However, this could also be a result of skillful salary negotiation. A employee study conducted by Payscale revealed 28% of employees felt uncomfortable asking for a pay raise.

The difference in developer salaries among various job profiles can also be stark because programmers are never taught how to lead salary negotiation talks. Hence the lack of understanding of the rules of pay negotiations results in settling for less pay. Whether you are a beginner developer or have years of experience, salary negotiation skills will play a key role in deciding your earnings.

Here we share some essential salary negotiation rules that developers should know.

1. Learn to be strategic with timing

One of the leverages you can have as a candidate is to have multiple offers on the table. When you have offers from various employers, you can push the interviewer to match other offers or compare benefits. The problem arises when a developer gets staggered offers, making negotiation more challenging.

You cannot negotiate the salary skillfully if the offers are too close. You might lose multiple offers if the negotiations fail. It is why you need to plan the timing of interviews carefully. For instance, if you have an interview lined up with one company and the second round of interviews with another company, choose the latest interview slots to keep them separated as much as possible.

Another scenario when the timing is essential is when pursuing a pay raise. Often developers ask for a raise during the review season. By this time, most managers have already decided who will get a raise and who won’t. Asking for a pay raise early on will be helpful for both developers and managers. It will provide feedback to the managers about the pay raise expectations, or it can result in an immediate pay raise.

However, a necessary precaution to take is to be polite with your words and avoid ultimatums. No manager will like to be told “or else.”

2. Do not tell the salary you want 

Another important rule of salary negotiation is not to specify a number when discussing your expected pay, even when you know what your skills are worth.

When you explicitly give them a number, you set a ceiling. That’s the maximum salary you will be offered, but often interviewers will negotiate the pay lower than the number you quote. In the worst case, you might mention a number lower than the company is willing to pay, lowering your payments. There is no win-win in telling them what salary you want; it will only go down from the figure you state.

Instead, ask the interviewer about their developer salary budget. They must lowball the budget, and it will give you a salary floor to negotiate up from. Similarly, you might be asked about your current compensation. Avoid answering this question as well.

You can answer such queries with something like, “I’m not comfortable sharing my current salary. Rather I would like to focus on the value I can add to the company.”

3. Focus on what the company wants, not what you prefer

All salary negotiation talks ultimately come down to what you can do for the company. You undermine the negotiation if you lead the argument by stating that you want or deserve higher pay.

When you are not logically justifying why you deserve the salary you expect, you are just making an empathetic request to the company to fulfill your desire for higher pay. It will damage salary negotiation efforts, so you must focus on the company’s needs. Tell them how you can meet them. Focus the conversation on what you bring to the table and let the company see how your skills deserve fair compensation.

Even if your developer salary demands are rejected, ask the company about its requirements. Ask what performance they expect in the next six months to feel comfortable approving your salary raise request.

The onus will be on you to prove that you can deliver what’s asked for.

4. Practice your negotiation strategy

In our recent survey, 75% of tech professionals said that they expect at least a 30-40% hike in their salary. However, salary negotiation, as you read here, is easier said than done. It would help if you practiced before you could successfully negotiate your salary. Do mock negotiations with a friend to eliminate the fear of talking about money; it is an essential negotiation strategy. We are conditioned not to do so, but it’s crucial for a raise.

Practice will help you develop a natural flow to ensure you walk through the critical salary negotiation points without being anxious.

Conclusion

Salary negotiation is one of the essential soft skills for a developer. If you are a skillful negotiator, you can earn steeply more. We hope these developer salary negotiation rules will help you confidently walk into your next negotiation.

Talent500 is a platform for companies to build remote engineering teams. Join our elite talent pool to be discovered by Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups. Sign up here.

The post 4 salary negotiation rules for software developers appeared first on Talent500 blog.

Our experts evaluated dozens of websites and picked the ones that can help you with your next career move.

Talent500

If career development is on your mind, we can significantly accelerate your career growth! Talent500 is a platform that industry leaders at some of the largest enterprises and Fortune500 companies trust to hire top talent. 

Working in such proximity to employers, HR managers and candidates gives us the advantage of creating unique resources to help candidates advance in their careers. We help candidates upskill through courses from some of the world’s most prestigious universities like Stanford, IITs, and MIT. Talent500 also utilizes AI to match candidates with ideal premium jobs. If you are ready to take a career-defined leap, join our platform and get immediate access to resources that will help you stay ahead in the job market!

Indeed

Apart from job postings, Indeed can help you advance in your career. There is a dedicated Career Advice section on the website with valuable resources to learn about recent trends in job markets, essential skills requirements, career advancement guides, and more. If we talk about new career opportunities, Indeed has unmatched dominance, with ten new job vacancies posted on the site every second on average. You can also search company profiles and read employer reviews before accepting a job offer.

Big Interview

If you aspire to have a career at some of the largest enterprises across the globe, you need to know how interviews are done. Extensive interviews can help you with exactly that by offering online interview tutorials. The platform was co-founded by career coach Pamela Skillings, who worked with Fortune500 companies like Citigroup, MasterCard International, and Morgan Stanley. Candidates get access to on-screen mock interviews to learn how it will feel when they face the interviewers. It is one of the best career development sites to learn how to tackle the different levels of an interview process without getting overwhelmed.

CareerAddict

CareerAddict has established itself as a reliable resource for everything related to career advancement and upskilling. It is on this list among the best career development sites because of the first-hand insights about careers and industry it offers directly from experts and professionals. The site has elaborate sections on CV writing, career tests, and a massive collection of video tutorials on various career growth topics. CareerAddict also provides career assessment services through its platform, CareerHunter. It can help candidates discover their strengths and weaknesses as a professional to be better at what they do.

Whether you want guidance about your next career move or are looking for resources to kickstart your job, you can rely on CareerAddict to serve you well.

Opportunity 

Best career development websites are not essentially the ones that provide learning resources, upskilling courses, or career advice. Networking sites like Opportunity can also be an essential game-changer in your career growth. When you join Opportunity, you become part of a platform that uses AI and machine learning algorithms. This further helps you meet other people who can add value to your career progress. Unlike other networking websites, when you are on Opportunity, you spend less time searching and more time connecting to people who matter.

