Four Things You Must Do To Retain Top Tech Talent

In order to optimize your utilization of cloud computing, you need to be able to deliver reliable

Consider these ways you can improve tech retention at your business and control the turnover cycle.

In the technology sector, improving employee retention is a critical business priority, particularly since technology companies have one of the lowest average tenures when compared to other industries.

According to Payscale’s recent employee turnover report, even tech giants like Amazon and Google have an average employee tenure of only one year and 1.1 years, respectively. In fact, Payscale reports that the employee turnover rates among Fortune 500 companies in the IT industry are highest among all the industries that they surveyed.

The reason for the short tenure of employees at tech companies is often chalked up to the competitive nature of tech talent, with other companies competing for the same candidates.  To help overcome this challenge here are four ways you can improve tech retention at your business.

We’re all human, and as such we want to work where we feel valued. While a ping pong table or on-site beer tap are often cited as a way to keep millennial tech talent, these benefits are so common today that they do little to improve long-term retention.

Instead, focus on how you can make your employees feel like the work they do each day is valued by investing in them and their potential. For example, seek out opportunities for your developers to stay up-to-date on emerging technologies and coding languages through online courses or webinars. Provide your tech teams with a separate budget for professional development, so they can support enrichment opportunities like these.

Instead of making employees wait a year for a review, consider doing quarterly or bi-annual employee evaluations to map out their career paths and discuss upcoming promotion opportunities. All of these investments will help to show your employees the value you see in their roles and abilities. Not only will these initiatives benefit employees, but they also directly contribute to the overall talent level and capabilities of your team.

Much of the most in-demand tech talent is made up of millennials. While a lot has been made of this generation receiving participation medals growing up, their need for appreciation has less to do with their hypothesized lack of self-confidence, but rather their desire to have an employer recognize the value they bring to the table. This is often misunderstood, but once this crucial difference is recognized, motivating this generation by fueling their self-worth and contributions can be extremely powerful.

Simply put, they will not stay at an employer that uses scare tactics to boost productivity.