Employee Retention

In the latest CSIA EZstats, they reported that 40% of SI respondents were moderately to highly concerned about employees leaving. In our opinion that might be too complacent and should actually be higher. In this Work Trend Report from Microsoft, they assert that ‘with over 40 percent of the global workforce considering leaving their employer this year, a thoughtful approach to hybrid work is critical for leaders looking to attract and retain diverse talent.’ In 15 Policies And Practices That Drive High Tech Team Turnover, a Forbes counsel has a number of hints about ways to improve employee retention. Here are a couple that we really liked:

  1. Not Showing How Tech Staff Can Grow – The top reason for high turnover among tech talent is the lack of tech leadership and clarity of vision around technology-led business transformation and upskilling/reskilling plans for tech talent. A closed-door culture and the practice of pushing teams to work long hours without showing them a growth path, the opportunity to transition to new roles and investment in their learning plan is not going to work.
  2. Not Leading In A Way That’s Consistent With Stated Values – People take a role because they like the company, but they leave because they eventually don’t trust their managers. Companies have gotten really good at publishing feel-good company values statements. Unfortunately, the words that we speak and write don’t matter. Employees trust management when their words align with their actions. How we act defines who we are as leaders.
  3. Locking The Tech Team Into A Single Focus Or Project – Tech folks love to solve problems, learn new skills and be part of a team where they are recognized and provided with opportunities to have different experiences. If you keep tech teams working on one application or project for more than one to three years, provide no opportunities for learning, and have them do monotonous tasks, they’ll likely decide it’s time to jump off your bandwagon.

Attracting and retaining talent is a common and pressing topics across our peer groups. If you’d like to benefit from the wisdom and experience of your peers, let us know and we can identify which our group would be the best fit for you (and vice versa).

August 18, 2021