You can start with their free webinar to learn how to use the platform to get the most valuable connections from the beginning.

Ask a Manager 

It is the best career development site for people working in a management position or someone who wants to join the management domain. Founded by the former chief of staff, Alison Green, Ask a Manager is a unique website that provides an up and close look into the working life of a multitasking manager. It provides resources on how candidates can be better managers and help their team grow and overcome challenges. When you are progressing in your role to a management position, this site can help.

CareerFoundry

Not just a catchy name, but CareerFoundry is simply one of the best career development websites for IT candidates. It uses specialized technology and online courses to help students and job seekers attain the skill sets that prepare them for career advancement in UI/UX design, web development, data analytics, and backend development. If you are a developer, you can significantly benefit by joining CareerFoundry. It provides you access to career specialists, education experts, tutors, and mentors to help you through your career advancement journey.

Conclusion

Career advancement must always be a planned decision rather than an impulse. You can get all the valuable career advice you need to progress through the above-listed career development websites. These are the best career development websites for interview preparation, job search, learning skills, and keeping updated with the latest industry trends.

The post Top Career Development Websites for Job Seekers and Upskilling appeared first on Talent500 blog.

Freelance developers are professionals who work on projects individually. Depending on the choice, they can or cannot be part of a team. Most freelance developers work as a one-person army and handle the project’s requirements independently. Sometimes companies hire freelance developers to collaborate with their in-house teams to benefit from their skill set.

Even the most skilled freelance developers struggle to find clients at times, rest assured that with a few adjustments to your strategy, you will be better positioned to attract more clients.

While developers are good at solving problems and writing code, things can get tricky for them when finding clients.

After researching the subject and interviewing several freelance developers, our experts have put together this guide to help you get more clients.

Create an identity with open source projects

You must ditch the bird’s-eye view (of expecting clients will find you somehow!) and focus on making your skills more demonstrable. Without a doubt, you have talent, but how are clients supposed to know that you possess the expertise they require?

Getting involved in open source projects is one of the best ways to earn a reputation as a quality developer. The approach is quite simple as well. There are hundreds of open-source projects where you can showcase your talent by participating and contributing to the value of the code. Your clients can directly see your work and the quality of the code through open-source code commits on GitHub. 

Additionally, you make valuable connections with other freelancers and project leaders by being active in open source projects. This opens up opportunities to get projects in the future without even trying. If you do not know any sources to participate in open source projects, we recommend you start by exploring Github. You can also create a dedicated programming-specific tutorial site like SitePoint to demonstrate your mastery of the language.

Know freelance developer specific job boards

As a freelance developer, you should not waste time exploring the job boards for full-time professionals. While freelance opportunities are available on such job boards, it will be a painful task to comb through hundreds of full-time job postings. Instead, your focus should be on sites explicitly designed for freelance developers.

However, there’s a catch.

Many freelance developer-specific job boards are filled with low-paying job postings and are highly competitive. It is not only challenging to get a gig, but you will probably not get the rates you deserve. This is why most of these sites should be avoided, but not all.

Freelancer is a popular job board for discovering some good freelance developer opportunities, though the competition is fierce here. Talent500 is another great platform for freelance developers to find opportunities with Fortune 500 companies. Join our elite pool of talent and get ready to be discovered easily. 

Our recommendation will be to look for job boards with development specialty-focused jobs. As they are much more exclusive, they have more high-quality clients who want skilled freelance developers. Also, these websites pay well.

Here are the websites you should explore:

We Work Remotely

Authentic Jobs

Gun.io

Krop

Codeable.io

Hubstaff Talent

99u Freelance Jobs

Smashing Jobs

Produce content with value

For freelance developers, content marketing can be an incredible tool for finding new clients. Blogging can be a great way to share your knowledge while creating awareness about the brand. You will most likely get 82% more positive ROI when you choose content marketing.

That being said, it will not be a straightforward approach as the Internet is saturated with blogs. To stand out, you need to be aware of the sources where your content has the most value. To get the maximum return on your content marketing efforts, you should:

• Do guest posts for relevant blogs and websites
• Create YouTube and Instagram channels to share your expertise
• Answer programming-related questions on Quora

Try to avoid the vicious circle of “more projects, more success”

Do not think that being a successful freelance developer means having a steady stream of projects. It should not be the case; it should be the opposite. Being a freelancer means you are not occupied with work and have time to be creative and try new things.

If you keep chasing projects, you will have little room to learn new skills. This is why you should not assert yourself to work more; instead, spend 30% of your time on personal research to upskill and learn.

Stop looking for projects excessively; focus on learning new technologies and getting better at your work.

Conclusion

As a freelance developer, you must take actions that eventually lead to a steady supply of high-quality clients instead of just waiting for high-value clients to find you. And the best way to start is to bring value to the developer community and share your knowledge through open source projects and blogs.

The post Tips to get more clients as a freelance developer appeared first on Talent500 blog.

For those who quit, things weren’t grim. In 2021, 61% found a new job with ease, with 33% finding a new opportunity fairly quickly. Much of this success is attributed to companies adapting to the need of the hour. By offering better perks in line with evolving needs, employees found a better fit. In fact, over 50% of the employees who quit now have better pay, more flexibility, career growth opportunities, and more, according to a PEW report.

Revised strategies gave companies a competitive edge, and the same goes for retention too! The models of yesteryear are no more suitable in a digital landscape, and to retain talent, leadership must think outside the box.

To shed insight on trending winning strategies, here are tried-and-tested strategies for enhanced retention.

Maintain transparency to build trust

Trust and transparency are key to retaining employees and also building organizational culture. While both these elements exist in many forms, when it comes to retention, work responsibilities and salaries come into question most often. Companies looking to retain their talent must realize that trust and transparency can only be established if it is uniformly enforced across all operational verticals.

Trust and transparency are key to retaining employees and also building organizational culture. While both these elements exist in many forms, when it comes to retention, work responsibilities and salaries come into question most often. Companies looking to retain their talent must realize that trust and transparency can only be established if it is uniformly enforced across all operational verticals.

