What Your Most Talented Programmers Are Looking For At Work
Posted August 10th, 2016
When members of management are asked what they believe their employees are truly looking for in a work environment, many focus on the concrete, such as pay and benefits packages. While these items are important, having competitive pay and benefits packages are only the beginning when it comes to retaining your most talented programmers.
If you have found some of your most valuable employees leaving for other opportunities, or would like to prevent the future exodus of those employees, here are some areas to focus on.
Engagement and Learning Opportunities
One point of frustration that can arise among the top programmers in your business is a lack of engagement. This can relate to boredom as a sense of routine sets in, as well as a lack of opportunity to grow while working in the position. A general feeling of stagnation can cause those with the ability to seek other job opportunities to take new positions solely for a change of pace.
In order to keep these employees within your ranks, you need to find ways to keep them engaged at work. This can include opportunities to work with a mentor that possess the skills they are most interested in, as well as cross training opportunities into new areas.
If your business is considering implementing as new technology or adopting a new process, consider sending your highest performers to training opportunities and other industry gatherings related to their fields. This can give your employees to learn about new areas that may not only keep them interested, but may be useful to the business in the long run.
This can also alleviate any fears regarding to being pigeon-holed in a very specific area that could lead to fewer opportunities over the long-term.
Advancement and Recognition
Advancement opportunities goes well beyond the simple idea of promoting from within the organization. For highly talented programmers, if career progress within the business is tied more closely to longevity than merit, this can cause frustration for your top performers. If merit is a primary factor, then a clear path should be provided to guide them towards advancement opportunities.
In cases where a path to advancement is not clear, or is largely based on time with an organization, top performers may seek promotional opportunities outside of the current organization in order to move forward in their career.
Project Completion and Goals
While some programming work may be cyclical in nature, working on a project that either appears to be never-ending, or seems guaranteed to fail, can keep high performers from finding value in their work. For example, if project delays have slowed development to the point of, if the project ever reaches completion, the solution is already fairly obsolete, this may lead your most valuable programmers to question the company’s direction and its ability to adapt to changing conditions.
A Sense of Autonomy
Certain issues may become more apparent in cases where key employees are not provided with a level of autonomy when it comes to the completion of their duties. Whether this relates to being micromanaged, or being subjected to certain requirements that are designed with mediocre performers in mind, not allowing a high performing employee some level of flexibility in how the work is completed can amplify frustrations in other areas.
By understanding the key points that your top performers covet, you can begin to adjust the work environment to keep them engaged in their work, as well as the future of the company. For more information on employee engagement, or how to hire top programmers, contact Bayside Solutions today.
