John Collison, co-founder of San Francisco-based start-up Stripe, recently told the New York Times that Silicon Valley could never be replicated, because other areas simply do not attract or keep the best tech talent. We disagree. We believe there’s plenty of ways technology and digital organisations can entice the best candidates here at home. This is particularly the case now that there are discussions happening about limiting the H-1B US visa scheme. Here are a few ways you can keep top tech talent in Australia.
1) Improve company culture
Have you ever seen inside Google’s offices? They’ve got fun, quirky decorations everywhere, swimming pools, basketball and football courts, rock climbing walls, cool places to hang out, relax and have meetings… In short, they have pretty much anything you could think of. This is partly due to the fact that they’ve got the funds to build things like this, but it’s also because Google knows that their image and culture is one of the main reasons people apply there.
While a rock-climbing wall may be an unlikely addition to your office space, the point still stands that culture is incredibly important in enticing candidates to your organisation. Ask yourself whether there are any elements of your organisational culture that you could improve. Often technology and digital candidates want to work somewhere fun and innovative, so if you can, try to get your culture to fit that image and then showcase it during job interviews.
What is your current turnover like? Are your staff members staying for a long time or leaving very quickly? A high turnover can often negatively impact your workplace culture and team environment. It can also reflect badly on a new starter – making them feel nervous or wonder why so many people are leaving and potentially cause them to leave as well. Improving your company culture may help to reduce a high staff turnover in the long term.
2) Show candidates what you can give them
Interviews aren’t just a one way process – the candidate might have to sell themselves, but you also need to show them that your company is one they will enjoy working at. So, show your interviewee what you can offer them.
Particularly important is providing the chance to innovate. Uber has historically been seen as less fun than Google, Facebook and the like, but they continue to attract top talent because they allow their staff to experiment and make a real impact in their day to day work. Show potential candidates that they’ll have opportunities like this to grow or innovate.
There are plenty of other things you can offer, too. Perhaps your employees have a great work/life balance thanks to flexible working hours, or maybe you will be giving recruits the chance to learn new skills.
3) Offer training
One way to really attract talent is to offer them training. If a potential recruit can see they have the opportunity to learn and grow in their role, there’s a good chance they’ll take a job with you. This is something you should especially be thinking about doing now the government plans to abolish the 457 visa, which will make it very difficult to hire workers from other countries.
If you’re having trouble finding the top tech talent your company needs, Talent are here to help. Please contact the team today for more information.