Mastering the Onboarding Process for your Technology Talent

Designing the perfect workforce doesn’t start and end with choosing the right candidate for each role. Ensuring each employee can achieve their full potential means creating a long-term development plan which aligns your new staff with your company culture and goals and the results you want to achieve.

In this blog, we will examine Mastering the Onboarding Process for your Technology Talent to give you a long-term edge.

The correct development plan doesn’t just prepare your candidates for success when you first integrate them into your team. It also ensures they can continue to thrive for as long as they work at your organisation. With the right plan of action, employers and managers can use the process of “onboarding” to enhance their company culture, inspire teams, and boost staff retention.

So, what exactly should your development strategy entail? Here’s what you need to know about building the perfect development plan for your Technology staff members.

Employee Orientation vs. Employee Onboarding

First, it’s worth defining what onboarding actually is. Many people still use the terms “onboarding” and “employee orientation” interchangeably. However, orientation and onboarding are two very separate concepts.

Employee orientation is a one-time event, focused on embedding new hires into your company. During this process, human resources personnel and leadership professionals formerly introduce employees to the organisation. They may take them on a tour of a physical office, or deliver information virtually through videos and presentations.

The idea behind employee orientation is to get your staff members prepared for their new roles. Employee onboarding is a more long-term concept. Onboarding encompasses the entire employee journey, starting from the moment they meet their colleagues, all the way up to the point where they are fully performing.

Used correctly, this process not only strengthens your employer brand and employee engagement, but it also paves the way for a more successful, productive, and efficient team. It helps to acclimatise staff to the company culture, set expectations, and keep team members aligned with the vision, mission, and goals of the business.

How to Design an Onboarding Plan

Studies show an effective onboarding strategy and employee development plan have a significant impact on the success of any company’s team. Organisations with the right onboarding and induction programs achieve 50% higher new hire retention.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for onboarding, there are some steps you can use to improve your chances of the right results for your team.

1.   Choose a Strategy for Onboarding

First, it’s worth considering how you’re going to deliver your onboarding experience to candidates. Traditionally, onboarding took place within the office environment, consisting of regular face-to-face meetings, training opportunities, and induction processes. Since the shift to hybrid and remote work, around 1 in 7 working adults in the UK according to the ONS are currently working from home. In the US this figure is higher at 1 in 4 and in Australia, this figure hit 40% according to the ABS.Gov website.

As a result, more Technology companies are beginning to implement new virtual and hybrid onboarding efforts. While some meetings and interactions may continue to take place in-office, others may be delivered via video conferencing and online software. The key to success is figuring out which parts of your onboarding strategy require in-person interaction.

Consider asking your new hires which parts of the onboarding journey they may want to tackle in person, and which they’d prefer to do virtually, or in their own time.

2.   Assign Each Staff Member an Onboarding Buddy

Because onboarding is a long-term development strategy for each employee, it requires staff members to have someone they can turn to whenever they want to discuss their goals, explore training options, or ask questions.

An onboarding buddy is someone your employee can turn to whenever they need assistance getting the most out of their role. This could be a supervisor or manager, or simply someone with authority and history in the business. You could even consider using mentorship campaigns to connect new hires with senior staff members across the organisation.

Encourage regular communication between your new hire and their onboarding buddy, so they can develop a more transparent, authentic relationship. Some companies even use informal coffee chats and video calls between staff members and their “mentors” to help further integrate new hires into the company culture and track their progress.

3.   Prioritise Regular, Transparent Communication

For a Technology company development plan to be successful, every member of the team needs to feel as though they have a voice. Scheduling regular meetings between individual employees and managers where they can discuss progress, challenges, and opportunities is key.

Team members should be able to contribute to their own development, by suggesting areas where they feel like they need to improve, and requesting training opportunities where necessary. They should also feel comfortable reaching out to business leaders when they’re struggling with their workload, experiencing burnout, or feeling disconnected from the business vision.

Regular and transparent communication will also ensure business leaders can consistently set expectations for team members, based on the values and mission of the company. Make sure each employee knows how their performance will be evaluated, and what kind of qualities they need to demonstrate in their day-to-day work.

4.   Set and Regularly Update Goals

Up to 33% of employees quit within their first 6 months with a new company, and 86% of respondents in one survey said they would still switch jobs if it meant damaging their CV/Resume. Following the effects of the Great Resignation, business leaders need to be extra sensitive to the engagement and satisfaction levels of their staff members.

This means providing every team member with a clear vision of the future they have in the business and helping them to set and achieve their career goals. During regular meetings with each employee, business leaders should encourage staff to discuss their strengths and weaknesses, and share insights on how they can grow moving forward.

As an employee’s position within the business continues to evolve, the individual or team responsible for their onboarding process should work with them to expand and update their goals. This will ensure staff feels as though they’re consistently moving in the right direction.

