In the tech industry’s war for talent, employee experience is key

The tech industry in Ireland is booming with little sign of slowing down. IDA Ireland estimates the Irish information and communications technology industry employs more than 37,000 people, generating €35 billion in exports per annum. As the second-largest exporter of software in the world, the Irish software sector employs close to 20,000 people and generates about €16 billion annually.

When remote working first came in ‘It felt in some ways like the world was falling apart,’ says Yvonne Frost of Poppulo

The war to get and retain talent in the tech industry is raging and employers need to be on their game to win that war.

[ The Irish Times ePaper ]

Skilled talent in the tech industry is constantly in high demand. While Ireland has a well-earned reputation as a tech hub – due in large part to its excellent third-level and research institutions – there simply are not enough graduates and experienced professionals to meet the needs of an ever-growing and adapting industry. The war for talent in the tech industry is raging. Attracting and retaining talent is a constant battle. How can that battle be won? Where should competing organisations focus their resources to gain an advantage? What does talent want?

Through our experience of working with the top tech companies in Ireland, our research shows what it takes to entice and nurture talent. You may expect compensation and reward to be the key drivers, but that doesn’t give the full picture of what creates a culture of retention. In our inaugural Best Workplaces in Tech report, the organisations that prioritised the employee experience were the ones that came out on top.

How the work gets done, how people relate to each other, and how creativity is nourished: these are the fundamentals that create the conditions for talent to thrive. When benchmarked against non-listed organisations, the data from our Trust Index survey (which draws on responses from thousands of tech employees) tells a compelling story. What employees want, first and foremost, is to be part of a great culture where they can do their best work.

In creating the type of culture that offers a sense of belonging, the organisations featured on the list are outperforming their competitors

People first, employees second. It is this approach that we see resonates most with talent, time and time again. It is a sense of camaraderie, working towards shared goals with a feeling of psychological safety that typifies the experiences of employees in Ireland’s Best Workplaces in Tech. In creating the type of culture that offers a sense of belonging, the organisations featured on the list are outperforming their competitors.

Innovation is the lifeblood of the tech industry. In a fast-moving and agile digital industry, it is only through the development of new offerings that organisations can continue to grow. When employees feel they can be themselves and that they are supported by their colleagues, the culture becomes a space where creativity is supported. It is organisations that facilitate and celebrate innovation that employees most want to be a part of.

In a report recently published by Personio, drawing from a sample of 2,000 employees across the UK and Ireland, it was reported that 38 per cent of respondents intend to seek new employment within the next six to 12 months. What is the cause of this looming talent migration? For one in five of those intending to depart, a toxic workplace culture is cited as their primary motive.

This is far from the case among Best Workplaces. The average employee tenure in Best Workplaces is about five years, while the average tenure in non-listed organisations is about two years. The loss of those additional years brings with them a loss of experience, training, development and knowledge that isn’t easily recovered with a new hire, no matter how skilled.

The organisations that prioritise the employee experience are the ones that come out on top. Photograph: Getty

In the war for talent, the cultures built on foundations of trust, respect, pride and camaraderie are the ones that will retain their best and brightest employees and attract those departing toxic cultures.

As we release our debut Best Workplaces in Tech report, we want to commend the organisations that made the list. Amid a global pandemic, the organisations featured in this report have maintained their commitment to their people. Every organisation featured in this report has earned their spot by investing in creating high-trust cultures, providing the foundations to offer the very best employee experience.

What do these organisations receive in return? An engaged and committed workforce of employee ambassadors. Their investment is repaid in the resources saved through retaining their talent. Their efforts are rewarded through employee advocates, recommending their network through employee referral programmes, saving the organisation time and money. This is the picture painted by the survey data from Best Workplaces in Tech employees.

In the war for talent, it is organisations that invest in creating cultures which come out on top. To learn more about these organisations thriving in the tech industry, download our free Ireland's Best Workplaces in Tech report on our website greatplacetowork.ie.