Semiconductor Monthly September 2022

The race for Talent - Why companies have to hire like the hare in 2022

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We've all heard?The Tortoise and the Hare?from Aesop's Fables, a staple in any fairytale book and a life lesson we're all familiar with; slow and steady wins the race. But in the race for talent in 2022, slow and steady isn't going to get you anywhere, it's time to act like the Hare.

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Unemployment rates across the UK, Europe and the USA have fallen compared to pre-pandemic levels, with the US in particular matching their lowest unemployment rates in recorded history at just 3.5% this August. For the tech industry it's even lower, with reports from various think tanks and public sector bodies stating unemployment at less than 2%. But this doesn't mean that all the jobs are filled, far from it in fact.

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Mckinsey released a report at the start of September 2022 stating that companies will face a shortfall of 300,000 engineers and 90,000 skilled technicians by 2030. To fight for what talent there is, companies are going to have to offer more than just an increase on their salary.

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The pandemic shifted the priorities of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of skilled workers and what they wanted out of an employer. Whilst salary and career prospects were the number one priority for decades, employees are now equally interested about how they will be valued and respected by a potential employer. It is just as, if not more important to make your employees feel heard, respected and valued than ever before.

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The incredibly high demand for talent in the tech sector, exaggerated by shortages in semiconductors and increased demand from B2C and B2B customers, isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and it's harder than ever to find the best talent on the market. So how should companies be positioning themselves as the best option compared to all of their competitors?

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Act like the Hare

?Slow and steady isn't the motto to live by in 2022. If you're putting every candidate through countless interviews, spread out over weeks or months, then you're taking too long. You have to streamline your hiring processes and squash the decision-making hierarchy if you want to be in with a chance of hiring the best talent. If your competitors have done this already, they're getting offers to the same candidates faster than you are; if you think your the only company a candidate is interviewing for, think again. You have to respect the candidates time as much as you do your own, you have to act like the hare.

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Values and priorities

?As we touched on before, showing a potential hire that their voice will be heard and they will be respected within your organisation is a must. The pandemic gave everyone a chance to reflect on what they value the most, and for most, values came out on top. People want to be treated like people, and proving this in an interview is really important. It's always worth remembering that, as much as you're interviewing them, they're also interviewing you. So make sure you demonstrate what a career at your company will do for the person you're interviewing on as many verticals as possible; from professional and personal growth, to support and trust. Include members of staff from all seniorities in the interview, outline any and all career progression opportunities, and mention every single company perk you can think of.?

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Flexibility and work-life balance

?We've been walking the work-life balance walk since implementing a 4-day week in 2019, so take it from us, it's important and it works. Whilst we understand that this isn't feasible for every company or department, it's not the only way to give your employees a better work-life balance. Offering remote or hybrid working, flexible working hours and incentives such as sabbaticals are all fantastic ways to help your staff avoid burnout and feel valued.

?It's worth remembering that, of the hundreds of thousands of people who changed companies over the past two years, many went into different industries. Skills are becoming increasingly transferable, so look outside of your immediate industry for what competing companies are doing to attract and retain talent.

?One final piece of gold that we can't help but share from Mckinsey's September report is the exhibit below. Having surveyed a number of tech companies, the below list highlights 20 dimensions that companies can use to assess their talent attraction and retention strategies.

?If the pandemic taught business' anything, it's how incredibly fluid and dynamic they can be in the face of change. The whole world adopted a remote working framework almost over night, it's incredible. So make the changes you need to make, listen to your employees and act upon it, because we guarantee you, your competitors are.

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No manpower? No problem

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One of the worlds largest semiconductor testing and packaging companies, Taiwan's ASE Technology Holding Co, announced plans to use AI to help close their shortage gap, building a more advanced smart factory.

?Qualcomm Inc's Snapdragon system will be used to power the new factory in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, becoming the first in the world to use a "5G mmWave new radio-dual connectivity standalone network", promising to improve the speed, stability and efficiency of the factory's equipment.

?This is the first of 10 smart factories that ASE plan to build this year, bringing the total number of smart factories in Taiwan to 37. As multiple companies on the island continue to compete for the same shrinking pool of talent, we may see this become more common for certain parts of the supply chain in Taiwan and possibly across the rest of the world.

?Taiwan's government partnered with the industry last year to established specialised chip schools in a bid to boost engineering talent for the island, but whether it will be enough to close the talent gap is yet to be seen...