Invest in Employee Development

While using a Technology recruitment company to find the ideal employee for your team is an excellent way to improve your chances of hiring success, it’s important to remember that developing and empowering your employees is a long-term process.

Creating a plan for consistent employee development through consistent and engaging onboarding will ensure you can retain your top talent for longer, and achieve the best results from every member of your team.

​We hope you found our guide on Mastering the Onboarding Process for your Technology Talent insightful.

If you’re looking to add Technology talent to your team or strategy, contact James Shenton, Managing Partner for Technology, on 01580 857179 or send us an email here.

Opus Resourcing recruits world-class SaaS, technology, commercial and executive talent for companies ranging from seed-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies within the UK, Europe, and the US.

Book a call with James Shenton

How to Build an Effective Talent Pipeline for Your Product Management Organisation

In our post-Covid world, having a strong Product Management talent pipeline is more crucial than ever.

And the skills shortage that was present in tech sector pre-Covid is still threatening organisational growth.

When you’re recruiting, it’s not about the number of product management people you can attract to your organisation; it’s about the quality of these candidates.

Even with the perceived increase of candidates in the post-Covid tech job market, there are still skills shortages across the tech industry. In the U.K., the Prime Minister addressed how the pandemic has highlighted skills shortages in many sectors, emphasising an urgent need for a focus on improving skills to protect the economy.

Depending on the product role you are trying to fill, recruitment can be a lengthy and involved process.

One of the most effective ways to ensure you can quickly fill the critical gaps in your team is to have people ready to step into your organisation at the earliest available opportunity; in other words your talent pipeline.

This blog explains the whys and hows of building a robust talent pipeline for your product teams across your business.

​The Benefits of a Strong Talent Pipeline in Product Management. 

​Despite the pandemic, skills gaps are widening across all sectors; in fact, the pandemic has brought to light just how crucial the skills gaps are in many industries.

A 2020 LinkedIn Workplace Learning report found that globally, 51% of companies plan to implement an upskilling programme, with 47% focusing on re-skilling, highlighting the need for increased talent in a post-Covid world.

In developing a strong talent pipeline, the aim is to avoid the scenario where you have critical skills gaps and no-one lined up to fill them.

Many organisations think of recruiting only when they actively have a vacant product management position. A talent pipeline is a way of thinking about your team, and recruitment, in a more holistic way. You will always have an active, engaged audience and the idea of working for your company is something that is always on their radar.

Let’s look at some of the main positives of building your talent pipeline now.

​1.    Identify More Candidates ​

​When a vacancy arises in your team, wouldn’t it be ideal to already have someone in mind to take over the role?

This is where a talent pipeline comes in; it reduces the fear of having a critical vacancy open as you have a range of potential IT candidates set up to open a dialogue with.

Your talent pipeline will speak to the 70% of candidates who aren’t actively looking for a job, the ‘passive candidates’ market. Organisations without talent pipelines are missing out on this significant portion of the workforce.

You can start to bring candidates into your talent pipeline at different stages in their careers, starting with graduates up to exec level.

When you have a talent pipeline you can rely on, you have a range of candidates ready to be invited for an interview rather than starting the recruitment process from scratch.

2.    Reduce the Time to Hire

​I’m sure you’ll agree that in our post-Covid world, the thought of having critical vacancies in your team is an unpleasant one.

This year, teams have been stretched to breaking point, with many taking on extra roles, having to adapt to working from home and generally being busier than ever before.

To keep your entire team working cohesively, you need to know that any critical vacancies will be quickly filled, instead of being left unfilled, damaging team output and reducing morale.

3.    Increase Your Offer Acceptance Rates

​One of the most frustrating things that can happen in the recruitment process is when you think you’ve found the ideal IT candidates, but then they turn down your job offer.

The more people you have in your talent pipeline, the more they will get to know your organisation, and this relationship is what pushes great candidates over the line to say yes to your job offer.

As you can see, there are many benefits to creating a talent pipeline to make your recruiting process much easier.

Next, let’s look at how to build and develop your product talent pipeline.

​How to Build Your Product Talent Pipeline

​Creating a talent pipeline means proactively forming long-lasting relationships with candidates who would be the right ‘fit’ with your organisation – both in their skill set and their culture and values.

So, how do you do this?

​1.    Defining What Your Product Organisation Needs

​The following are questions to ask when thinking about what you want from your talent pipeline –

• Who are your key employees and in what roles?
• What skills are most critical to your organisation?
• Where do you want to take your business in the next 3-5 years?
• What type of people will you need in your business for it to grow?

Drawing on your experiences with Covid can help here too. When your business was in ‘critical survival mode’ like many were during the height of the pandemic, did this highlight any areas where you were missing in vital skills?

​2.    Attracting the ‘Right’  Product Talent

​Attracting the right candidates to your organisation is the critical part of building your talent pipeline.

