Tech Recruitment Challenges Uncovered: Strategies to Attract and Retain Top Talent

The unmatched growth in the technical industry translates to increased demand for top technical workers. Identifying and recruiting employees for technical roles continues to challenge many organizations globally. From a high demand for tech workers to fill AI-related jobs to being able to afford tech experts, companies are facing several challenges in recruitment.

Hiring technical candidates is more competitive than ever, especially for companies outside the technical industry. With so much competition, these companies often lose on the best candidates who are often offered better pay elsewhere. So the question here is, are you prepared to hire the best tech professionals when there is cutthroat competition and global talent shortage?

It is possible to hire great tech talent, even if you are not a technical recruiter or hiring manager. This article will highlight the top technical recruitment challenges and how to overcome them so you do not miss out on the skilled technical experts you have set your eyes on! 

Top 5 technical recruitment challenges and their solutions

All industries have their own unique recruiting challenges. In this case, the technical industry is no exception, as recruiters looking to hire tech candidates face many challenges daily.

With that being said, let us discuss the top tech recruitment challenges and their solutions. Although these challenges of recruiting are global, you will find many applicable to local economies: 

Challenge 1: Talent shortage for high-skill tech roles 

The tech sphere witnesses fast and continuous tech advancements on a daily basis. As a result, the skills and qualifications for tech roles quickly go out of date and keeping up with the new requirements becomes difficult for individuals, especially those not from the tech background.

This situation where the demand exceeds the supply results in a skills gap in the tech industry. Finding an average developer is easy. However, most organizations want to hire a skilled and qualified developer and not an average candidate. 

Solution:

• Use advanced recruitment tools to access global talent and make remote work easier.
• Offer internships and apprenticeships to connect with top candidates easily and create long-term talent pipelines.
• Invest in learning and development programs to update the skills of your current employees. 
• Consider hiring contract or freelance employees for specialized short-term projects. 

Challenge 2: Sourcing high-quality or niche talent is difficult

Did you know? Almost 76% of hiring managers say attracting the right candidates in today’s competitive job market is their biggest challenge. Many companies miss out on the best candidates because they do not have strong strategies for finding them.

Posting a job online on common hiring channels and hoping for applications is not enough. Today, companies need to actively seek out tech talent, even if it means looking in unexpected places. That is because the best candidates for tech jobs are often passive, already working with competitors or located far away, which makes them harder to contact. 

Solution:

• Passive candidates make up 37% of the workforce and may be open to new roles, and nearly 70% of the global workforce consists of passive talent. Hence, do not ignore passive candidates and incorporate passive recruitment strategies.
• Do not limit searches to local candidates, and use platforms like LinkedIn to explore global talent. Moreover, invest in campus recruitment to hire young talent with the latest skills and knowledge. 
• Build connections with industry communities, networks and forums. Consider hosting your own event and using traditional methods like job fairs, conferences and employee referral programs. They are still highly effective and can help you stand out. 

Challenge 3: The technical recruitment process is lengthy

Since open roles cost money and delay business operations, recruiting teams want to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. Moreover, highly qualified professionals do not have the time to be patient and wait for you to move them through the recruitment funnel because they usually have many other good offers.

If the technical recruitment process takes longer than usual, they will just accept an offer from some other company. This is how companies miss out on many golden opportunities. 

Solution:

To ensure you do not miss out on top tech talent, all you need to do is make your tech recruitment process fast and efficient. You can do so by taking the time to review your recruiting tools and processes. This involves looking at each hiring step to determine whether it is needed and eliminate all the bottlenecks.

Creating a talent pipeline is another best way to ensure you do not lose the best candidates. Consider using automated hiring tools and the best interview as a service platform like VProPle to say goodbye to time-consuming recruiting processes and save a ton of time for other priority tasks.

Related: Why Companies are Investing in Interview Services to Improve Candidate Experience

Challenge 4: High competition in the job market 

As we already discussed in the blog above, tech candidates today receive many good job offers from recruiters, even when they are not looking for a job. It means they have many opportunities to choose from when they start looking for employment. (A survey by Indeed found that 70% of people had multiple job offers when they got their current job).

That is why you must offer them a positive candidate experience to stand out. In other words, as technology continues to improve in various fields, you need to take steps to stay competitive and attract skilled tech workers. 

Solution:

• Build a strong employer brand and offer pay, benefits, flexible work options and perks. 
• Host events (online or in-person) to create lasting impressions and provide a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP). 
• Make the tech recruiting process smoother and highlight growth and career development opportunities to secure top talent before competitors. 
• Engage with your online audience, especially in comments, and share helpful content on different social media platforms. 
• Monitor reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed and take feedback seriously, as most job seekers check reviews before applying.

Challenge 5: High technical recruitment costs

Prices increase when demand is higher than supply. That is why tech salaries have been constantly increasing over the past few years. Imagine pairing this with the usually high recruiting costs, think job posting, candidate screening, onboarding and training.

It is definitely enough to burn a hole in a hiring manager’s pockets! Therefore, small companies and startups often lose qualified tech candidates to large organizations that can afford them. 

Solution: 

• Expand your search to remote workers, as it gives you access to more candidates at lower costs. 
• Use hiring automation tools to streamline your tech hiring process, improve efficiency and save time. 
• Reduce hiring costs by using alumni networks, offering employee referral programs and building talent pools. Carefully manage your recruitment budget and cut costs wherever possible. 
• Offer non-monetary perks, like wellness programs, extra paid time off and recognition to make up for lower salaries. 

Also Read: 5 Key Recruitment KPIs to Improve Your Hiring Strategies

Conclusion

Now that we have reached the end of this blog, you must have realized that hiring qualified tech professionals is tough, and recruiters face many talent acquisition challenges. However, you can easily tackle them with the right tools and strategies. The key is to attract and retain top talent and stay ahead of the competition in the fast-changing tech world. If you have not tried the VProPle Interview-as-a-Service Platform yet, now is the time! Contact us today!