Competition for tech talent calls for greater visibility across brand and leadership

Recruitment Company Director Rob Riley shares leadership tips to meet soaring tech market demands.

Navigating through a pandemic was challenging to say the least, and now leaders face new hurdles, normalising a hybrid workforce, improving employer brand, and addressing a highly competitive candidate market.

I’ve worked with Technology industry professionals for over 20 years, I’ve built successful teams and supported others in doing the same. I meet leaders daily and listen to their challenges, receiving insights and data from a talented UK network. In a market where many job opportunities are geographically boundless it has become increasingly difficult to attract and retain employees, most salaries are increasing, and companies are competing across the UK and abroad to secure the best talent in tech.

Selling the role alone is no longer enough, businesses must differentiate and offer the candidate valuable perks, more flexibility, an inclusive culture, and clear brand values. Candidates want to see evidence of workplace culture and inclusivity, which may be difficult to demonstrate when teams are so widely dispersed, and all the while leaders must lead and nurture their immediate teams at risk of losing them to an open door of opportunities.

I understand these same challenges, and one method I use to support me is to identify and empower cultural architects to drive our business values from within across the wider team. Leaders in 2022 cannot be micro-managers, this style of working will not support high-performance. Instead, leaders must empower teams to work efficiently and collaboratively across technologies, time zones and specialisms.

There is nowhere to hide in this growth market. If businesses want to succeed in their people strategy, then leaders and business values must become more transparent, only then will you be able to drive greater candidate attraction and grow a stronger team that buy-in to your long-term strategy. Read more on this topic by downloading our Apply Tech insights and salary guide for 2022.