Building a talent pipeline focuses on attracting both passive and active candidates, rather than a recruitment process which focuses solely on filling a current vacancy.

Having an excellent employer brand will be essential in attracting the type of talent you want. Any prospective talent that comes into contact with you will be forming an opinion as to whether they would like to join your company, whether they’re an active or a passive candidate.

The following are the most direct ways to build your IT talent pipeline –

• Networking events – getting your name out in your industry is crucial in building a following.
• Working with a IT recruitment specialist.
• Your social media channels – are you regularly posting engaging content for your IT candidates?
• Existing contacts and referrals – do you have a robust referral scheme in place? How often do you review and reconnect with former colleagues or managers?
• Graduate campaigns – getting to know the new generation of talent coming through the ranks is an excellent way to build your talent pipeline.

3.    Reviewing Your Application Process

​A poor recruitment process is enough to put even the most interested candidates off.

Making your recruitment as seamless, engaging and professional as possible will leave even candidates who are not successful in applying for your roles, want to do so again in future.

Make sure your recruitment process is mobile-friendly; 58% of active job seekers use their smart device to search for jobs. But with many sites still not being mobile-friendly, mobile seekers complete 53% fewer applications and take 80% longer to complete each application than applicants using desktops.

A mobile-friendly application process increases the number of applicants to each role by 11.6%.

Write easy to read job descriptions with clear information; stay away from jargon.

Make sure you have the recruitment process planned out step by step so that applicants can be informed of the exact date by when they will be progressed to the next stage or not.

Important: Always stay in touch with candidates via email or phone throughout the entire recruitment process.

​Start Building Your Product Talent Pipeline

​With a network of engaged potential candidates ready to join your business, you’ll ensure that you always have potential on-hand to fill essential roles.

So, now you have the premise of building your talent pipeline, it’s time to get started.

Remember that you don’t have to go it alone – working with a dedicated IT recruiter is a great way to work on building your talent pipeline.

If you’re looking for help with your product management recruitment strategy, get in touch by calling James Shenton Managing Partner for Technology on 01580 857179 or send us an email here.

Opus Resourcing recruits world-class SaaS, technology, commercial and executive talent for companies ranging from seed-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies within the UK, Europe, and the US.

Book a call with James Shenton

6 Undeniable Signs it’s Time to Look for a Software Engineering Role

Naturally, we all go through periods of having exciting projects on at work which make us fall in love with our roles again; and times when finding motivation is harder.

But if the thought of the end of the weekend and another week in work fills you with dread, this could be a sign that something is seriously wrong.

Either you’ve outgrown your software engineering role, your workplace has become toxic, or you realise that your passions lie elsewhere in a different position or with a new company with different values. There are some signs to look out for which indicate that it’s time to look for a new job.

Deciding on a career move can be a daunting thing, and that’s why many people try to ignore the warning signs that they should move on.

Today, we share the six undeniable signs it’s time to look for a new software engineering role (and how to find one).

​1.     You Have Stopped Enjoying Going to Work

​There can be many reasons people are reluctant to leave the house in the morning, from a commute that is regularly filled with traffic to a lengthy train journey.

But generally, travelling to work should not be a time where you dread the minutes counting down until your morning start time.

Have you found yourself stopping off for a coffee to delay getting into the office; have you started taking the longer route to work; does the thought of work in the morning keep you from sleeping at night?

Of course, many more of us are working from home now, and so the physical act of going to work might soon become a thing of the past in many roles.

But this feeling of dread can become present in morning Zoom meetings, when you’re on a conference call or any time work-related messages pop-up on your screen.

A sense of dread when you think about your job is not normal – if this is happening to you, it’s time to make a change.

​2.    You Feel Disconnected From Your Role

​High employee engagement is a characteristic of all excellent employers.

Great employers will ensure that you have the right amount of work to do; that you’re not overworked or frequently find yourself with few tasks and unsure what you should be doing.

You should feel a passion and drive for your role, and a connection to your team and your employer which makes you want to give your best to the job – it was probably there when you applied for this position.

But over time, inadequate management can lead to employees feeling disconnected and then eventually stop caring. It is hard to find enthusiasm for your role when you have become disconnected. Will you ever trust that your employer truly cares about you even if things change in the short-term?

​3.    You are Taking Extra Sick Days

​Taking extra sick days, or taking holidays simply to get away from your job is a sign that something is wrong.

It is estimated that 12.7% of all sick days are taken due to mental health problems, which can often be attributed to your current role in the first place.

If your mental health is being affected due to your job, first speak to your manager. They have a duty of care to you to ensure that your position is not causing you harm. Sadly, if the problems are out of your manager’s control, and they continue, it might be time to look for an employer who has an excellent wellbeing reputation.