Netflix, on the other hand, established trust by assigning responsibility. Through the ‘No Vacation Policy’, Netflix offers unlimited paid leaves to its employees, and trusts its employees to do what’s best for the company. As a result, it has an under average turnover rate of just 11%. 

Encourage self-expression and identity

A toxic work environment is a major reason why people quit companies. Naturally, the fix here is to build a healthy environment, one that focuses on employee satisfaction and engagement. One effective way is to encourage employees to bring their whole authentic selves to work. A great example of a company that fosters this culture is Northrop Grumman Corporation.

Featuring amongst the Fortune 100 leaders in employee retention, their core philosophies are centered around diversity and inclusion (D&I).  At the company, employees are encouraged to express themselves however they deem fit. In fact, this kind of messaging enjoys the support from upper management, as their CEO is vocal about freedom of expression. Northrop Grumman Corporation was even celebrated for its diversity in 2020. All of these factors combined help it enjoy the retention rate it does.

Invest in employee career development

When employees feel that the company is invested in their career growth, they are more inclined to stay. This is an undeniable fact, especially for millennial workers, 41% of whom say that it is a vital factor of job satisfaction. A key aspect of career development for employees is internal mobility. Companies can make internal mobility a key factor as it can help employees learn new skills and improve retention. Research reveals that companies can increase retention at twice the rate by implementing internal mobility.

One of the world-renowned companies, Google has an 80/20 program that allows employees to explore and do side projects. The program encourages employees to put 20% of their time into side projects to help them advance their skills and capabilities. A program like this also allows employees to break free from their routine and change things which helps boost innovation, critical thinking, and employee relationships.

Personalize compensation and benefits

Fair compensation and benefits that meet employee needs can help companies reduce attrition by 56%. This not only improves retention, but also helps attract the best of the best in the industry. One of the companies that have implemented this strategy is Haro Helpers. Along with a standard compensation package, the company also gives employees a range of benefits to choose from. This includes bonuses, streaming services, commission, mental well-being, and more. This helps employees decide what they want when it comes to perks and benefits, which in turn improves satisfaction and retention.

Another aspect in terms of compensation and benefits is paid time off and rewards. Rewarding employees helps keep them motivated as well as valued in the organization. Apple, among the top global companies, offers its employees additional paid time especially during holidays. The simple policy works wonderfully in conveying the message that Apple is working for their employees. Moreover, the company also offers rewards based on the job location and culture. This helps employees feel valued and gives them a sense of belonging.

Recognize and reward employee efforts

Recognition and rewards have a direct effect on employee motivation, 72% of employees would work harder if they felt appreciated in the company. Not only that, recognition also has an impact on retention rates. A survey in 2019 revealed that 63% of employees are less likely to leave the organization if they were recognized. Naturally, this means companies should focus on strategies that not only recognize their workforce, but also reward. 

Fortunately, reward programs can be clubbed into the compensation package. TCS, a leading company in India had a retention rate of around 11% in 2019. Much of this success can be attributed to the fact that it invests in its employees. What’s more, TCS offers employees a retention bonus on a yearly basis. This incentivizes loyalty, and may even impact motivation for some. When it comes to recognizing its employees, Infosys has a promotion cycle that happens on a quarterly basis. These promotions double-dip into career growth for employees, while also ensuring engagement regularly. With one of the top places to work at, Infosys has an attrition rate of 20.4%.

Employee retention is among the top concerns of CEOs, but these strategies can enable organizations to better retain their top talent. A proven approach is to create an engaging environment where employees feel a sense of belonging. Research shows that when employees feel a strong sense of belonging in the company, there is a 50% reduced risk of turnover.

Ensuring this level of engagement is something that should be built into the culture, and enforced right from the early stages of recruitment. With Talent500, you can do just that and build engaged teams efficiently. Our AI-powered tools ensure the best fit from a diverse pool of pre-vetted talent. What’s more, our processes ensure 5x faster hiring, which translates to faster deployment of services in a remote setting. To know more about our talent management services and the solutions ready for deployment, request a consultation.

The post 5 proven strategies to improve employee retention in 2022 appeared first on Talent500 blog.

In many cases, the answer to the why of it all comes down to insufficient capital and dwindling market demand. If not these, company culture comes into question, which without the right ideals, is merely a buzzword. A lack of policies that reinforce company culture or poor employee management at senior levels can put viable startups on the path to failure. Further, as the millennial workforce grows and finds its footing in startups, newer enterprises can find it hard to adapt to the modern employee.

All of these factors pose a challenge for modern leaders, and to get the formula to success right, learning from those that have come up short definitely helps.

Here are a few learnings for leaders looking to thrive in the competitive landscape of modern business of startups.

Get the team right – From partners to employees

Building a team with identical values and goals as the company goes a long way to ensure success. A partner or a co-founder who is simply a ‘yes person’ does little. It is crucial to see that their skills and talent complement that of the other members of leadership. In fact, not having the right core team members is one of the top reasons why startups fail.

Besides management, having the team members on the same page is essential to ensure that problems do not escalate and lead to the company’s downfall. This is where diversity comes into play, as such teams are known to broaden the company’s horizon. Be it through professional opinions, innovative mindsets or simply fresh perspectives on a number of problems, leaders stand to gain a lot from team building appropriately.

Balance the finances, business model, and product/service

The business model, finances, and product/service of the startup are vital aspects that build the foundation for success. As a result, balance and harmony between these aspects are non-negotiable, yet many companies fail to establish them. Research reveals that 38% of the startups fail because of insufficient or improper management of the capital gathered. Similarly, if the business model is not functional, it will hinder internal processes too. Further compounding the issue, the product or service may also fail to hit its mark. All of these combined inhibit startups and it all stems from imbalance. Modern leaders ought to assess their frameworks to see if there’s balance, and fix where there isn’t. 

