The technology space is one of the fastest moving in the world. Every day new Innovations are being made, and the tech space has to adapt rapidly to cope with the changes. It’s no surprise that technology firms often struggle to keep up with other areas of” business. HR is often the worst area, with leaders in tech unsure of how to manage employees in such a fast-paced environment. In our experience, there are 6 big HR challenges faced by technology companies, and today we wanted to share what they are, and how an HR expert could help solve them.
Managing + Preventing Burnout
Employee burnout in the workplace is on the rise in general, but we see it most often in the tech industry. The constant advancement of technology means that there is a culture of ‘this needs to be done instantly’ embedded within businesses as a way to keep up. But this comes at a cost – increased work hours, poor leadership, unclear direction, work overload and toxic work culture are all knock-on effects of the tech race. Put together in any combination, and you have a recipe for fast burnout.
There are a variety of ways to tackle the issue of employee burnout. Since the tech industry isn’t going to change overnight, companies need to prioritise the mental well-being of their employees on a long-term basis. Research has shown that tech firms that invested in understanding individual contributions and providing tailored well-being support saw a sharp increase in employee engagement, as well as a 48% reduction in burnout.
Recruiting Top Talent
The tech world is built on innovation, which means every tech firm out there is fighting for the most highly qualified candidates. 6% of tech firms listed hiring talent as one of their major challenges, especially when there is no internal HR function and hiring is just one of many balls these firms are trying to keep in the air. So how does a specialist in tech HR help you level up? your recruitment game and attract top talent? First, they can help you design a recruitment and retention program that will actually work! Strategy is a big part of successful recruitment, and an HR company with its ear to the ground will know what it is that top candidates want from employers. This means more than free food, high salaries and gym sessions. Perks like this are becoming the norm, so you’ll need to do better. Purpose, meaning, and development opportunities are all great places to start.
On top of that, a tech HR specialist can manage the actual recruitment process for techies. Once a strategy is in place, The HR consultant can source candidates, screen them ready for interview and help you prep for interviews too. Not to mention supporting you with employee onboarding!
Managing Communication
As HR experts with a lot of experience in tech, we know that one of the biggest HR issues tech firms face is actually communication. The types of personalities drawn to working in tech trend towards the introverted and passionate, which means that maintaining effective communication between teams and leadership can be challenging. Whether that’s making sure everyone is pulling in the same direction, managing interpersonal conflict or ensuring everyone is using the same methods to communicate clearly to avoid misunderstandings. As people who have worked in tech for years, HR tech experts understand How techies talk and can translate that for management to keep the communication gates open.
Maintaining Skills With Generational Divides
Upskilling is one of those topics that shouldn’t create too much controversy all by itself, but within tech firms, it can become a sticking point. To clarify, in 2022 almost 54% of all employees needed new training in digital skills -even in the tech space. So, the issue isn’t the need to maintain cutting-edge digital skills, but the approach to achieving them.
Millennial leaders (who now make up nearly 35% of the workforce and around 7%-10% of leadership roles) believe that reskilling existing employees in new technologies is equally as important as recruiting new ones.
Older leaders, however, tend to believe that reskilling isn’t needed and that recruiting new and already skilled employees is a more effective approach. These differences in opinion can cause a lot of conflict within leadership tiers, as well as generate pushback from employees, who will have their own views and preferences. Which can make moving the company forward a challenge at best.
HR experts can help tech firms develop a strategy that keeps them at the forefront of talent, technology and skills. By blending reskilling and recruiting and developing soft skills, many tech firms have found themselves better able to keep up with cutting-edge technologies.
At Karen HRM we provide tailored and effective HR support to all sorts of businesses, but we do have a soft spot for tech companies. With years of experience working in various roles in the tech space, founder Karen is perfectly placed to help small tech firms scale and succeed. If you’d like to know more, just get in touch with the team today and book your free consultation.