What do Top-Rated IT Companies Have in Common?
Do you ever look at companies like Google or Apple and wonder how they are able to recruit so many of the brightest minds in IT? It is more complicated than handing out large salaries and generous benefits packages. The simple fact is the top-rated IT companies often achieve that status because they are better at recruiting, and most rely on innovative and non-conventional strategies to bring the top talent on board. These are a few of the techniques they rely on.
Offer More Flexibility
Young IT employees especially are looking for alternatives to the traditional Monday through Friday nine-to-five routine. Luckily, new technologies make it easier than ever to offer telecommuting, non-traditional scheduling, and personal flexibility without compromising productivity. You can can attract great recruits simply by giving them more control over the structure of their workday.
Stress Culture
We all go to work to make money, but many IT employees are also motivated by a desire to do something innovative and be part of a team that reflects their personal values. Top companies make themselves appealing by promoting their culture as much as their compensation package.
Publicize Creatively
Posting to job boards is still effective, but top-rated IT companies also use hacking competitions and robotics fairs to keep their names on the minds of potential recruits. These events are an opportunity to position your company as more than just a money-making operation. They are also a great way to attract talent that is still in school, or not even thinking about IT as a degree path. It’s a long-term investment, but for companies like Yahoo and Facebook it has paid off.
Recruit the Employed
Many of the best IT employees already have jobs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be recruited. Look at the resumes of many developers and network administrators, and you will see that they have worked for several top-rated companies. Offering more money helps, but also emphasizes the opportunity to move up the ladder or to learn valuable new skills, and you might be able to sway talented professionals to jump on board with you.
Look Internationally
By all accounts, American universities have not been able to graduate enough students to keep pace with the demand for qualified new IT employees. That is why top-rated companies have increasingly expanded their recruitment efforts internationally. Language barriers are not the obstacle they used to be, and opportunities to work remotely make this untapped resource more feasible than ever.
The takeaway is that the top-rated IT companies have been able to build such dynamic workforces by finding new ways to recruit and engage employees. If you aren’t finding the talent you need, it’s probably time to rethink the way you’re attracting them. Work with the Chicago IT staffing specialists at CultureFit to find the fresh approach you need.