Encourage innovation to stay competitive

Innovative enterprises will often find success more easily than their counterparts, but achieving it is easier said than done. Most startups are built on innovative advances and there’s no doubting the fact that it is key to getting ahead and staying there. However, failure on this front can lead to massive losses, especially if the competition innovates at a faster pace. As a matter of fact, nearly 20% of the startups are defeated by their competitors, and innovation, in one aspect or another, has a huge role to play.

An effective way to organically ensure innovation is to focus on diversity and inclusion (D&I). A diverse and inclusive workforce creates an environment where people can freely think out of the box. Moreover, their different backgrounds provide new outlooks on various problems. Research shows that organizations who practice and excel at establishing D&I can deliver almost twice the economic profit.

Ensure that there is a demand for the service/product offered

As mentioned above, dwindling demand is among the top reasons why most startups fail. In fact, many start out with the determination to “stick through the rough patch”, even when there’s no sense in doing so as the market demand isn’t there. Data suggests that nearly 35% of the startups fail because there is no need for the product or service offered. Innovation for innovation’s sake shouldn’t be the end goal.

As mentioned above, dwindling demand is among the top reasons why most startups fail. In fact, many start out with the determination to “stick through the rough patch”, even when there’s no sense in doing so as the market demand isn’t there. Data suggests that nearly 35% of the startups fail because there is no need for the product or service offered. Innovation for innovation’s sake shouldn’t be the end goal.

Create a company culture that promotes longevity and stability

The company culture is a critical aspect of any enterprise, and especially so for fast-paced startups. Unfortunately, startups can struggle with this, and failing here has dire consequences. For one, it comes across as a failure on the part of leadership, as a large part of the responsibility to influence company cultures rests on their shoulders. Secondly, in the nascent stages, unfavorable practices of bullying, misconduct, or disregard for policy can be disastrous. 

This oversight should be an eye-opener for leaders as should noting the importance of establishing a company culture. One that looks out for its workforce is key. It can help avoid other pitfalls common that come naturally with time, and help with more serious issues like burnout. In fact, a strong culture can help avoid the failure caused by burnout, which nearly 5% of the startups experience.

Focus on employee satisfaction along with customer satisfaction

Employees are just as crucial to the mission as customers, especially in the pursuit of success. This is because engaged employees increase productivity as well as customer and employee retention. For startups, this means lower costs and better margins. In addition, satisfied employees can help improve employee engagement. Increased and improved employee engagement can lead to a 10% increase in customer loyalty, an 18% increase in productivity, and a 23% increase in profitability.

Considering what we’ve learnt, leaders ought to take a few plays from the startup playbook when looking to increase employee satisfaction. These smaller enterprises are often more willing to experiment with policies and come up with winning formulas to attract and retain the best talent. 

Failure is a part of achieving success, but leaders don’t have to fail all the time to get there. Learning from those that have been there and done it helps, while being cost-effective too! Remember, enterprises that succeed do so because they bounce back and learn from their mistakes. According to research, the timing of execution plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of a startup. What’s more, the team that executes is just as important, and building an agile team capable of rising to the task is easy with Talent500.

Equipped with AI-powered solutions, we can help you build global teams quicker and more efficiently, all the while ensuring employee engagement. Besides this, we offer talent management services to establish diverse remote teams and in adherence to country-specific regulations. Request a consultation to know more about the solutions on offer.

The post 6 things emerging and established leaders can learn from the failure of startups appeared first on Talent500 blog.

Introduced in the mid-60s, D&I is not a new concept but is still a major factor that organizations lack. According to a study, 78% of the employers believe that their organization is inclusive, only 32% of the employees think the same. A primary cause for this gap may be organizations misinterpreting diversity as inclusion. Because even though D&I are interconnected, they are not interchangeable. Misunderstandings here can be costly, and leaders ought to be clear about the distinctions.

What is diversity and inclusion?

Diversity is when an organization’s workforce includes people from different groups and ethnicities. Inclusion is how well an organization values the efforts, contributions, thoughts, and ideas of its diverse workforce. If an organization has a diverse workforce but only certain groups’ perspectives are valued or have authority, then the workforce is diverse but not inclusive.

One of the major reasons why organizations need to focus on D&I is because it is a key employee attraction differentiator and its value in talent retention is undeniable. Besides that, organizations stand to reap many other benefits such as improved performance, enhanced brand image, and increased cash flow and revenue. Thankfully, embracing D&I isn’t a herculean task as it once was, with digitalization has paving the way forward. Now, companies need only adopt the right recruiting strategies and drive policy reform to create a diverse and inclusive workforce. For more insight into these strategies, read on.

Reflect D&I in organizational culture by making it a top-down priority

Hiring candidates from different walks of life and nationalities isn’t the be-all and end-all of creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Companies have to make D&I a part of their workplace culture and this effort starts at the top. Inclusion-first policies must be put into place and practiced, while also enabling diversity in leadership.

In fact, a lack of diversity in leadership roles can create challenges for the organization in terms of client expectation, employee satisfaction, and innovation. According to a study, gender and cultural or ethnic diversity in the executive roles of an organization were 21% and 33% more likely to outperform in profitability.

Organizations must also ensure that the entire workforce understands and supports the purpose and values of the company. This can start with training and campaigns that help educate leaders about D&I, and how to foster it into the organizational culture. When done right, this shines through during the early interactions, be it the interview or onboarding. Inclusion training can help employees be more aware of unconscious bias and other barriers that can inhibit D&I from setting in. It can also help them recognize these barriers and take the necessary steps to eliminate them.

Keep job descriptions free of biased and exclusive language

Job descriptions are usually the first point of contact, and like with any first impression, companies must get it right. If the language in these postings is outdated and exclusive, it deters candidates. This then compounds the problem as it can become much harder to build a diverse workforce.

According to study, women are less likely to apply for a job if the posting consists of male-centered words. This is because it implies that the organization has a male-dominated workforce and women may not feel that they belong. This inadvertently stifles efforts to have gender diversity and inclusivity right from the get-go.

To eliminate this, organizations should ensure that all job descriptions are properly vetted for language and tone. Going one step further, check for bias or exclusion towards one group and be proactive about inclusion. Organizations should also remember that bias in job postings is not always in the form of gender exclusion but may also exclude age, culture, ethnicity, and more.

