HR in tech: What do the candidates look for?

Let’s analyze the key factors for successful recruitment in the tech industry. In addition, Iwona (our IT Recruitment Specialist) will share her insights on how HR can help IT companies grow by focusing on identity, culture, and agility.

Company culture, authenticity, benefits, or salary? What will candidates for technical positions look for when choosing an employer? In answering these questions, we will try to bullet point what is most important in IT recruitment and what IT companies can offer to attract tech talents (and not only).

Benefits that are driven by needs

Even though IT is one of the most profitable industries, there’s something more to it than just a good salary and attractive benefits. Although important, money and material goods are not enough to create great working conditions. We can all observe that some non-wage benefits have become so popular that they have lost their appeal. So offering something less obvious that will positively impact motivation would be appropriate. Hence the need to redefine what can bring real value to employees and offer benefits driven by need.

“Today’s job market is all about listening to employees’ needs. So maybe, after a thorough in-house analysis, we will discover a whole new direction. As a result, we may find out that employees appreciate development space or work-life balance much more than Fruit Thursdays.”

— Iwona Tkocz, IT Recruitment Specialist

Motivation to work will be not only influenced by a pay rise but also by new opportunities. This is why treating employees as partners is important and giving them space to develop their ambitions. Nowadays, work-life balance plays an increasingly important role. Time spent with the family or nurturing one’s passions is an added value in a company culture that material benefits cannot compensate for

Listening to employees’ needs

Employee-centricity, which means adapting to employees’ expectations, has become one of the most valuable approaches in HR, not only in IT. Therefore, before offering benefits, it is worth ensuring that they align with the expectations of employees or job candidates. 

Some people will appreciate sports cards more than foreign language lessons, and the other way round. What really comes in handy is collecting feedback from employees regularly, which we pay close attention to at fireup.pro. Keeping a close eye on trends in the job market and keeping track of the changing priorities of prospective candidates will also help.

Increased opportunities for continuous learning & development

The dynamic and cross-functional nature of working in IT makes it crucial for employees to expand their knowledge of constantly emerging technologies. The particularly important HR area in the tech industry is the regular organization of technical and soft skills training. Supporting IT specialists in acquiring technology certifications, essential in expanding their competencies, is a good move for tech companies.

Programmers realize that keeping up with the latest technological trends is significant in their career. Encouraging knowledge sharing and ongoing education is a benefit for both employees and the company.

Remote or hybrid? Flexibility counts

Pandemic times have led many companies to switch to remote working. As a result, the openness of employers to home office continues is growing. As indicated by the OLX report – “The Evolution of HR Know How 2023,” – 41% more offers of this kind were published compared to 2021.

Around 80% of the candidates I had the opportunity to interview expressed a strong interest in the home office mode. Depending on the location, some candidates prefer 100% remote working, and some prefer a hybrid option. However, I think the key is to remain flexible and let candidates choose.

Recruitment in IT: What attracts employees?

What are the demands of candidates applying for tech positions, and above all, how can the company respond to them? Iwona, who confronts HR challenges on a daily basis at fireup.pro, shares her insights on what matters the most in IT recruitment.

What are the most essential things for IT job candidates?

Having been responsible for recruiting processes at fireup.pro, I have come to the conclusion that there are no two candidates with the exact expectations. First, you have to distinguish that a junior will pay attention to different things than someone who has been working as a programmer for 10 years. Some are interested in benefits, technology stack, professional development, or the ability to master foreign languages. 

What should IT recruiters pay attention to while hiring?

Before I started working as an IT recruiter, I thought that technical skills mattered most in this industry, but I soon realized that this is not the case at all. Soft skills also play an essential role. The key to successful recruitment is whether a job candidate fits into the company culture. The question is how we can check whether the candidate is “the right match” after we ensure that he or she has all the necessary hard skills and knows the right frameworks. At fireup.pro we pay particular attention to the personality fit of those about to join the team. We do this via the so-called Gallup Test (Cliffton Streghts Test), which every new employee completes at the entry.

How do we approach recruitment at fireup.pro?

These are the main values that guide us during the recruitment process. They ensure that people join us, with whom we form a cohesive team: 

Thinking deeply about diversity and compatibility

At fireup.pro, we make sure that our teams are diverse and that people work well together. That’s why we ask every candidate who is ready to join us to complete the Cliffton Strengths Test. 

Providing transparency and organizational agility 

Organizational agility improves both company performance and employee satisfaction. HR strives to provide top talents and resources to empower the teams, helping them to achieve their missions. 

Building a culture that is authentic 

An area that job seekers, not just in IT, are looking at more and more closely is company culture. Building a culture that is attractive to potential employees is something that companies are now placing emphasis on. 

81% of jobseekers surveyed by pracuj.co.uk in 2022 indicated that the culture of the company they plan to apply to is of great importance to them.   

Summary

What are the main conclusions for  IT companies? We live in an age where a creative approach in HR helps employers stand out from the competition positively. So it is worth implementing original ideas that will attract top talents. Showing the ‘authentic face’ of the company will help to do this. At fireup.pro, we take up an honest approach. By constantly giving each other feedback, we are able to improve and build a culture in which everyone feels comfortable.