5 ways to attract top tech talent, according to these business leaders

Talented tech workers remain in high demand despite job losses at large tech firms and ever-increasing threats to job security posed by generative AI and automation.

While times are tough right now, smart business leaders know that knowledgeable IT professionals are the key to unlocking the benefits of digital transformation and long-term growth.

So, what’s the recipe for attracting the best tech talent? Five business leaders give us their special sauce.

1. Build a Strategy

Rob Mills, chief technology officer at Tractor Supply, says his organization has three key strategies in place to ensure it can capture the talent it needs.

First, Mills says, the company “hires hard” and then makes sure its aspirational and highest-performing employees are given opportunities to develop and grow.

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“A big part of that effort is our commitment to our team members – and it’s not just about learning the business, but how we’re investing in them and growing them internally.”

Mills says another key element that helps Tractor Supply attract talent is its long-term vision, both in terms of the technologies and the people making the most of them.

“Digital is a big area we’re investing in – data, AI, analytics. How do you start to tap that talent first, so you can build strength?”

Finally, Mills ensures that his company has a ready source of up-and-coming talent, whether it’s building relationships with major universities like MIT, or tapping into untapped talent in the local community, including high schools and community colleges. are including

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“We are going in and influencing their curriculum, offering internships, sponsorships, externships and tuition reimbursement,” he says. “It’s about helping to find and fuel talent. We get some of our brightest and best people from local community sources.”

2. Identify Opportunities

Lisa Heneghan, global chief digital officer at consultancy firm KPMG, says a business’s ability to attract talent is directly related to the opportunity to learn new things.

“If I look at KPMG, the really powerful thing we have is that we are completely at the center of solving business problems,” she says. “We are a global business that can meet new challenges.”

Heneghan says KPMG offers candidates a wide variety of work areas, from audit to tax to consulting. The firm competes with big tech firms for digital talent — and it’s not an easy battle to win.

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The key to success is showing that working for a company like KPMG, with broader interests in the economy, gives professionals the chance to learn how to tackle big business challenges.

“I show people that they will have the opportunity for new experiences and to broaden their skills in areas they may not have necessarily thought about; to get closer to the customer, sector or functional issue and be creative,” she says.

“To me, there’s an opportunity for technologists at KPMG to work on business problems. But don’t get me wrong. It’s a very challenging market. And you must create dynamism, flexibility, and enthusiasm for people.”

3. Highlight Your Values

Danny Gonzalez, chief digital and innovation officer for the London North Eastern Railway (LNER), says focusing on values ​​lets people know what your company needs from its employees – and it also shows candidates that they’re a good fit for you. Why would you like the opportunity to work.

“Values ​​are developed at LNER through a collaborative process,” he says. “They were built by the teams that work in the business, not by the executive team.”

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Gonzalez says one of the key values ​​is “being bold”: “It’s all about being brave and taking risks within certain limits of safety. What we do as a business is to serve us well.” does and it’s about envisioning the future.”

Two other values ​​are important, says Gonzalez. One is to “bring passion” — and he says the ability to have an appetite for new challenges is key in a field like high-tech innovation.

Another key value – which Gonzalez says is probably his favorite – is to “own it”.

“The people at LNER can really own what they’re doing,” he says. “They have the autonomy to focus on what we need to do and then go ahead and do it, and really follow that all the way through to delivery.”

4. Get people excited

Simon Liste, chief information technology officer at the Pension Protection Fund, goes out of his way to show potential candidates that being part of his organization means working on some meaty projects.

“It’s about showing people what you want to do and the journey you’re on as an organization,” he says. “I think technologists prefer to know that they are part of a business transformation rather than dealing with the operational elements.”

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Liste says the show-and-tell mentality is something he’s pursued in a big way.

“When we connect with potential candidates, we talk about our values, we talk about strategic planning, what we’re doing, and how technology is directly changing services. We show that How our IT organization is affecting where we head as a business,” he says.

“It’s not about operational activity, it’s about exciting work. They see the value that technology and digital can bring and the impact we’ve already made.”

5. Cast Your Net Wide

Neil Poulton, head of development at BCP Council, says cash is tighter in public sector organizations than in blue-chip enterprises, so he uses a variety of strategies.

“We have an apprenticeship scheme,” he says. “We take apprenticeships and we enhance their skills through on-the-job training.”

Sometimes, Poulton pans for the latent technical talent in the business — and it’s a strategy that has helped him find gold, including someone from another part of the organization who is now part of the growing use of Microsoft technology. Acts as a champion for

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“He was extraordinary in Power Apps,” Poulton says. “He came through the ranks, worked in our mail delivery room, and now he’s got a job in IT. He was an asset we didn’t even know we had.”

External recruitment can also play an important role. And, once again, the people who come are trained and advanced on the job.

“We just successfully recruited two Power Platform developers,” says Poulton. “They come with raw skills that we can train, rather than going to the market and buying someone we can’t afford.”