What tech really workers want – and how it can help employers attract and retain talent

In our latest report, we surveyed 1,000 tech workers and 500 tech leaders to discover what candidates really want from a role in the industry. We found that what tech workers want, often differs from what employers are delivering. Many businesses could be wasting money offering under-appreciated benefits, when they should be focusing on other factors.

Let’s take a closer look at the highlights from our report and how employers can use these insights to attract and retain tech talent.

Flexibility, financial benefits, and career development are a top priority

The last couple of years have seen tech workers become even more focused on what they want from a role. Our report finds that 49% of tech workers want flexible working options, 34% want a bonus scheme, 30% want a competitive pension, and 30% want clear career progression.

With most of the UK working home working during COVID-19, tech workers are keen to retain the freedom that comes with flexible working. Companies therefore need to deliver long-term policies so tech workers know exactly where they stand when they apply for jobs.

As employers continue to recruit from a more diverse talent pool, implementing a blanket approach to company benefits isn’t as effective as it once was. Employers need to offer tailored, flexible packages that provide tech workers with several options. In today’s candidate-driven marketplace, companies need to offer personalisation to stay ahead of the competition.

With career progression high on the agenda for tech workers, employers need to develop clear progression plans to show employees that they’re valued. If tech workers can imagine a future with a company, they’re more likely to apply for roles, stay motivated, and loyal. Employers should aim to provide training programmes to enable workers to develop in the areas that interest them.

Employers aren’t delivering what tech workers want

Despite tech workers being more focused in what they want, our report finds that 32% say their employer isn’t delivering what they want.

For example, only 19% of workers say their company delivers clear career progression. And 39% say they want a salary increase of more than 10% in the next two years, despite half (50%) saying that if they do receive an increase, they expect it to be less than the national average of 5.3%.

These findings don’t come as a huge surprise when we consider that only 30% of tech leaders gather feedback and ideas to decide on what benefits to offer employees. A good starting point is for employers to send out anonymous staff surveys to gain insights into how workers feel about what’s been delivered compared to their expectations. Employers should demonstrate transparency and share these results with the company to hold themselves accountable for taking action. If workers feel that their opinions are valued, they’ll be more likely to stay loyal.

Missing salary information turns tech workers away

Employers also need to consider what messages they communicate in job adverts. For many workers, a job advert is their first impression of a company, so employers need to make sure that it appeals to today’s time-poor candidates.

Our report finds that the biggest warning sign in a job advert is missing salary information (43%), followed by an unclear job description (30%), unrealistic experience requirements (24%), and no location (24%).

It’s important that employers keep up to date with tech workers’ salary expectations and address this in job adverts. Salary has always been a top motivator in tech, so it’s surprising to find that only 36% of tech leaders say their company includes salaries in job ads.

Not only does salary information attract talent, it helps companies manage their hiring budget more effectively. CWJobs’ salary calculator enables companies to view the average salaries for IT and Tech jobs within any location within the UK.

Failure to meet workers’ expectations can impact company performance

Our survey finds that 57% of tech leaders agree that their company has lost out on top tech talent because they have failed to keep up with industry demands. What’s more, 64% of tech leaders agree that losing out on talent has had a detrimental effect on company performance.

By not keeping up to date with what tech workers want, employers risk losing out to competitors. In turn, this could make it more difficult to fill skills gaps and prove costly in the long run. It could also have an impact on company performance as companies won’t have the right people for the job.

From the perspective of tech workers, 72% are highly sceptical about companies that don’t provide salary information on job adverts, and 57% would avoid applying for roles where pay is described as ‘competitive.’

Employers therefore need to be proactive in keeping ahead of recruitment trends in the tech industry. In taking action on market insights, and adopting a diversity, inclusion, and equality (DE&I) mindset, companies can attract candidates from a variety of backgrounds. Likewise, technology itself can help reduce bias in the recruitment process and create a fairer screening process. TotalJobs’ Gender Bias Decoder can help employers identify gendered words in job descriptions and emails. And Equality Boost helps companies reach the tech talent they need by demographic, location and interest.

The top measures employers should focus on

With tech workers showing a clear desire to be heard by their employers, they’re less concerned with token gestures like ‘employee of the month’, and more interested in tailored benefits, career progression, and flexibility.

According to our report, the top measures employers should focus on to attract and retain talent are rewards and recognition for hard work (52%), listening more closely to what the workforce really wants (42%), and providing flexible working options (42%).

Other factors that contribute to creating and maintaining a good company culture include a good work-life balance (55%), transparent communication from management (40%), and regular employee feedback (37%).

Communication is key in tech recruitment, that’s why employers should create communications around the factors workers really care about. By aligning communications with company values, employers can deliver clear messaging that will help attract the right talent and keep existing workers happy and productive.