How to Attract Tech Talent and Retain Your Digital Workers

Attracting digital talent is one of the biggest challenges HR professionals face today. But with the right strategies, you can beat the tech talent crunch and meet your company’s digital needs. Read on to learn how to attract tech talent. 

Tech talent—also known as digital talent—are people with highly specialised and technical skills. They work across a wide range of fields, including data science, software development, and IT. Depending on their specialisation, they possess skills, such as software engineering, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data analytics. 

According to the Economic Development Board, “Singapore is home to the largest number of headquarter jobs from global Fortune 500 companies compared with other key Asia hubs.” 

To maintain its position as the leading tech hub in Asia, Singapore must hire 1.2 million more digital workers by 2025. This is based on data from an Amazon Web Services report. And according to the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Report, Information and Communications were among the industries with the most job vacancies as of March 2022. 

Why are tech workers so sought-after? After the pandemic accelerated the digitisation of the financial and business sector, the supply of digital talent is simply not meeting demand. Tech workers are well aware that they have the upper hand when it comes to the job market and use this to their advantage. Data from JobStreet’s Decoding the Digital Talent Challenge report shows that 73 per cent of tech talent are planning to switch jobs within two to three years. Forty per cent of digital workers are already looking for their next job as well. 

Get a clear picture of your company’s skills gap. Don’t stop at listing the digital roles you need to fill. Assess your current tech team’s competencies to see whether there are skills they still need to develop. You may also have non-tech employees interested in reskilling and switching to a digital career. Categorise your company’s tech requirements according to whether you can fulfil them through reskilling/upskilling existing tech/non-tech employees, outsourcing digital talent, or hiring new tech workers. 

Form a team dedicated to hiring and retaining tech talent. In this job market, attracting digital workers is a serious business. That’s why management consulting firm McKinsey Digital recommends forming a team that is focused on tech workers’ experience “throughout the entire ‘hire-to-retire’ life cycle.” After all, you don’t want your hiring efforts to go to waste when your tech employees become disengaged and leave after just a few months. 

Make the hiring process seamless.  Remember that when it comes to hiring tech talent, it’s job seekers who are evaluating employers instead of the other way around. Therefore, you should review your recruiting practices with the jobseekers’ experience in mind. 

Use application tracking systems to screen resumes more efficiently. Make sure you include your existing tech employees in the interview process. They can give candidates a better idea of what the job role entails, what they can expect, and the company culture. Include technical tests such as coding exercises in the screening process as well. 

Keep in mind that tech workers are likely entertaining multiple job offers simultaneously. Aim to make your recruiting process as efficient and fast as possible. The sooner your desired candidate gets the job offer, the more easily he can compare and come to a decision. 

Offer a competitive and tailored compensation package. Based on JobStreet's Salary Report, entry-level digital talent receive a median salary of 3,150 SGD. Once they move up to the junior executive level, their median pay increases to 4200 SGD, then jumps to 6,000 SGD at the senior executive level. At the managerial level, the median salary is 7,250 SGD, and 10,000 SGD at the senior manager level. 

That said, salary isn’t the only thing that matters to tech talent. According to the Decoding the Digital Challenge report, financial compensation ranks third on tech workers’ list of priorities, behind good work-life balance and good relationships with colleagues. 

With this in mind, offer candidates flexible work arrangements. Even as your tech talents work remotely, offer them opportunities to bond and socialise with their coworkers through team lunches and team-building activities. 

At the same time, different candidates value different things depending on their situation, stage in life, and specialisation. With that in mind, listen to your top candidates about what they want and tailor your benefits and work arrangements to each new hire. 

Get creative with your tech talent search. Are you wondering where to find tech talent? Given the fierce competition to hire digital talent, employers must go the extra mile to attract candidates. Establish a company presence at hackathons and conferences. Even if you don’t have the resources to sponsor events, just sending your existing tech staff to network can be very helpful. 

Check out websites and forums where tech talent congregate online as well. For instance, you could visit Stack Overflow and GitHub. 

Think of hiring as a marketing exercise. Think of your company as a product that you’re trying to market. If marketers focus on their product’s unique selling proposition, what is your company’s employee value proposition (EVP)? What does your company stand for, and what are your company values? Why should top digital talent choose your offer over the many they’ve received from competitors? 

Remember that working for an employer who shares their values is very important to tech talent. And when it comes to current issues, the company's stance on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and climate change can be deal breakers. Statistics from Decoding the Digital Talent Challenge show that 50 per cent of tech workers would avoid working for companies that don’t share their views on DEI, and 48 per cent would refuse to work for employers who don’t share their stance on environmental responsibility.

Once you’ve determined your EVP, make sure to deliver on your “brand promise.” Tech talents do not want to start working for an employer only to find that the reality is very different from what the hiring manager has promised. 

Get rid of the red tape. Tech talent enjoy solving problems and coming up with innovative solutions. They do NOT enjoy being held back by bureaucratic processes. This is why McKinsey Digital recommends forming small, independent teams with a clear mandate. Give your teams the authority and resources to make decisions in line with achieving the goals you’ve assigned them as quickly and efficiently as possible. This will enable your digital talent to shine and produce the best results for your company. 

Invest in making processes more efficient. You wouldn’t hire a neurosurgeon to sew up a small cut. In the same way, you should let your top tech talent focus on the most complex tasks. Invest in technology that allows them to automate simple work, such as reusable code and the best planning and development software. 

In fact, data shows that working with cutting-edge technology is a big draw for tech talent. In Decoding the Digital Talent Challenge, interviews with global employers such as The Estée Lauder Companies and OLX Group reveal that failing to provide “the latest hardware, software, or technology can be a deal breaker.”

Another way to free up tech workers for more challenging work is to invest in beginner-friendly application development software that employees with little to no coding knowledge can easily use. It encourages tech talent to delegate simpler tasks to their non-tech colleagues. 

Allot time and resources for tech talent to work on passion projects. Our Decoding the Digital Talent Challenge report shows that 49 per cent of digital workers leave their jobs to “look for a new challenge.” You can avoid this by allotting time and resources for your tech employees to sharpen their skills and pursue passion projects. 

It could be something like experimenting with a new tool or coding language that has long been on their bucket list but isn’t necessarily required to perform their daily duties. Consider providing an allowance for upskilling so that they can take classes or workshops.

They may also be itching to create new programs that could improve company processes. Give them room to express their creativity and hone their craft. McKinsey Digital stresses that creating a culture of “psychological safety” is critical. It allows tech talent to point out areas for improvement and suggest solutions without fear of being misunderstood or offending. 

Don’t force them to become managers. Most tech talent don’t want to manage people. Why force an excellent software engineer to become a mediocre manager? Instead of forcing your tech workers on a traditional career path, offer them the option of accepting lateral promotions. Decoding the Digital Talent Challenge gives the example of Adecco Group’s senior vice president for HR, Stuti Bajaj, who “works one-on-one with tech employees to come up with the next steps that are best for their career aspirations.”

Competing to attract and retain tech talent can be challenging, but it is necessary if you plan on scaling your business. And once you can obtain the right people for the job, it is worth the investment. Now that you know how to attract tech talent, get started by registering on JobStreet and finding the right candidate on Talent Search. Stay up-to-date on the latest hiring trends by visiting the Employer Insights page.