​4.    You Don’t Get on With Your Boss (or Your Colleagues)

​Having a great relationship with your boss and your colleagues is never a given in any role – it’s always a nice added bonus when you find a role you love, and you get on with your team.

But negative relationships with the people you work with every day can quickly become draining, and they can turn a once dream job into a nightmare situation.

There should always be avenues you can explore before it gets as serious as leaving for a different company, but sometimes that’s what it takes.

Toxic workplaces are sadly more common than you might think, and although your job might look great on paper, if your boss regularly puts you down, and the atmosphere in the workplace is continually negative and is holding you back from success in your job role and your whole career, it’s time to find a company where you not only feel fulfilled but also happy.

​5.    You’re Being Underpaid

​48% of employees feel that they are underpaid for the work they do – does this sound familiar?

When you start a software engineering job, the expectations might have been clear, but what commonly happens in IT workplaces is that over time, and as you become more experienced within the organisation, you are tasked with more and more duties.

And your remuneration rarely increases with the amount of extra work you are now expected to do.

It might be a simple case of your manager not realising how much extra outside of your role you are taking on – but this again is poor management on their part.

Suppose you are increasingly given extra tasks or are performing managerial duties and your employer tells you that you are not going to be paid any extra for it. In that case, this is a sign that your employer is taking advantage of you.

Not all employers behave like this – now should be the time to find one who doesn’t.

6.    You Feel Undervalued

​Aside from being paid a fair wage for the work you do, it is also important that you feel emotionally valued and supported by your manager and your colleagues.

Signs that you are being undervalued by your current employer include:

• Your work is overlooked
• Your performance and pay reviews are continually pushed back
• You’re not trusted to have autonomy in your role
• Those around you are promoted, and you get left behind

Being undervalued can be a sign that your current employer is not going to support you in your career and that things are unlikely to change unless the entire company has a management shake-up – but you don’t have to wait for this to happen.

​Next Steps

Many people stay in roles that are making them severely unhappy and impacting on their mental health because they believe there is no other option for them.

The truth is there are always other options; you just might not know where to find them – and that’s where we come in.

If you find that it’s time to look for a new Software Engineering role, get in touch by calling James Shenton Managing Partner for Technology on 01580 857179 or send us an email here.

Opus Resourcing recruits world-class SaaS, technology, commercial and executive talent for companies ranging from seed-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies within the UK, Europe, and the US.

How to Champion Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as a Technology Employer

The world of work has changed dramatically in recent years, and the pandemic has heightened awareness for the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Recently, there has been an increased realisation from employers that they need to be doing more to promote diversity and inclusion.

A recent CIPD survey found that two-fifths of employers said that they believed a prior investment in diversity and inclusion would help them respond effectively in a crisis to both employee and customer needs.

There are numerous benefits for both employers and their teams when equality, diversity and inclusion are championed in your business.

Today, we look at why this is and how to build a more diverse team.

​Keeping Your Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

​It is no secret to employers that a diverse IT team is a productive team.

A Harvard Business Review report found that when making decisions, teams with a diverse make-up outperformed individual decision-makers 87% of the time. Plus, diverse teams are proven to have increased innovation and creativity, have higher employee engagement, and they generate increased profits.

But unfortunately, during the ongoing Covid-19 situation, diversity and inclusion have slipped down the list of priorities for many organisations.

Before the pandemic, 14% of employers ranked diversity and inclusion as one of their top three priorities, whereas further into the lockdown, only 5% still counted it as of high importance.

Equality, diversity and inclusion, although it has certainly gained momentum in recent year as an important issue, should not be treated by employers as a ‘trend’ to dip in and out of when it suits them.

It is something that needs to be built into the mission, vision and ethos of your company.

The Equality Act 2010 states that no individual should be discriminated against in the workplace due to their age, disability, gender, marital status, race, or religion. And yet, there is still a lot of work for many organisations to do to ensure that they are operating an entirely equal and inclusive working environment.

So, let’s look at how employers can ensure they are championing equality, diversity and inclusion in their place of work.

​1.    Create a Culture of Equality

​One of the more challenging elements of creating a fair and equal environment in your workplace is changing the climate that may have been in place for many years, sometimes even decades.

Management styles can get passed down through generations in organisations, as one set of managers and leaders replaces another and picks up subtle ways of working, which can become set within the company ethos.

At best, this can include acting and behaving a certain way which only serves a few individuals out of a whole team, hiring the same type of people. At worst, it can mean actively shunning certain groups of people – and remember, this can be done consciously and subconsciously (we will discuss unconscious bias in more detail in the next section).

So to combat inequality, and cultivate a culture of equality, this needs to be addressed at the most basic level by including an equality, diversity and inclusion article in your company mission statement.

But including an equality objective in your organisation is just the first step.