Apart from job descriptions, talent sourcing channels platforms are just as important in ensuring a diverse pool walks through the door. This is particularly key now, amid the talent crunch, as visibility in the diverse talent pools can give organizations a competitive advantage.

Among the strategic routes to consider is to leverage referral programs. Existing employees should be encouraged to refer candidates to help create a diverse talent pool. This is backed by the fact that professionals are more likely to refer candidates who have similar backgrounds to their own. While this has the potential to cause an imbalance, this is where upper management can step in and ensure that D&I objectives aren’t muddled. While often the simplest route, referral programs should be leveraged carefully and are more likely to work well when the existing workforce celebrates D&I at every turn. 

Employ a perk package in tune with variegated needs

Non-monetary benefits are still among the key factors that employees look for in an organization. Given the current environment and nature of the digital workforce, the one-size-for-all model simply does not work. It is important for organizations to offer a tailored perk package, one that caters to the evolving needs of a diverse workforce. This inches into inclusion territory and is a tell-tale sign of how much a company cares about D&I as a whole.

Here, optimizations can help organizations effectively target an underrepresented and untapped talent pool. By offering a customized package, these professionals feel heard, understood and are more likely to engage. Apart from diversity, tailored perk packages can instill a sense of pride in the workforce, as it suggests that they are part of an inclusive work culture.

While it can be challenging to create a package that caters to every individual, organizations can start off by supporting people from different cultural and regional backgrounds. An example of this can be floating holidays, where employees can use the holidays as they deem fit instead of mandatory leaves during a certain time. This helps employees celebrate and honor their culture or religion, while also celebrating the freedom granted to them by their organization.

Bridge the gap between the employee’s and organization’s perception of D&I

While employers feel that the organization celebrates D&I, employees disagreed by a noticeable margin. One of the ways to eliminate this gap is by actively taking steps to ensure that organizational values are represented widely throughout the workforce. This can help make employees aware of the efforts made by the organization to bring about D&I. Subsequently, organizations can also ask for employee feedback on areas that are lacking and need to be worked on. Re-evaluating company policies also helps organizations track the progress of their efforts to institute D&I.

Actioning change based on feedback sent by employees provides the opportunity for an organization to show its commitment. It also helps ensure that employees from all groups are heard and that their opinions are valued. This organically promotes D&I in the organization and delivers results. Apart from this, organizations should clearly define the accepted practices to help foster an inclusive and diverse environment.

The positive impact of having a diverse and inclusive workforce is immense. According to a 2017 study, inclusive teams make better decisions twice as fast and in half the number of meetings 87% of the time. The decision and execution of diverse teams delivers better results too. It is important to remember such outcomes are only possible if diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand. One way to ensure diversity in the talent pool is to partner with Talent500. We offer talent management solutions and help create diverse, global teams.

With automated recruitment tools, we tap into developer communities, peer networks and more to help companies reap the rewards of a diverse workforce. What’s more, with AI-powered insights, we can find the right fit for you and ensure engagement all through. To know more, request a consultation to build diverse teams that deliver.

The post Top 5 strategies to attract Diverse Talent appeared first on Talent500 blog.

Hiring teams find themselves amidst considerable buzz and tension in the job market. Employees who may have earlier not considered changing alliances, now aspire for value in different shapes and sizes, be it a fatter paycheck or a flexible work schedule. They are open to jumping ship. Simultaneously, the rapid pace of digital acceleration juxtaposed with the sparse availability of highly-qualified, domain-specific talent means that hiring managers must act swiftly and smartly.

There may be no way to entirely ‘short-circuit’ the hiring process. However, treading the plank of employee advocacy has proven benefits: better talent, shorter hiring time, reduced cost per candidate – the works! Here’s why employee referrals are too crucial a hiring method to be left underutilized in 2022.

Why do employee referrals work?

Statistics show that employee referrals amount to a large percentage of any given company’s total hires. Data by Gary Crispin published on SHRM pegs this figure at 28–30%, and this can rise to about 45% if more emphasis is placed on the method.

From the perspective of the candidate, a referral establishes an element of trust. Job listings and company websites provide a minimal amount of data about working in the organization. Getting invited by someone who’s ‘been there, done it’ can create a crucial bond between the potential hire and the company. It’s similar to booking one hotel rather than the other, if for no other reason than the reviews. Candidates are likely to go where they have good reason to believe they will succeed.

From the perspective of the employer, a referral means the candidate is, to some extent, already pre-qualified. The fact that a candidate is referred to the company by someone privy to the work culture and demands can drastically improve the quality of the hire. In other words, candidates coming through employee referral programs are vetted by more than the HR team.

It’s a win-win for candidates and hiring teams, and this is reflected by the fact that referrals enjoy a much higher job-offer rate than regular applicants.

Top advantages of employee referral programs

88% of employers agree that employee referral programs are the best source of recruitment, backed by data from Zippia . Here are some reasons why:

Larger talent pool

An employee referral program grants instant access into the employees’ networks. The best talent may very possibly lie outside the company’s reach, and employee networks can help expand the talent pool exponentially. Moreover, many potential employees may be “passive” about wanting a new job and so, may simply not appear on job boards, search engine ads, career pages, and so on.

Higher conversion rate

Data from software company Jobvite shows that referred candidates enjoy a conversion rate of around 40%. Having such a high number of successful placements vis-à-vis the jobs available is extremely beneficial to the budget. It means spending less on the recruitment process. What’s more, compared to the copious amounts of résumés received through other channels, employee referrals are normally few in number. Companies have access to high-potential candidates through referral programs. 

Quicker turnaround time

In a tech world of fierce competition and unrelenting product development deadlines, time is not just money – it’s survival. Here’s where a referred candidate can be gold. The fact that a referral makes candidates and recruiters confident of success translates into a more pleasant recruitment process. Statistics reveal that it implies a shorter recruitment time: 21 days versus the 39-day average, according to data from software company ERIN.

Longer service tenures

Statistics from ERIN also reveal that referred employees stick around longer. Compared to those who come through job boards, nearly double the amount stay committed to a company for double the time frame. Why do referred employees budge less easily? It is probably because they have the inside scoop before joining. They know what they are getting into and make an informed choice to join the company.

