Following the disruption theories of Clayton Christensen, in business, as it is in life, if we wait too long to invest in something, a last-minute dash might come too late to move the needle in the right direction. Ask any farmer — you don’t plant an orchard when you want to cook an apple pie. You need to plant seeds well in advance and nurture your trees in time for the next harvest.
Let’s think about this in the context of technical talent. When we talk about the emerging talent shortage, what everyone’s really talking about are highly experienced technical roles like senior developers. In today’s tech economy, every scaleable company — regardless of its industry, product or service — needs a strong digital presence and thus advanced software engineering, but the demand continues to outpace the supply.
So considering the tough hiring climate, how are most businesses finding senior development talent? And, is there a better way?
Break the negative cycle of poaching.
The biggest tech companies know that the best resource for hot talent is poaching from their main rivals. Take Google, which according to a recent Forbes article has wooed 12,798 of its employees from other major tech companies and nearly one-third of these, a total of 4,151, from its main rival, Microsoft.
Leading companies pay recruiters to sneak around LinkedIn profiles in the hopes that an alluring salary and benefits package, coupled with millennial-tempting perks, will convince a developer who has all the choices in the world, to jump ship.
But, just because the world’s biggest companies do it, doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. This practise perpetuates the culture of poaching and forces companies into a never ending cycle of one-upping each other to attract the best and brightest. Salaries skyrocket and average time spent at a single company dwindles. Developers become less loyal to companies, effectively becoming tech mercenaries who will move for a better offer at a moment’s notice.
So, how can we create a better pipeline of talent that’s ready to tackle the problems we need solved, without having to break the bank going head to head with competitors?
We need to plant the developer saplings well before we need the fruits of the harvest.
Step 1: Plant the seeds.
Developers don’t emerge from the womb ready for solving advanced problems. Just like the meanest looking tiger started off as a cub, all developers begin their journey as junior developers. This simple truth seems to…