Remember to continually review and evaluate your policies and procedures to ensure that equality is present in:

• Your recruitment
• Career opportunities and promotion decisions
• Learning and development
• Disciplinary procedures
• Performance management

Next, let’s look at tackling unconscious bias in your IT workplace.

2.    Managing Unconscious Bias

​Unconscious bias can affect all of us, but it is essential that it is managed effectively in your organisation, from whom you choose to employ, who you choose to promote, which members of the team you ‘prefer’ working with and how members of your team engage with each other.

Of course, we are naturally attracted to people with whom we can find common ground, and this affects the way we interact with others both in the workplace and out of it.

You could look into training programmes for the entire team on how to spot and tackle unconscious bias – this type of bias is so ingrained that we often don’t realise that it is happening.

There are also some ways to spot and stop unconscious bias in your workplace, including:

• Being aware of the potential for unconscious bias – talking about it with employees and making them aware of how their interactions can affect others.
• Question yourself and the decisions you make regularly – have you chosen a certain individual for a new project because they are the best person for the job, or because you tend to favour them?
• Create a support network for employees – let them know that if they feel they have been overlooked or singled out due to a bias, that there will always be support for them and that you will actively work to remedy this.

Finally, let’s look at the easiest place to champion diversity and inclusion in your workplace – your recruitment process.

3. ​Championing Diversity in Your Recruitment Process

​If you are committed to increasing equality, diversity and inclusion in your organisation, your recruitment process is where you can start to make positive changes.

Recruitment can be a complex and emotionally-charged event.

Many employers and hiring managers have very stringent ideas of whom they believe they are looking for, for a particular role. And of course, this affects the potential for a diverse workforce.

Whether conscious or not, it is a fact that hiring managers like to hire people who remind them of themselves.

But this makes for a very un-diverse workforce.

What can be done to reduce bias in your recruitment process?

You can introduce blind skills challenges, make use of AI in your recruitment process or use new and different channels to advertise your roles. You can also work with a dedicated IT recruiter.

Working with a recruiter will allow you to reduce the amount of bias in your recruitment process, not only as they will work as a mediator between the company and the candidates, which allows for a completely unbiased selection process. But they can also challenge your ideas of the kind of candidate you are looking for and can locate candidates that you would never have been able to access when working alone.

I hope you found our blog insightful on How to Champion Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Your IT Workplace

To find out more about how to champion equality, diversity and inclusion in your organisation by working with a recruiter, you can contact us on 01580 857179 or email us here.

Remember – creating a diverse workforce leads to higher engagement, greater productivity and is better professionally and personally for every member of your team.

Book a Call with James Shenton

7 Important Qualities Required When Hiring Product Managers

As a tech hiring manager, it’s essential that you hire individuals into your product team who will thrive, which in turn allows your business to grow. There are 7 Important Qualities Required When Hiring Product Managers.

The ‘right’ hire can make all the difference, just as hiring someone who isn’t exactly what you’re looking for can be harmful to your team and ultimately your success.

The Recruitment and Employee Confederation (REC) estimate that the cost of making the wrong hire at management level (with an approximate salary of £42,000) can be as high as £132,000 – yes, you have read that right.

No business wants to spend any more time, resources or revenue than is necessary on their recruitment process.

In an ideal world, you could make the best hire the first time around – every time. Unfortunately, in real life, it’s not as simple as that.

However, as a leading company in the IT industry, there are ways that you can mitigate hiring problems and challenges in your organisation. High on the list is only hiring individuals with certain high-performing skills.

Today, we share the 7 top qualities to look out for in your recruitment process – hire employees with these attributes to attract the success you want for your business.

​1.    A Great Communicator

​Communication is the number one attribute all great IT employees have; possessing great skills is one thing though not being able to communicate effectively with your team stops everything in its tracks.

In any organisation, no matter how small, the way employees interact with each other is the key to a successful team, and this has only been increased in our new physically distanced world.

Since the rise in remote working, possessing excellent communication skills has never been more critical. Sending an unclear email or miscommunicating a message over messenger bots or on the phone can cause all manner of problems for the entire team.

The most successful teams are full of great communicators – so look for this attribute when interviewing potential new employees.

​2.    Autonomy

​In a busy organisation, you need a team who can work independently outside of the initial onboarding period.

Your employees need to be able to manage time effectively, balance their workload and ensure that deadlines are met.

Additionally, autonomy is a contributing factor to high engagement, productivity and work satisfaction – so when you employ and encourage autonomy in your team, both you and your employees will benefit.

To find out if candidates have high levels of autonomy during the recruitment process, ask them how they feel working independently and if they have experience of working on their own – particularly from home – and look out for how confidently they talk about being self-driven. ​

3.    Leadership Skills

​Another key trait to look out for is their leadership potential.

