company. He also shared that 39% of IT professionals agreed that as a company, they are still unsure what IR35 means for non-contracted staff.

The importance of employer branding during the pandemic

Steve from Universum shared that this year has seen a different outlook on the public sector, which is supported by the latest CWJobs stats that reveal 75% of tech professionals would consider joining the private sector, compared to 83% in 2019. Universum’s latest research showed a fascinating shift as companies in the public sector usurped many traditional private sector businesses in terms of attractiveness to students.

He then moved on discussing the differences between Gen Y and Gen Z in terms of what they want from an employer what drives them professionally are important to consider when creating employer and hiring branding strategies. Gen Y is more focused on financial ethics, lifestyle, purpose, training and leadership, whereas Gen Z’s priorities are financial, security, purpose, belonging, respect and impact. These findings are not specific to tech but there are very similar indications to tech talent as well.

Dominic continued by highlighting that making tech part of the solution has helped maintain positive employee morale, further contributing to employer branding. He shared that 75% of the tech workforce agree that IT/tech is vital to keeping companies afloat during the coronavirus outbreak.

He also mentioned that 72% of the UK tech workforce agree that a spotlight has been shone on the importance of tech departments in the daily running of a business. Dominic summarised this by saying:

The seeds need to be planted for Gen Y as future employees. The speed at which companies have managed to organise their employees to work from home is testament to the importance and strength of UK tech and this will be important for recovery. Companies that have a pool of candidates that they can choose from to accelerate projects will have a unique opportunity to grow.

Dominic Harvey, Commercial Director at CWJobs

Top specialisms needed to succeed in the tech industry

The CWJobs Confidence Index 2020 revealed that the top three tech specialisms needed to succeed in the industry now are general IT (39%), cyber security (36%) and cloud (32%). In the long-term, artificial intelligence (37%), cyber security (AI) (33%) and cloud (25%) will be a priority.

Dominic commented that some of the biggest challenges companies will face in the future include remote working, IT infrastructure and implementing cyber security measures. He added that the UK needs to look at how to build a better base of cyber security specialists moving forward.

Steve added that from an employer branding perspective, companies will be remembered for three things post-Covid-19: their level of care, safety and their people-first approach to communications, which will ultimately impact how they attract and onboard candidates with the tech skills they need.

How companies can streamline their hiring process

In order to streamline recruitment, companies should focus on communication. Their goals should be created with employee wellbeing, awareness, advocacy and retention in mind.

A balance is needed between perception, need and truth. Employers need to be telling stories internally so that employees feel secure, which in turn, impacts retention. Employer advocacy is the best form of employer branding. This is proving particularly true as people start looking to the heart of organisations.

Steve Ward, UK & Ireland Director at Universum

Now is the opportunity for the tech industry to impact the way teams are built, work and innovate. By tapping into new talent pools, promoting diversity & inclusion and working with the industry to drive change, companies can change their business culture and be more attractive to candidates.

CWJobs, part of the Totaljobs Group, has formed partnerships with industry bodies such as techUK and Tech Talent Charter to advocate on key issues in the industry, share best practice and learn from our peers. We also champion diversity with a variety of internal initiatives such as the Women in Tech and The Black networks aiming to continue the conversation on key issues and support change.

For more information on how we can support you creating a robust hiring strategy for the rest of 2020 and beyond, get in touch.