Let us help you attract and retain the best tech talent

The demand for high-quality talent in the technology industry continues to surpass the supply, making it a perpetual challenge for you to attract and retain the best employees. Here are the top 5 HR priorities tech employers should focus on to win out against the competition.

1. Design work to channel energy
2. Build a skills-based organization
3. Optimize rewards programs
4. Refine the employee value proposition
5. Focus on physical, mental, and financial well-being

1. Design work to channel energy

2023 has become the year of efficiency. Organizations have emphasized cost containment while still maintaining organizational focus for future growth. Extend that energy into your culture by lessening busy work, implementing meaningful technology, or giving employees as much flexibility as possible.

2. Build (or keep building) a skills-based organization to retain critical skills

The race for talent has become the race for skills. Despite widespread layoffs, critical tech skills are still in high demand, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cyber risk. The continued intrusion of non-tech companies into the traditional tech space further heightens competition for talent as non-tech and traditional tech companies pursue the same critical skills.

Instead of continually paying for new talent, companies that will succeed and outperform others in the industry are those that will develop the skills of the workforce they currently have to get them to where they need to be tomorrow.

3. Optimize rewards programs to balance abundancy and efficiency

Companies need to be able to create an engaging employee experience while also optimizing costs and benefit spending. You can use innovative reward and benefit programs that readily show your appreciation without spending too much of your benefits budget. Here are a few ideas:

• Specifying rewards criteria. Rather than offering rewards for “showing initiative,” clearly define what an employee needs to do to earn that recognition.
• Recognize everyone who meets their goals. If you start a program with a specific set of goals, be sure to reward everyone who achieves those goals and not just the top performers.
• Customize rewards for your employees. Each of your employees will have their own priorities and preferences. While one may want to earn a week off from work, another might prefer a $500 bonus.

4. Refine and embed your employee value proposition

There has been a huge shift in the values and attitudes of tech workers. Your employee value proposition must reflect that and stand out from the competition. The unique set of benefits you offer your employees in return for their service, experience, and skills need to be attractive and more appealing than those of your competitors.

Today, about 43% of company executives are reevaluating what is most important to their employees, including revisiting the foundations of the employee value proposition. In addition, more than half of employees say they work for more than just money.*

5. Reimagine total well-being with a focus on financial health

According to Mercer’s 2022 Inside Employees’ Minds© Study – Technology, covering monthly expenses was the top concern for women and African Americans, but only 40% of organizations have a strategy in place to help employees from a financial well-being perspective.

Companies need to prioritize the financial well-being of their employees, especially because tech workers are feeling less satisfied and committed than they were only a year ago. Only 75% of workers (down from 79% in 2021) believe they are compensated fairly for what they do.*

To learn more about how Mercer and Mercer| Comptryx can help you attract and retain the tech talent you need, contact us at 855 223 8062 or visit imercer.com/comptryx.

*Mercer’s 2022 Inside Employees’ Minds© Study – Technology