In our ever-changing world, you must know that your team can step up when needed. Additionally, when you recruit IT talent with leadership potential, this is a long-sighted growth strategy which can save you time and money in the future.

Leadership qualities involve a variety of soft skills including communication, confidence, delegation and being able to give and receive feedback.

​4.    A Positive Mindset

​A positive mindset is essential in IT organisations, and unfortunately, it’s not something that can be taught easily.

Some individuals approach challenges with a ‘can-do’ attitude, are always able to look at the positive in a situation and can consistently bolster others – and these are the type of people you need in your organisation.

Individuals with a negative mindset will find it harder to thrive and move forward, as they find it challenging to see past obstacles. Unfortunately, their negativity can quickly spread and bring other members of the team down too.

Additionally, positive individuals have an ability to adapt to change with ease – which is going to be essential in organisations moving forward.

​5.    A Team Player

​As with a positive mindset, being a team player is a crucial trait for IT employees to have.

Be on the lookout for employees who have plenty of experience of working as part of diverse teams, as working with lots of different people and personalities is a great way to develop the skills needed to be an excellent team player.

Team players contribute by listening to their colleagues, offering a different perspective, they help to strengthen bonds and trust within the team, and they are essential when things get tough.

6.    Emotional Intelligence

​Emotionally intelligent individuals possess the interpersonal skills needed to help your organisation to thrive, and they do this in a few ways.

Building on the great soft skills we have already mentioned in this article, emotional intelligence allows employees to exhibit the following:

• Self-awareness – the ability to prioritise, manage time and resilience to stress and anxiety during busy times.
• Self-regulatory behaviours – they are always in control of their emotions, and they are good at resolving conflict.
• Empathy – they can understand different members of the team, which allows them to work well with everyone.
• They can take feedback constructively – they don’t let it affect them personally, and they learn and grow from the experience.

An ideal IT team is full of people with high emotional intelligence, and it is such a necessary trait it ranked sixth in the World Economic Forum’s list of the top 10 skills that employees will need to thrive in workplaces of the future.

​7.    Agility

​And finally, since the enormous changes that have happened to our world due to the pandemic, flexibility is essential.

Never before has the skill of being able to work outside of our comfort zones been necessary. It is now essential for all IT employers to be sure that their team are able to pivot to the ever-changing needs of a post-pandemic world.

Some people are great and adapting to change, whereas others find it more challenging, and some are unwilling to try.

7 Important Qualities Required When Hiring Product Managers

How have employees coped with the recent changes to our world? Have they been happy to embrace new ways of working and living? Agility comes with a growth mindset, one where employees are always looking to develop and to grow, and this is the only way continued future success is possible.

​Finally

I hope you enjoyed our blog on 7 Important Qualities Required When Hiring Product Managers.

​If you are looking to employ new Product Management talent into your organisation, these are the skills that you should be on the lookout for.

If you’re looking for help, get in touch by calling James Shenton Managing Partner for Technology on 01580 857179 or send us an email here.

Opus Resourcing recruits world-class SaaS, technology, commercial and executive talent for companies ranging from seed-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies within the UK, Europe, and the US.

Book a Call with James Shenton

Top tips for a good Tech Interview

If you are now at the stage of preparing for an interview you must congratulate yourself on getting this far. Your CV obviously made an impact so now it is time to prepare to showcase yourself in person. Preparation is key so please read through the following top tips for a good interview and best of luck!

• Be punctual

Arrive on time, if not a few minutes early. Plan your journey allowing for any possible delays. Being late and harassed never creates a good impression.

• Be smart and business-like

Find out beforehand whether you are expected to wear a suit. Take along spare copies of your CV. Be yourself and let your personality shine through.

• Understand the interview style

Find out beforehand whether there will be any technical and/or psychometric tests and make sure you prepare accordingly.

• Know who you are meeting

Make sure you know who you will be meeting and try to obtain any information about them before the interview.

• Understand the role

Familiarise yourself with the job specification and identify areas where you are well matched. Identify areas of potential weakness and in need of development. Pre-empt any questions and prepare relevant examples.

• Be enthusiastic

Speak enthusiastically about yourself, your experience and your skills.

• Listen carefully

Make sure you listen carefully to any questions asked so that you can answer them in a meaningful way. Avoid abrupt ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. Elaborate where possible – remember, this is your chance to sell yourself.

• Be positive

Don’t talk negatively or be overly critical of your past. It doesn’t create a good impression.

• Use short pauses

Don’t be afraid of short pauses. When asked a question, take a few moments to think of a well crafted answer.

• Body language

Smile. Make eye contact. Firm handshake. Sit up straight.

​Questions to think about asking…

•What are the career opportunities?

•Will I be working as part of a team or independently?

•What is the performance appraisal procedure?

•What qualities do you look for in an employee?

Questions you might be asked….

•Why are you leaving your current job?

•What are your main strengths/weaknesses?

