Author Archives: Ashley Alfred

Attracting and retaining talent is becoming more and more difficult as organizations grow and as tech continues to boom. We have spoken to hundreds of hiring managers and to thousands of candidates over the last six years and have determined some of the top reasons people leave their jobs. The costs associated with backfill are extensive. For a medium-size company, the annual cost of turnover is $1.57 million. Depending on the size of your company, these can be magnanimous. The following will help you determine where to focus your efforts to mitigate these challenges and increase employee retention throughout your organization.

STAGNATION
A common concern that candidates express to us is a lack of challenge in their role. According to a study conducted by Harris Poll, almost 77% of employees feel they’re ‘on their own‘ to develop their careers within a company. A lack of career growth and advancement is one of the biggest reasons people leave their jobs. The 2019 Millennial Manager Workplace Survey reports that 75% of millennials believe that constantly changing jobs advanced their careers. You can’t promote everyone, but you can ensure that people are doing interesting work and constantly learning. Building and learning new technologies is one of the best ways you can keep your team learning. Make sure to spread the maintenance around and ensure that everyone gets to do interesting work from time-to-time.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Tech is not a predictable 9 – 5 role and anyone in this industry knows that sometimes there are long hours involved. However, sleeping at the office should never be the norm. Work-life balance is considered one of the top deciding factors by 73% of job seekers when assessing a new role; as such, a lot of companies are now offering flexible hours and the option to work from home. There are times during a critical launch when additional hours will be required, but if your team is constantly working late in the evening and on weekends, they will burn out. Too much stress on the job can create a toxic culture. Stay apprised of your team; when you see them working late steadily, remind them to log off. Employ walking meetings, offer mental health days, ensure they take vacation and explore other ways to create balance.

COMPENSATION
Money isn’t everything, but it is one of the reasons that 25% of people leave their jobs, though less prevalent among Millennials. A lot of candidates begin looking elsewhere if they feel that they aren’t getting paid their worth. A common area this occurs is in startups. As a role evolves and responsibilities grow, it’s only fair that the compensation should follow suit. Another common mistake is underpaying newcomers. 1.2 million new immigrants came to Canada between 2011-2016, yet they make 16% less than those born in Canada. They’re also typically younger and have more education than the average Canadian. Since The cost of hiring and training someone is high and since 59% of developers are open to new job opportunities, you’re not saving anything by underpaying if they leave.

FALSE HOPES
This is when someone leaves the organization within their first few months. According to a survey done by Jobvite, 30% of job seekers have left a job within 90 days of starting. There are many reasons people leave a job in the first few months, but the main reasons we have seen are disorganized leadership, incomplete interview process, the position being different from what they signed up for, inadequate training or an incomplete or poor onboarding experience. Disorganized employees who earn $50,000 annually fosters companies an additional $11,000 in lost time. Transfer this to a new hire, and that amount will most definitely increase. You never get a second chance to make a first impression – this adage applies to leadership if they want to retain the talent they’ve acquired.

CULTURE
A negative culture will always chase away the best engineers because they’re marketable and can find another job in a matter of weeks …or as quick as 12.5 days for some developer roles. A lack of recognition for their efforts and accomplishments are obvious reasons why people leave their jobs, as are stressful or toxic environments. Happy hour and team events after hours are not for everyone. Instead, focus your team events during working hours to build team cohesion and alleviate the stress of working long hours. According to Forbes, 36% of employees say lack of recognition is the top reason to leave their jobs. Take the time to give your team a shout out when they’ve reached critical milestones, or have been putting in extra hours. Small gestures truly go a long way!

Attracting the right talent is challenging; retaining that talent is critical to the success of your team and your company.

The interview process is your main opportunity to determine if you want to entrust someone to be a part of your team. There are many details to look at outside of technical aptitude and it’s difficult to assess all of these aspects with only a few short interactions. We are hoping that the following questions take out some of the guesswork.

1. What have you done to make a positive impact on the company you’re currently working for?
This question will tell you if this person is able to see the bigger picture and understands the purpose of what they’re doing, allowing you to avoid hiring “ticket takers”. You’re looking for answers that tell you how the individual made the company a better place. This will take a bit of probing when interviewing juniors and intermediates, who generally answer with their job description, but senior candidates should be able to answer without probing. Their answers will be very telling of their abilities, but also the way they approach problems and challenges.

RED FLAG: Not providing specific details; avoiding the question; reiterating their job description (after probing).

2. What skill are you trying to improve right now and what are you doing to improve them?
This question will tell you what their weaknesses are, but it’s more focused on ensuring that he/she realizes and can communicate their challenges and if they have a plan to correct these areas and if they’re focused on self-improvement. The best candidates are down-to-earth and realize they have room for improvement but are not overly critical of themselves. They take pride in improving and excelling in the things that they are passionate about.

RED FLAG: Not providing an answer means the interview is over. Naming skills that are a requirement for your posting means they don’t have the skills for your role. An under or overzealous list is a big flag. Not having a plan for improvement is a no-no!

3. Pitch our company to me as if I were buying our product/service.
This question shows how much research they have done on your company before coming in the door. You want to see that he/she has taken the time to research who you are, what you do and how you do it. Added bonus for a detailed LinkedIn search, reading old blogs, looking into your team and what they do, and of course, any media that has surrounded you and your team. This is also a great place to see the passion they have for your product, technology, and culture.

RED FLAG: Not having viewed your website is a deal-breaker. The candidate should know more than just the basic information from your website; they should have a clear understanding of your product/service. Where applicable, we want to see the candidate sign up for your product and try it out.

4. Tell me about the last project you worked on outside of work?
Programmers that love what they do are artists. They create in their spare time because they’re passionate about their work, not just to make money. A programmer that can discuss personal projects in the interview is usually a candidate we want to talk to. When working in a small team where each individuals contribution will make or break your product, you need people that are always enhancing and growing their skills. If everyone is doing side projects and enhancing their skills they will grow in experience very quickly.

RED FLAG: Someone that doesn’t research new technologies or market trends. Junior or intermediate candidates that do not code in their own time, Senior candidates that have never coded in their own time.

5. Do you have any questions for me?
This question is often overlooked, but very important. Did the candidate ask questions about the job? Were their questions insightful If the questions are limited to vacation policies and the contents of your snack bar, they may not be the right fit for your team. If they are asking about your growth plans, the type of work they’re doing and their future within your company, they’re more likely to care about the job when they start.

RED FLAG: Questions limited to benefits & compensation; questions about working hours and how much time off they get, not asking questions about growth opportunities, culture, projects, etc.

About Sage: we are technical and executive search consultants that strive to make hiring easier for technology startup’s, SMB’s and rapidly-growing software companies. With over 6 years’ in business, we have helped Toronto’s leading brands to accelerate their hiring and grow their business with the most talented Engineers available. Check out our Google Reviews to learn what our clients and candidates say about us. For more information or to get started, contact us today!