Better culture fit

Job listings seek to match technical skills with project requirements. However, will the candidate fit into the team? How will the candidate fare in the company in the long run? A current employee who knows both the company’s culture and the candidate’s personality can help bridge this divide. In fact, recruiters see this culture fit reflected in a high level of employee engagement. 

Lower costs per hire

Multiple sources agree that employee referrals are less costly than other sources of recruitment. Companies sidestep the fees they’d encounter along the traditional hiring routes. More importantly, when putting together domain-specific skill, a low time to productivity, and a high retention rate, the result is a better quality employee – at a cheaper price tag!

How to inspire great employee referrals?

Invest in the program

Employee referrals are cost-effective, but they aren’t free! Here’s what companies can offer.

1. Cash bonus: Keep it attractive and inclusive. That is, the amount should incite action, and it may be beneficial to open the program up to all levels of employees, be it executives or interns.
2. Non-cash rewards: Incentives such as a ‘paid vacation’, ‘raise in seniority level’, ‘public recognition’, or ‘dinner with the leadership’ can work better than cash equivalents. They build the referrer’s interest in the company and strengthen the company culture

Keep it simple

Devise a referral program that does not have too many terms and conditions. If it is overly complicated, employees will not participate as eagerly. Moreover, create a straightforward process for candidates to be referred: an online form is great. If the referral program can integrate with social media, even better!

Question and respond

Employee referrals are no magic handshake. They don’t have to work: they can fail! Because the quality of the hire depends on your current employee’s experiences with your company and with the candidate, it can be beneficial to get some data on this during the referral process. This will help sift high-quality referrals from those of a lesser grade.

On gaining a referral, respond to the candidate and referring employee promptly. This keeps all parties interested and the program rolling. A quick response gives the candidate the preferential treatment they may expect. Updates to employees tell them their work is valuable.

Employee referrals are extremely valuable, but cannot be the sole plank. They can suffer from low data and a lack of diversity. Ideally, employee referrals should complement other recruitment methods. For instance, when you partner with Talent500, you get access to over 200,000 pre-vetted professionals gunning to fill the ranks at quickly-growing start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. Our AI-powered tools provide access to 5x faster hiring, data-driven profile matching, and multichannel sourcing.  Schedule a consultation and learn how to put top-draw talent from renowned talent hubs across the globe within your reach today!

The post Why employee referrals are crucial for hiring in tech, and how to get them appeared first on Talent500 blog.

However, how should a work model that includes remote workers function on the practical level? Should leaders relinquish most of their control over how their employees work? How can structured work have a place in a world where employee freedom is prized? Here’s a quick take on how to balance autonomy and structure in a remote-first era.

Autonomy drives employee experience

The word ‘autonomy’ is closely associated with the ideas of freedom and self-governance. In context, it means allowing the employee to determine when to work and where to work from.

As 2021 played out, one could quickly recognize different degrees of autonomy emerging from company policies:

1. Low autonomy: In-office days and timings are fixed
2. Moderate autonomy: Must fulfill certain amount of hours at office
3. Complete autonomy: Can work at anywhere, including office, at any convenient time

Arguably, there are some businesses that require their employees to work at a low level of autonomy; a nurse, construction worker, or barista needs to be on-site. However, through the pandemic, a majority of organizations realized that they could be a lot more virtual than they imagined. Interestingly, Jabra’s Hybrid Ways of Working 2022 Global Report reveals that autonomy and employee experience enjoy a direct correlation.

What Jabra found was that the more autonomy you afford employees, the greater ‘belonging’, ‘motivation’, ‘productivity’, ‘trust in team’, ‘trust in leaders’, ‘impact’, ‘work-life balance’, and ‘mental health’ they report having.

Key #1: Employee autonomy is mutually beneficial

Autonomy is not inherently opposed to structure

As contradictory as it seems, employees require to be ‘controlled’ by some set of principles if they are to exercise their freedom effectively. It’s similar to having markings that define the length and breadth of a playground to enable play within. Without boundaries, autonomy breaks down.

In fact, a report highlights the impressive degree of autonomy Netflix affords its employees – they, not HR, get to decide about things like maternity leave and travel expenses. Amazingly, employees are willing to earn this autonomy by digging into the company’s foundational documents and aligning their vision with that of the organization.

The report also chronicles Alaska Airlines’ grappling with the issue of how much freedom in decision-making to offers its frontline workers. After meandering through periods of freedom and then micromanagement, the airlines leaned towards autonomy, but one that rests on “well-understood limits”.

The moral these stories teach is that certain principles need to form the basis for autonomy, if autonomous decisions are to safeguard the company as a whole. This could play out in the form of:

• Vision and goals of the company
• Rules pertaining to work ethic
• Broad guidelines for employee behavior and attitudes
• Norms for meeting deadlines
• Channels for offering and receiving feedback
• Training sessions that illustrate good use of autonomous decision-making

Key #2: Autonomy requires some structure and alignment of principles

Transitioning towards the right blend

The future of work is hybrid – but how will it be structured?

Google proposes a flexible work model, wherein its employees come to the office about 3 days per week. “Since in-office time will be focused on collaboration, your product areas and functions will help decide which days teams will come together in the office”, Google’s message to its employees reads. Google also envisions a workforce wherein 60% come to the office a few days a week, 20% work in new locations, and 20% work from home.

Kissflow’s approach is slightly different than that of Google’s. Its REMOTE+ model proposes teams choose between working in-office or remotely. However, every team must work in-office for one week in a month. Kissflow would generously provide accommodation for employees who need to travel for the week of in-office work. To create cross-team bonds and interactions, Kissflow plans monthly meet-ups, quarterly conferences, and offsite trips!

So, is the right blend of autonomy and structure expressed in a hybrid model simply a matter of picking policies that seem attractive? One must search deeper.