•Why should we appoint you over someone else?

•Where do you see yourself in 5, 10 years time?

Opus Resourcing recruits world-class SaaS, technology, commercial and executive talent for companies ranging from seed-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies within the UK, Europe, and the US.

How to Increase Staff Retention in Your Tech Organisation

​As we are now living in a world that has been changed by the pandemic, your employee retention strategy must be better than ever.

A pre-pandemic Retention Report by the Work Institue (2019) found that “one in three workers would voluntarily leave their job by 2023”. And this has only increased due to significant shifts in the market due to Covid-19.

The effects of the pandemic are going to be felt in organisations for years to come, and so employee retention needs to be a key focus in order to ensure you are keeping your team engaged and satisfied in their roles.

Hiring for replacement team members is not something any organisation wants to be doing right now, and so an excellent employee retention strategy is essential.

The following 8 strategies will help you focus on How to Increase Staff Retention in Your Tech Organisation

​1.    Discover Who You’re Overlooking

​To ensure you are providing excellent leadership for your entire team and making them feel valued, first, it is essential that you find out if you are overlooking anyone in your team.

IT teams will naturally include individuals with all manner of skills, experience and personality types.

But in most teams, there will also be team members who shine brighter than others – extroverts tend to get noticed more than introverts, some team members are more likely to speak up if they have a problem whereas others will try to work through challenges on their own.

As a leader, it is essential that everyone is getting the right amount of support that they need and that you are not overlooking anyone.

Leaders in the IT sector will naturally look to middle managers and other higher-profile employees, but to be a great leader, you must ensure the highest level of employee retention – remember that each and every team member must feel valued and supported.

​2.    Create Unlimited Opportunities for Growth

​According to a recent LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report, 93% of employees would stay longer with their employer if they invested more in developing their careers.

Many employers will get to the point where they have a great team in place and think that their job is ‘done’.

But continual training and development is a key part of every employee retention strategy, and we find that talented candidates who look for new IT roles often cite a desire to develop themselves and their career further as a reason for leaving.

No-one wants to be stuck in a role where they feel as though progression is an unlikely possibility.

So invest in robust training and development for your team – it can be anything from personal development training to allowing them time to learn new skills.

​3.    Demonstrate Excellent Values and Ethics

​The most desirable IT employees are looking for employers with impressive values and ethics.

And this has been accelerated by the pandemic. We are all thinking much more about what is really important to us, and working for a company they believe in is high on every employee’s list of priorities.

IT employees are more empowered than ever, with social media and online review culture creating an environment where the need to be honest and transparent is more crucial than ever.

How active is your company at demonstrating your values and ethics? Do you champion diversity and inclusion? Are you financially transparent?

Fail to demonstrate excellent values, and you risk losing your employees to a more ethical company.

​4.    Give Employees a Purpose

​It is not enough to give employees a fair remuneration package – employees are increasingly looking for a greater sense of purpose in their work.

The best way to find out if your employees feel a sense of meaning and purpose in their work is to talk to them.

Ask them what is important to them in their roles, and make any alterations you can to help them feel a greater sense of purpose. This could involve introducing tools to make their jobs easier, and thus, more valued, or working together to improve your products or services to give greater customer satisfaction.

And create a mission statement which helps employees to understand how their work positively impacts the world.

​5.    Enhance Your Employer Brand

​Your employer brand is the thread that links employees to the organisation – all employees want to work for a company which they feel aligned to.

Look closely at what your competitors are doing – if you slip in terms of promoting and maintaining an excellent employer brand, this gives employees the opportunity to look elsewhere and to be tempted to leave to work for a brand with a better reputation and culture.

Your digital footprint is key in creating a strong employer brand which your employees will feel proud to be a part of.

Think about what you post and how often. IT employees like to see that their employer is actively engaged in current topics, is invested in the wellbeing of the team and is a transparent and communicative employer.

Get your employees involved in team strengthening events, use your social media to champion your current employees – celebrate birthdays, life events and little wins within the organisation.

And finally, let’s look at how a great recruitment strategy is always essential when it comes to employee retention.

​6.    Get Your Recruitment Strategy Right

​Employee retention all starts with your recruitment process.

When you start your employees off on the right foot with an excellent recruitment and onboarding process, this sets the tone for a mutually beneficial employer-employee relationship.

Studies reveal that the better the onboarding process, the lower the turnover.

A shocking 20% of employee turnover happens within the first 45 days, and this is mostly down to a poor onboarding process.

Onboarding is part of the recruitment process, and yet many employers believe that recruitment stops the moment the candidate accepts the job offer.

Invest in your recruitment and onboarding process, and you will start to see a higher rate of employee retention.

​Finally

​A certain amount of staff turnover is unavoidable.

But follow the steps in this guide to improve unnecessary employee turnover in your tech organisation.

