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April 29, 2022

Employee Retention: Recognizing Seasoned IT Developer Talent

Learn how you can improve employee retention with your IT developer talent with these tips and ensure the success of your team on all fronts
employee retentionit talentseasoned developers

It's no secret that the software development market is a highly competitive space and employee retention is an ongoing challenge. Retaining seasoned development talent is notoriously difficult, and too often, companies are left scratching their heads after their best developer decides to move on to other opportunities.

To keep these valuable employees on board, it’s super-important to pay attention to what they want from their work environment so they know they're valued as assets. Perhaps you have the best talent but they don’t feel engaged or appreciated. Hiring seasoned development talent is key to employee retention and building a long-term sustained partnership.

According to Gallup, 52% of employees say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving. This guide looks at some of the reasons why employees leave and offers some pointers to boost employee retention rates.

Employee Retention
In 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average turnover rate for a software developer is 57.3%

Understand Why Seasoned IT Developers Leave

Many seasoned developers leave their job because they are not satisfied with the company's work culture. A major reason for this is a lack of career growth opportunities. They may feel that they have reached an impasse, and there are no prospects of moving up in the company any time soon. These people might be very experienced, but their skill set does not align with what the company needs at the moment- leading to feelings of dissatisfaction which impacts employee retention. A Gartner study has found that 40% of departing employees cited a lack of future development as a key driver in leaving their employer.

Additionally, companies may not offer enough vacation time or flexible schedules for employees seeking a better work-life balance. This will also make them unhappy and ultimately lead them out the door if nothing changes within these parameters. Leaders who don’t value their employees’ input or recognize efforts make employees feel unappreciated. This results in negativity which can quickly infect entire teams and makes it difficult to retain top talent.

Developers are like artists. They need to be inspired and have a sense of purpose or they will leave for more dynamic pastures. They will quit because they feel stifled, a feature of an over-rigid development firm. Most developers thrive in open spaces that allow their creativity to flourish. Allowing time where they're able to explore these ideas is important for long-term success.

Employees don’t leave the company, they leave their boss or co-workers.

Each person has their own unique needs, and those needs are constantly evolving. Managers have to identify those needs quickly and manage them smartly. When leaders pay enough attention to employees’ level of engagement and proactively address the issues developers have, the chances of retaining employees are higher.

Provide Concrete Career Growth Paths for Increased Employee Retention

Opportunities for advancement motivate employees. It gives them a sense of purpose and a vision for the future. Leading employers know that a company's most valuable resource is its employees. To retain this talent, it’s crucial to have policies in place which promote development because talented professionals want nothing more than to work with an organization that helps them build their skills and knowledge base.

It’s very important to communicate regularly with your employees. This includes one-on-one meetings to get in tune with their career aspirations and expectations. Staff will feel valued which leads to greater productivity and loyalty.

Create a climate where employees are able to keep up with the current industry trends and best practices. Hosting lunchtime video sessions featuring external or internal guest speakers is one cost-effective way of enabling such an environment. Allow employees time and flexibility to engage in industry events and ask them to share what they learn at these events with their colleagues.

Career advancement for some means moving to a managerial position. For software developers, however, this isn’t always the case. Companies should provide dual-career paths to improve employee retention. Those who are interested in a management role should be given opportunities to lead high-profile initiatives. The typical trajectory for a senior technical role is to make lateral moves into other areas such as data science, AI, or DevOps.

As an organization, it is your job to find meaning in the work that employees do for you. One way of doing this effectively is to constantly remind and reinforce their unique contributions and what makes them stand out from others. With increased motivation comes a strong sense of home which will significantly boost employee retention rates. 

EmployeeRetention
Identifiable and realistic career paths are an important aspect of retention plans and are more effective when supported with regular coaching and mentoring

Improve Employee Retention By Offering Opportunities for the Developer Team to Learn New Skills

Imagine, you’re in the middle of a critical project and your developers encounter a problem they don’t know how to solve. Not because they aren’t skilled, but rather they lack a specific skill set that could have helped them remove the roadblock.

Empowering your developers to grow and learn is the key to an adaptive and nurtured space and it’s thus important to set the groundwork for continual education. Take time to set up opportunities, such as regularly scheduled training sessions or meetings with coworkers who are fluent in other languages, so by the time they hit these roadblocks, they’ll be equipped to overcome them. This not only benefits your employees’ skill sets but also fosters an inclusive work environment where everyone feels empowered.

Technology is in a constant state of flux and new technology improves the productivity of software development teams. As new technologies, coding languages, and best practices emerge, developers should be given the chance to keep their skills current. When developers aren’t given the chance to update their skills, it kills creativity and limits their ability to come up with innovative solutions.

The need for software developers to keep up with industry knowledge has never been greater, with a Stack Overflow developer survey finding that the desire to work with new technologies was number two on the list of reasons developers leave a company. Industry leaders, meanwhile, are gaining a competitive advantage by investing more in learning and development (L&D), with 94% of companies recognizing it as critical to success.

It is crucial for software development organizations to have an in-depth understanding of technologies and L&D is essential if developers are to be attuned to rapid industry change.

Hire Seasoned IT Outsourced Development Talent Through Growin

Seasoned developers are multi-skilled and adaptable. Their expertise helps companies remain agile in a highly competitive and fluctuating market. If you’re looking for a way to hire and retain talented developers, or if your company is ready to take the next step in its digital transformation strategy, Growin can help.

We understand how important it is for companies like yours to remain agile during these hyper-competitive times. As the demand for software engineers continues to grow, so does the competition. With Growin’s IT Outsourcing approach to hiring, you can execute your strategic roadmap and drive your business’s digital transformation without you worrying about finding or retaining talent while benefiting from all of our support systems and processes.

Reach out to us today and get to know our business operating model and choose the one that suits your team and your business best.

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