The technology market has progressed at an incredible rate over the past year. There’s a growing war for the best tech professionals, with those looking for work having the greatest ever choice over opportunities, flexible working and engaging with exciting technologies.
Tech trends over the past 12 months
Digital transformation and digital strategies have been front of mind for companies since the onset of the pandemic, leading to firms looking for different types of tech support to drive growth.
With the uncertainty of Covid clouding decision making for business leaders, many are increasingly adopting data-led strategies to ensure they’re making sound decisions – dramatically increasing demand for data scientists.
The pandemic has also seen many organisations shift to cloud-based processes and data storage. These moves have been beneficial to developers and analysts, as well as offering professionals the opportunity to work with cloud technology. On the flip side, it also means that professionals with experience solely in onsite IT infrastructure will find their skills become obsolete, so they need to get to grips to cloud technology to ensure their knowledge is up to date.
As always, top developers with .Net, Java and Javascript expertise are in high demand, and businesses are pulling out all the stops to attract these professionals. Our guide highlights that .Net Developer salaries have increased in every region of the UK outside London, Java Developer pay is up by 8.8% in the North, while Javascript Developers in the South have seen remuneration increase by 12.9%.
We’ve also seen a growing number of roles related to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. While some companies are still hesitant about using AI, tech professionals are keen to build upon their existing knowledge and experience to help firms integrate this ground-breaking technology.
Increased focus on attracting and retaining tech leaders
With more businesses embarking on transformation projects, tech leadership has become an increasingly important to these firms. Having the right individual to guide an organisation through technological change has become critical to business success.
This means that technology leaders now have a much wider choice of options, especially those who have proven that they can add value. Not only does this make it more challenging for companies to attract tech leaders, it also means that employers face a battle to retain them.
The most attractive opportunities will be at organisation which lead the way in transformation. Tech leaders value these opportunities most as it gives them an opportunity to prove their value, drive real change, and cement themselves in the business.
Employers must design their roles and recruitment processes around the employee’s experience. More than ever, opportunities must appeal to people’s motivators, above and beyond job title and compensation package. Many of the top tech leaders will prioritise a healthy work-life balance, emphasis on employee wellbeing, inclusivity and company shares.
The salaries and benefits which attract top tech talent
While salaries are important for tech professionals, when considering a new job they are increasingly looking at the overall package on offer. Working with new technology and the option to work flexibly and remotely are key motivators for tech specialists, organisations which can offer these put themselves in pole position to hire the best professionals available.
However, salaries do still play a big part in professionals’ happiness with their current role. A survey of over 500 professionals conducted by Reed found that 44% of respondents were unhappy with their current salary. 30% of those who were unhappy with their pay cited that they did more than their role entailed, while 22% highlighted that they believed they could get a higher salary elsewhere.
With the majority of IT teams coming under huge strain as organisations adapted to new digital requirements forced upon them by lockdowns and remote working, professionals are looking for their employers to reward them for their hard work. If businesses aren’t doing this, then tech professionals are prepared to move.
The survey also examined the benefits most popular among professionals across all sectors. The top five featured additional paid time off, health insurance, performance bonuses, annual salary increments and higher-than-normal pensions. While these are reasonably standard benefits, organisations which offer them will make themselves more attractive to prospective employees.
The battle for tech talent is set to continue well into 2022. Companies must review their hiring strategies, benchmark salaries, and offer competitive benefits packages to attract the professional who will help them to transform their business.
