Navigating Tech Recruitment: 5 Hurdles and How to Tackle Them

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, recruitment has become an intricate dance between finding the right talent and navigating the challenges that come with it.

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From the shortage of skilled professionals to the competition for top talent, tech recruitment presents a myriad of obstacles for companies to overcome. However, by really understanding these challenges you can build solutions to overcome to equip your recruitment processes and secure the best candidates for your tech teams.

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Here are five common challenges in tech recruitment and how to overcome them:?

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1)??? Skill Shortage

Imagine, you're on the hunt for a seasoned data scientist, you aren’t asking for much, a bit of analysis experience and a bit of warehousing experience too but it feels like they're as elusive as Bigfoot. Sound familiar?

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The tech industry is booming, but the talent pool isn't always keeping pace. With a bit of forward planning you could take inspiration from companies like Google, who tackle this challenge head-on by investing in programs like Grow with Google. You might not have the ability to offer a comprehensive google university but you could offering training and certifications to upskill from internal talent pools which will also act as a retention tool and feed a “grow your own” culture, which will help you focus in on aptitude and attitude rather than competing for pure skill on the open market. By nurturing talent and casting a wider net, you can uncover hidden gems in unexpected places.

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A more immediate solution when working with a skill shortage usually requires tempering your expectation and a bit of troubleshooting. Are you looking for something that exists? Do you know someone doing a similar role – is the package comparable? How niche is the skillset and/or how relevant is the industry experience

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2)??? Competition for Top Talent

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there when it comes to snagging the best tech talent. With tech giants sprinkling benefits like 100s and 1000s, how can smaller companies compete?

Take a page from the playbook of startups like Buffer, who leverage transparency and remote work culture to attract top talent. By emphasizing your unique company culture and the opportunity to make a real impact, you can create a magnet for top-tier talent who crave more than just a fat paycheck.

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The easiest way to do this is to try and understand your audience, who are you trying to appeal to and what do they resonate with (and why), don’t rest solely on your tech or buzzwords, as you’ll only attract candidates shooting for the latest and greatest – this is your “how” and like many industries, changes over time. You “why” is your mission, your projects, your goal. Good examples of this would include any tech for good business.

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3)??? Bias in Recruitment Process

Unconscious bias is the sneaky little gremlin and its difficult to truly remove but there are strategies you can employ to ensure its influence is kept at bay.

Companies like Salesforce combat bias by implementing blind screening techniques and mandatory diversity training for all employees involved in hiring. Take a leaf from their book and introduce structured interviews, standardised criteria, and diversity training to foster an inclusive hiring environment where every candidate has a fair shot.

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4)??? Retention Challenges

So, you've managed to rope in that elusive Software Developer – but how do you make sure they stick around? Hopefully if you’ve nailed the above you’ll be feeling quietly confident but it can eat away at you in the background and is a costly conversation to have 6 months in.

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Really this one is down to you, companies like Virgin keep their employees engaged and motivated with perks like unlimited holiday and flexible work hours, not everyone can do this but at its core they are prioritising employee well-being and flexibility and creating a supportive work environment. This IS something you can do, but again, you’ll need to understand your audience and home in on what they value, individually and collectively, and play to that.

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It could be flexibility, it could be wellbeing, it could be fitness (a morning Yoga session might fit all 3 of these now that I type it out…) but one thing is for sure, regular consistent feedback/direction or recognition will go a long way.

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5)??? Technical Screening and Assessment

Ah, the dreaded technical interview – where candidates have to run the gauntlet to prove their technical ability – its not like 3-5 years of education, a first class degree 10 udemy courses, 5 years commercial experience with a stint in a FAANG business is really an indicator you’ll be able to maintain this API we’ve built. So here is a technical test on how well you know arrays.

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Remember that a coding challenge is an extra step in your interview process and a filter – do you have many viable candidates? If you do, fantastic a tech test is probably relevant, but be aware of time constraints and keep an eye on dropout rates. If you don’t, please ask yourself whether it is an appropriate tool for the job to complete your in house, industry specific, niche coding language tech test, and if you do choose to ignore this anyway, please don’t be butt hurt when candidates who don’t already have your internal business and domain experience aren’t immediately able to draw the same conclusions you are with 10 year’s experience solving problems in your domain.

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There are many options from leetcoding, take home tests, live coding tests, pseudo code tests, if you must see live code at interview but I’d ask you to consider how to ask the right questions to get the information you might need first. Remember this is about problem solving ability and solutions design and not about total command of an individual framework or language.

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Tech recruitment may be a wild ride, but armed with the right strategies and a dash of innovation, you can navigate the maze with confidence. Remember, it's not just about finding the right talent – it's about speaking to your audience and creating an inclusive and supportive environment where they can thrive.

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For more tips or advice on how to navigate your challenges in tech recruitment reach out to me directly or give me a call on 01527 407140

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