Crew ConsultingHow to retain your staff in the competitive NZ tech industry
Think of your most valuable staff member – the person who knows your business inside and out, who plays a pivotal role in both the team dynamic and business operations – and now imagine they leave.
You’re left with no choice but to replace them, which involves finding someone with the right skills, training them on your business, clients and procedures, and integrating them into the team (not to mention supporting your existing team through covering the excess work, and explaining to your clients why things are different). It’s a costly and time-consuming, unpleasant process.
The tech industry in New Zealand is competitive and headhunters may come for your staff, but if you’ve put the right retention strategies in place you can be confident that they’ll think twice before leaving. Especially with so much competition for tech and IT staff and fewer migrants coming to our shores, holding onto the staff you have is more important than ever.
Kelsi Tyrrell, one of our Principal Consultants, has some suggestions for how to encourage retention and why it’s so vital to get started now.
Why bother with retention?
A lot of employers don’t take retention seriously until it’s too late, when they find themselves facing gaps in their business or a long wait for staff to upskill.
Kelsi can name several reasons why retention should be on everyone’s priority list:
“High turnover not only costs your business monetarily but in knowledge and skills. Tech is a competitive space, with a lot of poaching and shoulder-tapping going on, and people being offered ridiculous amounts of money to move – it’s important to make sure the staff you want to keep are happy so they won’t entertain those offers. A team of any size can get unsettled when there’s turnover happening, but good retention strategies can create a more positive environment for your staff – including those left behind if someone leaves.”
Twitter may go down in history as a case study about the dangers of ignoring retention. As Elon Musk took over, fired entire departments and implemented a new “hardcore” work style, the company saw hundreds of resignations overnight. At first, Musk celebrated this as clearing out those who were not willing to work hard, but soon came concerns about who would be responsible for fixing specific bugs, or maintaining security if there was no team left to manage it. For a while, there was speculation the site may collapse completely.
With the great exodus of staff from Twitter went a great loss of product knowledge. The company now faces an uphill battle of re-establishing company culture, re-training existing staff to adequately cover those who are gone, and re-discovering the depth of knowledge that was lost along with the senior staff.
Hey talent, this applies to you too!
When you’re looking for your next role, these retention strategies are what will make sure it’s a long-term gig where you’ll be happy not just now but well into the future. If you’re arriving following an exodus or change in management, looking out for or asking about retention strategies in your interview can help confirm whether you’ll be taken care of long-term and how well their offer suits your future needs.
Take a minute to think about what matters to you and what would help you stay long-term: ongoing growth and education, flexible hours to make work fit around your life, or a clear picture of your career path ahead.
Of course, you can also chat to us at Crew – we’re always here to listen, offer advice, and find the middle ground between clients and candidates to make sure that both sides have their needs met.
What does retention look like in practice?
“If you don’t know where to begin, start by talking to your team,” advises Kelsi. “Make sure you have open comms and are listening to what your team value. Don’t be afraid to ask what type of things would help them stick around – especially if you’ve had a period of high turnover.”
It’s not always about the money. Some common retention strategies include:
- Health and wellbeing plans – health insurance, parental leave, other additional wellbeing leave
- Flexible working options – flexi hours, WFH, or hybrid working
- Professional development – a clear path ahead for career growth, regular training and/or coaching
- Common company goals and targets – working together toward shared short and long-term goals
Professional development is one of the key reasons staff may leave your business – to feel challenged in their career and see themselves gaining new skills. If you can help your employees to see their journey with you and how you can support their development, they’ll be less likely to look elsewhere.
You can do check-ins regularly with your team, as needs and situations change over time. By keeping the conversation open, you also provide a space for employees to talk to you before they say yes to something else.
“It’s not about just adding perks, it’s a long-term approach to the environment of your workplace. Making sure your team is happy creates a more positive environment for everyone – and a much better place for new hires to enter.”
To be successful, you have to know what your employees value – is it professional development, work-life balance, or support for their family outside work? If you need support or more ideas, you can always come to talk to us at Crew.
Don’t leave it too late!
If you haven’t already got retention strategies in place, the best time to start is as soon as possible. “You should constantly be reviewing and keeping up to date with your team’s needs. It’s important for them to feel like you’re approachable and they’re being heard,” stresses Kelsi.
It’s much more difficult to bring an employee back into the fold when they’ve already offered their resignation. By that point, they’ve chosen their reasons to leave and the likelihood of keeping them long-term is diminished. Retention needs to start well before that point – before they even think about leaving – to stop them from reaching that end.
How Crew can help
Yes, our business is mainly in getting people hired, but we also care about what’s best for our clients and candidates. A work environment with good retention strategies in place will benefit both sides in the long run.
When we place a person in a role, we want it to be a long-term placement in the right job, with the right culture and right environment. We encourage all of that groundwork to be done by the business to ensure it will succeed on all sides.
Our central position in the market gives us the advantage of hearing both what employees and owners value and need. People are looking for different ways of working, more support for their life outside of work, and a greater appreciation for individual work-life balance.
Whether you’re hiring or looking to keep your top staff, Crew is here to help you reach your goals.