#1. Choice
Skilled Technologists Will Have More Options Than Ever Before
What You Need to Know
By paying attention to technologists’ needs and fears and acting on them when possible, employers will stand a better chance of keeping talent onboard. That’s not to say that being reactive is the way to success — it’s more about being agile in making and implementing decisions when it fits your strategy.
Communication is the absolute key here — the last thing employers want is to be working on a big change to the employee experience when they lose their talented technologists to other organizations. Being as transparent as possible on progress and planning can help in-demand employees know where they stand, and what to expect on timing for promotions, raises and other incentives.
As technologists emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns, many of them increased their willingness to shift employers. According to Dice surveys, 48 percent of technologists in the second quarter of 2021 expressed an interest in changing companies in 2021, up from 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, and a big jump from 32 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
Technologists aged 18-44 drove this trend, with 59 percent anticipating a change in employers, versus 42 percent of those aged 45 or older. Dice’s data suggests that, although 54 percent of technologists were confident or very confident that they could find a new role in 2021, that conviction dropped among technologists aged 45 or older. This may reflect the ageism that many still perceive as a pressing issue in the technology industry.
Anticipated Employer Change in the Next Year
Technologists’ urge to make a job or career change isn’t occurring in isolation. According to a Harris Poll survey conducted for Fast Company, 52 percent of U.S. workers were considering a job switch this year, with 44 percent putting “actual plans in place.” This speaks to the broad-based optimism in an economic rebound, and possibly to a deeper general sense of dissatisfaction throughout the workforce. As an employer, you’re never going to be able to please everyone, but it’s certainly worth paying attention to the fact that it’s possible that half of your workforce is on the lookout for a better opportunity. And with tech unemployment continuing to be notably low (2.1 percent in October 2021, according to CompTIA), especially when compared to other sectors, many technologists have their choice when it comes to their next opportunity.
For employers, technologists’ rising desire to change jobs and the continued labor shortage presents a mixture of threats and opportunities. Those companies on the lookout for talent have a better chance of landing the skilled technologists they need, provided they offer the right mix of salary and incentives. It also places additional pressure on leaders and managers to provide the compensation, professional development and interesting work that will keep existing talent onboard. As noted in the summary, it could pay to focus on making decisions quickly on what, if anything, needs to change in your internal culture and structure or how you show up to prospective technologists, and acting on these adjustments in an agile manner.