Having the right employees

Kissflow is intelligent when it includes in its REMOTE+ model the following line: “We will make a conscious effort to hire employees who thrive in a remote work environment”. The key is to have employees who can deliver when deprived of the social support, structure, and facilities the office offers. So, you want employees who can be self-disciplined when alone, but generous in understanding the organization’s needs for in-person work as well.

Making the right organizational changes

Real estate commitments are a solid reason organizations may be reluctant to divest itself of the control it has over where its employees work. After all, if it is locked into a long-term lease, it may not be able to funnel those finances into improving remote work infrastructure. Another issue is that of employees whose role it was to supervise others. Now, such a role may not be needed; or if it is, it will take added effort.

Navigating such issues is time-consuming, but as you do so, expect your hybrid work model to emerge refined.

Key #3: Achieving the right blend is a process. It demands policy, workforce and organizational tweaks.

Making your hybrid work model viable

Investing in remote gear

When remote work hit the world, many employees made it possible with their own finances. Data from SHRM reveals that 51% percent of remote workers shelled out $100–499 on equipment or furniture. Moreover, 61% did so out of pocket. The major issue here is that such employees lose their sense of belonging with their company. Investing in your employee’s tech gear is a way of saying, “we want you to be autonomous, and we are with you wherever you choose to work”.

A 2021 Gartner survey revealed that ~80% of employees used collaboration tools in 2021. The figure hovered around 50% in 2019. Such tools are imperative to sustaining a workforce that’s connected more in the cloud than at the office. Some of the best out there include:

1. Monday.com – Project management
2. Zoom – Video conferencing
3. Trello – Kanban boards
4. Slack – Team communications
5. InVision – Design collaboration & digital whiteboard
6. Dashlane – Password manager
7. GSuite – Office suite 

Key #4: Investment in home and office makes remote and structured work possible

1. Conference rooms with large screens installed at eye level: this helps with inclusivity in videoconferencing
2. Café-style seating and wraparound terraces: for an experience similar to home or remote-work settings
3. Multipurpose areas – to enable collaboration and accommodate employees when many turn up
4. Private pods with soundproofing – for focused work that may include video calls

These strategies are sure to help you strike the right balance between autonomy and structure. If you are on the hunt for remote-ready candidates, look no further than Talent500. We use AI-powered algorithms to assess profiles across 100’s of parameters and offer access to pre-vetted talent that’s been through comprehensive skill interviews. To build a remote-first or global workforce, book a consultation with T500 today.

The post 4 Keys to balance autonomy and structure in a remote-first era appeared first on Talent500 blog.

This seems only logical, as AI is arguably the best technology for a world forced digital. What’s more, there are obvious upsides, namely better productivity, heightened innovation, and more efficient problem-solving. In fact, a 2021 report by Gartner suggested that the global AI software market in 2022 will total $62 billion. This will be a nearly 21% increase from 2021 and indicative of the fact that AI adoption isn’t slowing any time soon.

Naturally, the use of AI has trickled down into HR processes. Now a notable part of the recruitment process, AI offers many benefits including a faster interview process, increased objectivity, improved quality, heightened experience for candidates and reduced costs. A significant advantage is AI’s ability to provide objective results and eliminate common human errors in the recruitment process. But like any technology, it has its bugs. Research suggests that AI recruitment algorithms can increase the bias against women.

While gender bias is one form, other types of biases in AI recruitment can harm an organization’s goals and success. But as AI maturity sets in, organizations can successfully implement AI in recruitment for the right outcomes. To understand these vulnerabilities for bias in AI recruitment, how organizations can tackle them, and its potential going forward, read on.

Bias in AI recruitment

A key reason for AI recruitment technologies to result in biased results is that humans primarily train these algorithms. Algorithms defined with bias can neutralize the positives that AI brings to the table. For instance, algorithms can pick up on cognitive bias, such as confirmation bias, gender bias, or affinity bias. Here, the main vulnerability is during the assessment of poor prior decision-making. Both past and present decisions can lead to bias in AI recruitment.

When AI algorithms look to learn from prior decisions, it looks for patterns to form the basis for future decisions. Studies reveal that AI predictions based on past hiring decisions can reproduce the same patterns of inequality in all recruitment strategies, even when sensitive characteristics get eliminated. As a result, HR professionals relying solely on the outcomes and predictions of AI will unknowingly make biased decisions.

For instance, bias appears when the algorithm scans and ranks the applicants based on specific traits present in the original data. When an application demonstrates certain traits that are different from the original input, the algorithm can downrank the candidate, even if the traits are irrelevant to the job.

Strategies to tackle AI recruitment bias

Companies can successfully use AI for recruitment with strategic planning and implementation. These strategies can help organizations identify the source of the bias and deter it from spreading further. Here is a breakdown of these tactics for deeper insights. 

Maintain meaningful human supervision

According to research, organizations can improve performance when machines and humans work together. While implementing AI in recruitment protocols, organizations need to ensure that their AI software is human centered. This is because employers can add the human quotient and pick on the cues that AI cannot detect.

This enables informed decision-making that isn’t solely reliant on the technology’s insights. For this to be effective, employers need to be conscious of the bias they bring to the table and ensure that it doesn’t play a role in their decisions. Ideally, companies should have a diverse committee responsible for catching bias occurrences that would otherwise slip through.

Rely on proven techniques and AI models

Tried-and-tested techniques can assure organizations that the AI model they rely on will work favorably. While these do require a fair bit of tailoring, proven AI techniques can help organizations reduce bias as well as make it more cost-effective. Proven AI techniques can help the hiring team receive relevant and unbiased data, as well as allow them to focus on other characteristics during the interview. This includes non-verbal cues, body language, and other things that AI can’t yet analyze accurately. 

A successful example of such a tactic in motion is the hiring practice at Unilever. The organization uses brain games and AI to compare and analyze candidates’ skills. This can help the company significantly improve diversity in the workforce. This works for Unilever because despite the new technology, they have adapted it to work with a traditional and effective technique.

Perform audits and rectify the data

AI algorithms left unchecked are a major cause for concern. They can reproduce the same biased decision, effectively hampering the organization’s efforts to eliminate bias from the recruitment process. This is why it is imperative to perform regular audits. These help managers pick up on problems that hinder the algorithm’s ability to procure desired results. One of the top reasons AI bias creeps into the recruitment process is inaccurate or incomplete data used for training purposes.