It’s never easy to lose a great employee, but when you work with a specialist IT recruiter, they can help you create the right recruitment and onboarding process to ensure your retention rates remain high, increasing employee engagement and lowering your overall costs of recruitment.

I hope you found our blog on How to Increase Staff Retention in Your Tech Organisation insightful, and a useful guide for your tech business.

If you’re looking for help with your recruitment strategy, get in touch by calling James Shenton Managing Partner for Technology on 01580 857179 or send us an email here.

Opus Resourcing recruits world-class SaaS, technology, commercial and executive talent for companies ranging from seed-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies within the UK, Europe, and the US.

To find out how we can help you find your next IT talent, get in touch with us on 01580 857179 or email us here.

Book a Call with James Shenton

Are You Still In Love With The Tech Company You Work For?​

Find a job doing what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.

It’s a common motivational saying, but what does it really mean to “love” your Technology company? Do people who love their jobs never wish they were relaxing at home instead of tackling challenging tasks? Are people who love their company less likely to procrastinate, daydream or have difficult days? Not necessarily.

Every position, even the ideal ones, come with a few pesky tasks you’d probably rather avoid. Loving your Technology role doesn’t have to mean that you’d rather spend more time in the office than you do at home.

It simply means that you’re passionate about what you do, engaged by your work, and committed to continuing your position with your chosen employer.

Here’s how you can figure out whether your love affair with your company is still strong or the flames are burning out, and it might be time to move to new pastures.

​1. What Motivates You to Keep Your Job?

If you truly love the company you’re working with, you should have motivations beyond simply earning a salary. If your answer to the question of “why do I have this job” is “I need to pay the bills”, then you’re working out of necessity, not love.

With this in mind, it’s worth looking at your motivations for maintaining this specific Technology role. Do you share the same values and visions as the company? Do you feel like you get a meaningful sense of purpose from your current job, and does working within the position make you feel fulfilled?

Do you enjoy the challenges you face and actively have fun with the tasks you complete each day or are you simply checking items off a “to-do” list? If you can’t find any non-monetary sources of motivation, it might be worth speaking to your Technology recruitment company to find a better role. After all, endless alternatives exist for the right talented professional.

​2. Do you love the job but not the company?

When you look ahead and attempt to visualise the future of your career, what do you see? When you’re planning the next stages of your Technology role, can you see yourself working with the same business, just in a higher position with more responsibilities? Are you actively excited about growing and developing your career with this business?

Alternatively, do you see your future taking you in a different direction? Even if you enjoy your role now, you might feel there are no real progression opportunities in your current workplace that can help you progress towards your professional goals.

If this is the case, it might be worth asking whether your love for your current role is really enough. Just because you adore your job doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to pursue a future with the same business. Sometimes, to take your career to the next level, you must consider pursuing other opportunities.

​3. Does Your Company Love You Back?

Any good relationship is a two-way street. You can dedicate all your time, creativity, and passion to a role, but if your company doesn’t show you any love in return, the relationship will quickly turn sour.

Ask yourself how you demonstrate your commitment to your role and how your employer and the larger company support you in return. What kind of company culture is the business building, and how does it commit to making you feel like part of an inclusive team?

How frequently do your managers or team leaders share feedback with you through guidance and recognition? How often does your hard work go unnoticed?

If your company isn’t dedicated to making you feel like a valuable team member, then there’s a good chance your feelings for it will begin to disintegrate over time.

​4. Is Your Company Invested in You?

If you’re passionate about your role, you likely devote much of your time and energy to your tasks. You might go above and beyond to ensure you’re always delivering the best results on projects and constantly commit to expanding your knowledge with external forms of education.

The more invested you are in your company, the more you’ll help it grow and thrive. But how invested is your company in you? Does your manager regularly discuss your goals and help you develop plans for the next step in your career?

Do you have access to various learning and development opportunities within the business? Or are you the sole person responsible for expanding your skills and talents? A company committed to nurturing the relationship between the business and its employees will consistently invest in its staff. Your feelings might change if you feel like your company isn’t helping you grow.

​Is the Love Still There?

Over time, your love for your company will either flourish or wilt depending on your experiences in your role; and if your employer and the business you work with is invested in you, committed to helping you grow, and aligned with your personal values. In that case, you might be at the beginning of a fantastic professional love affair.

On the other hand, you might discover that over time, your love of your company begins to dwindle. Loving your current job isn’t the same as loving the company. If you’re not passionate about growing with the brand, you can always look for other opportunities to find new love with a different organisation.

Opus Resourcing recruits world-class SaaS, technology, commercial and executive talent for companies ranging from seed-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies within the UK, Europe, and the US.

If your love for your company isn’t as strong as it once was, now could be the perfect time to start getting back on the playing field, you can call us on 01580 857179 or send us an email here.