Keeping Your IT Offers Competitive
Every business, whether it is in the information technology (IT) industry or not, is going to face one consistent challenge, even at the very top of the organization. How do you make offers that are competitive enough to secure the kind of talent you want working at your company?
People with IT skills are a valuable commodity across industries, and there’s still no surplus of potential applicants. So workers, especially ones who already have experience and have proven their skills, are in a near constant state of very high demand.
When you’re going through the IT recruiting process, it’s a two-way street: you can’t assume you’re the one in control and people must measure up to your expectations. Valuable candidates have their own goals and expectations, and if you don’t meet them, they’ll decide to work for someone who can.
The best way to attract talent is with an enticing offer letter, including title, salary, and benefits. So, how do you keep your offers to IT candidates competitive?
Benchmark IT Salaries on a Regular Basis
It may be “salary research 101,” but it bears constant repetition: know the market. There are plenty of guides that a Canadian software developer can look at that show the going rate for a particular line of work. You must remain aware of the current standards and make sure you update yourself on fluctuations on an annual basis, at minimum.
If you don’t know what others are paying, you could be offering salaries dramatically lower than what is considered as market rate. Without this knowledge, you’re simply not going to attract the kind of higher calibre IT talent you want.
Know what the average salaries are, and ensure you take into account living expenses in your area. If you’re offering a job in Toronto, make sure people can actually afford to live in Toronto based on what you pay, rather than forcing them to find cheaper housing solutions further away and take long commutes into work.
Consider Performance-Based Pay Raises
Today, the current thinking among employees is, “If you want a higher salary than what you’ve got, apply to another company.” That may be conventional wisdom in the 21st century, but for many decades, work in North America was predicated on people staying with a company and rising in the ranks. One of the reasons for that was a far more predictable schedule of pay raises.
If you want to ensure someone accepts a job offer and stays with you for years to come, it’s not enough to simply offer a good starting salary. If that salary never changes, an employee looking for better prospects will have no choice but to try to find the right pay at another company.
Offer opportunity for advancement. You may think you’re saving money by not offering raises and simply rehiring when a valuable employee quits, but you must now go through a re-hiring and re-training process, and you may never get back those years of valuable insight and experience the previous employee is now taking to another company.
Evaluate Your Employee Benefits
For many employees, it’s not strictly the salary that will be the sole reason to accept a job and stay there. There are plenty of other things you can offer during the IT recruiting process that can make the decision an easy one.
Of course, if you are situated in a desirable city such as Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto, then be prepared to offer up compensation for people who may need to relocate, such as temporary housing or other benefits.
Extended health or medical benefits for the employee and their family can also be significant incentives. Your particular corporate culture may be a draw.
If part of your work ethic is a concerted effort to avoid prolonged “crunch time” that so many IT projects are famous for, then that can be a major attraction for potential candidates who are concerned they will be taken advantage of and will spend nights or weekends away from their family.
Make the Right Choice
Having competitive offers is crucial when you’re on track to hire new people, but you need to find the right people first. That’s where we can help. Poly Tech Talent finds you long-term and contractual IT hires. If you want to work with one of the best IT recruiting firms in Canada, then contact us today. We’ll get you the competitive advantage you need to succeed!
Learn more about hiring the right Tech Talent in our Ultimate Guide to Hiring Executive Talent in Technology.