In today’s world, technology forms the backbone of most businesses, and hiring the right people for these roles can make a huge impact in your operations and profitability. But how can you ensure you get your technology recruitment right?
The latest workforce research tells us that the most important factor in workplace success is the concept of ‘Diversity’. In a nutshell, diverse teams perform better. According to a 2018 McKinsey study, companies with the most diverse executive teams were 33% more likely to outperform their competitors. Diverse teams also act as a catalyst for innovation since it is difficult or impossible for homogeneous groups to look at old problems in new ways. And the benefits do not stop there, for diversity is also associated with creativity, flexibility, fun, learning, languages and diversity of thought, and more
But at ground level, how can organisations diversify the tech talent pool?
Most industry observers agree that you need to group your recruitment activities around the three key totems of ‘Inclusion’, ‘Culture Fit’ and ‘Skills Fit’, which includes proficiency in core human attributes such as organisational skills, communication and interpersonal skills and analytical skills. However, adopting an inclusive approach to recruitment does not mean abandoning traditional recruitment channels; though you may need to audit your approach.
For example, when writing job advertisements, we focus on job tasks and not necessarily on the type of person being sought. We also keep selection criteria to a minimum since advertisements with more than five selection criteria can deter applicants, particularly women. Importantly, we also use gender-neutral language and actually include diversity as a job criterion where possible. It’s also important to highlight any flexible working arrangements.
Our specialist tech recruiters will also actively seek diverse candidates from far and wide by advertising broadly;we will also specifically target educational institutions with diverse student bodies and alumni networks. If you partner with CXC we will also take steps to highlight diversity in all aspects of your employer branding.
The common problems on tech hiring
While most companies are aware of the importance of diversifying the tech talent pool, few companies do it perfectly right when it comes to execution. For example:
- Subjective hiring manager
Is someone more objective or subjective? We’d usually assume an engineer to be more objective as they are usually dealing matters fact based. How could they be subjective? Well, it happens. Especially when the team started very small and from the beginning it was important to think and work together.
If the team remains lean and small, and the hiring rate low, then this is usually not a problem. However it can quickly become a problem when a big project suddenly comes up with tight delivery deadline. The manager hires people just like him.
- Busy HR without result
When it comes to Tech hiring, HR support may not necessary lead to the right result. An experienced HR person who knows all the job boards in the local talent market as well as the best candidate process tools may still fail to get the right candidate. The reason is simple, Tech talents, especially good ones, are constantly busy working in their current role, or evaluating endless soliciting messages they receive from recruiters, so they just do not have time to post their CVs on job boards.
- Misalignment between the hiring team and HR
Even if you have a helpful hiring team, and a proactive HR department in place, if there’s a lack of alignment then things can still go awry. if the hiring team is swamped by many great candidates they will have trouble differentiating who is better or worse.. Time passes and when you finally arrange a batch response for the chosen candidates to get ready for the next round, the best candidates have already landed another job.
Overall, it is becoming increasingly important you have a tech hiring specialist in place to efficiently manage the entire hiring process.
Check points
- Culture fit – does the party driving the hiring process fully understand the culture? And are they representative of it?
- Tech sourcing capability – does this party understand basic technology so they can engage properly with the targeted candidates
- HR process/recruitment process – does this party understand the recruitment process and the HR process to ensure the selected candidates are on-boarded in a professional and efficient manner
- Engagement tools and technology – do the engagement tools and technology you are using allow for efficient, transparent communications internally?
WHY CXC
As an employer for over 20,000 contractors globally, CXC can ensure that every step of the hiring process is done properly and professionally through our team of experts in areas as diverse as IT/technology, marketing, talent solution, employment administration, account services, and more. Our extensive range of services can be customized to suit your precise needs
Like to know more? You are welcome to reach out to us on info@cxcglobal.com or call +852 3953 0820 anytime.
