The Tech Exodus: How to Keep Talent in an Industry Where Everyone’s Leaving

There is a major talent crisis facing the tech industry right now with increased turnover, shifting employee expectations and intense competition for skilled professionals leading to what many are calling a “Tech Exodus”, with companies struggling to retain their top talent. It's becoming critical to long term business longevity for tech companies to implement strategic measures that create a work environment fostering career growth and job satisfaction. 

How can the tech industry keep their best employees?

Competitive compensation & benefits

Salaries across the tech space are rapidly adjusting in order to meet market demands, with companies increasing pay to fill a critical skills gap. To remain competitive, tech companies should:

• Review compensation packages regularly to ensure that they are in line with industry benchmarks.

• Look at performance based incentives like stock options, development stipends and retention bonuses.

• Expand your employee value proposition and benefits beyond salary to include things like flexible working arrangements, wellness programs or commuting perks.

• Tech companies that fail to evolve with increasing salary expectations will run the risk of losing key talent to their higher paying competitors. 

Flexible working arrangements

Hybrid and remote working within the tech scene is pretty commonplace, with over 90% of tech companies recognizing that flexible working arrangements are critical for retaining employees. To remain flexible, tech companies can:

• Offer their employees the choice to work remotely, in-office or a mixture of the two; catering to the needs and preferences of employees to support a healthier work/life balance

• Empower their employees to manage their own schedules, giving them the autonomy to structure their day around their responsibilities.

• Create a toolstack that promotes collaboration and productivity through virtual channels and ensure teams can fulfil their roles effectively, even outside the scope of a physical office.

Professional development

One of the main reasons that tech professionals leave is due to a lack of career growth opportunities, or at the very least a development plan to guide their journey within the company. Businesses can address this by:

• Funding continuous learning and development; providing access to certifications, training material and higher education opportunities.

• Supporting internal mobility opportunities to allow employees the chance to transition to new roles within the company.
  
  
• Creating structured mentorship programs to guide career development and succession planning within the organization.

Developing high-demand skills in-house

The rising demand for specialization within the tech scene, with skills in cloud computing, machine learning, AI and cybersecurity surging. Rather than compete in an aggressive job market, businesses should:

• Encourage and enable cross functional collaboration to allow employees to gain experience across multiple disciplines.

• Provide a hands-on learning environment that gives employees access to new tools and emerging technologies to better support them in their roles and responsibilities.

Focusing efforts on internal talent development can reduce a company's need to hire externally and drastically improve retention across the business.

Hiring for long term fit, not immediate need

Retention begins at recruitment, and companies that recognize this and focus on hiring culture fits with long term goal alignment tend to be the ones seeing lower turnover rates.

• Assessing a cultural fit during the hiring process and creating a structured onboarding experience for new hires with structured training will help to ensure you have the right people on board.

• Providing realistic expectations from day one and clear career roadmaps will provide employees with a sense of longevity; ensuring they want to stay with the company for the long run.

Tech companies that recognize the driving force behind career alignment over quick hiring will be the ones fostering an infinitely more stable workforce.

Leveraging technology to drive retention

In the wake of shrinking talent acquisition teams, tech companies can turn to digital solutions to ensure operational continuity. 

• Explore the use of AI-powered hiring tools to both streamline the hiring process and reduce bias when vetting applicants.

• Make use of HR data analytics to track employee performance and satisfaction; with predictive algorithms to forecast turnover risks. 

Even within the tech industry itself, technology can support companies in making data-driven retention decisions and optimize employee engagement initiatives.

The tech industry’s talent crisis isn’t going away, but companies making a proactive investment in their workforce will hold the competitive advantage. These businesses will reap the benefits if they can implement a healthy workplace culture, competitive remuneration, and opportunities for career advancement; further lowering attrition rates.

Retaining employees in the tech industry goes well beyond hiring great employees; it is equally important to focus on how to keep them.

‍