Leverage AI-supported models in the metaverse

As the metaverse gains popularity, it is important to consider that this can be an avenue to reduce unconscious bias in human behavior. Unconscious bias becomes challenging to eliminate because the recruiter is not even aware of it. Generally, such bias is based on cues like voice, physical appearance, gender, age and more. In the metaverse, these sensory cues can be stripped away because of the avatars.

When sensory cues are hidden from the interviewer, it decreases the chances of a biased decision. Moreover, organizations can use the metaverse for sensitivity training and work towards reducing bias and biased practices. With AI, the metaverse can also allow HR employees to experience things from a different perspective, which can come in handy when training to eliminate their unconscious bias.

Future outlook of AI in recruitment

Research suggests that AI will shape the future of the workplace in many different ways. With employees and AI working parallelly, AI can ease the load of routine tasks and give employees time to devote their focus on cognitive tasks. A 2020 report also suggested that while AI will displace nearly 80 million jobs, it will create around 95 million more jobs. However, effective and productive use of AI in business processes is only possible when organizations understand its limitations.

Conscious planning, while important, helps successful implementation, but it is also easier said than done. Thankfully, nearly 67% of HR professionals believe that AI in recruitment can benefit these processes.

From the candidate POV, a survey by Talent500 found that 85% of the candidates value their interview experience while evaluating job offers. AI technology is known to enhance this journey when done right. To leverage AI in the recruiting process and ensure it works advantageously, partner with Talent500. Our AI-backed solutions ensure that you get the right match from the pre-vetted talent pool. We also ensure improved engagement and efficiency, with up to 5x faster hiring capabilities and 60% higher recruiter productivity. Schedule a consultation to know how we can tailor these services to suit your needs and leverage AI in recruiting effectively. 

The post Bias in AI recruitment: four ways to solve it and pave the way forward appeared first on Talent500 blog.

The Talent500 State of Talent survey in 2022, conducted among 4,800 professionals across Indian cities, reveals this sea change in mindset: 87% of the tech talent are actively considering a job switch in 2022, and the primary reason for 55% of respondents is a lack of work-life balance. Further, for 83% flexibility is the top consideration for accepting a new offer.

Brushing aside these statistics as a pandemic reaction rather than a pandemic epiphany, can only add woes to an organization’s recruitment drive. Companies today are dealing with record highs in attrition rates and the intense competition in order to bag the right talent. After all, having greater agency over their lives, better control over their schedules, and the freedom to work when their productivity is highest, is what drives the workforce of today.

This phenomenon is not limited only to India or Asia, but complements sentiments across the globe. As per a survey by Slack, 72% of the employees prefer to work in a hybrid model. Other research also found that employees from the US value the flexibility to work from home for 2-3 days a week as much as 7% pay raise. What’s more, 40% of the employees who currently WFH would look for another job if required to work from the office.

While the why is easily understood in the advantages that flexibility offers employees – in terms of reduced stress and chances of burnout, higher job satisfaction and productivity –implementing flexible policies comes with other benefits for an organization. This includes increased loyalty, improved brand image, better employee morale and a larger talent pool to dip into. However, one fact that stands out among all these is the impact of flexibility on employee retention and attrition. After all, 89% of the companies saw better retention because of flexibility. And while it comes with its challenges, organizations can successfully implement and manage flexibility with the right frameworks in place.

Implementing flexibility – 4 tips for organizations

Flexibility involves both give and take. To foster fairness and accountability, here are a few pointers that leadership teams should keep in mind when implementing flexible policies.

Strengthen communication

Research indicates that 86% of employees and executives believe that ineffective communication causes workplace failures. When virtual, remote sessions overtake physical, face-to-face meetings, it is important for organizations to ensure that the employees are able to communicate with each other without any challenges or lags. While internal messaging tools, emails and video calls are all a must-have, what is critical is for managers to establish a clear guideline on which modes of communication require immediate attention and which matters require urgent communication such as those regarding deadlines or availability.

This helps employees respond to time-sensitive matters with ease and be accountable in remote settings. Since communication is so vital to success in such cases, companies can also offer soft skills training to boost this skill. In fact, 65% of employees who received training for communication had a higher performance score as per another survey.

Keep employee expectations clear

In flex work, making expectations clear to employees can help leaders track their performance as well as ensure that employees know the objectives of the employer. Employers can, and should involve employees in the goal setting process. This not only helps employees understand how their work contributes towards organizational objectives, but also feel a sense of ownership and engagement.

In fact, only 30% of the employees agree that their managers involve them in goal setting and these employees are 3.6 times more likely to be engaged as per a Gallup report. Research also suggests that productivity increases by 56% when managers help employees align their goals to the needs of the organization.

Spell out flexible policy terms clearly

Documenting the options that employees have when it comes to flexible work is key to ensuring smooth operations. Such formal policies can help organizations avoid inequities that come with informal and non-recorded arrangements and also help propagate company culture better. It is also necessary that managers or leaders put together the required details before the arrangement comes into effect.

While this may postpone how soon you can offer its benefits to your workforce, it does pay in the long-term. Include the working terms, infrastructural and other requirements, measures for keeping data safe, health precautions, and more in this policy and make it easy for talent to access them (such as via cloud) when needed.

Review performance

Performance reviews, a part of the traditional work arrangement, also have a big role to play in fully remote or hybrid models. For these to work, organizations need to be transparent about KPIs and other metrics used to measure employee productivity and impact. The only change when it comes to flex work is for employers to consider having such reviews at shorter frequency. This helps employees adapt better, keep their eye on the prize, and work towards achieving company goals in a more informed manner.

Managing flexibility – 3 ways for organizations to take the reigns

Implementing flexibility can come with certain disadvantages like procrastination, decreased engagement and loss of workplace culture. Here’s how companies can tide over these for a net positive gain.

Leverage technology

Tech has a starring role to play in most aspects of work today but enjoys the spotlight most when it comes to successfully implementing flex work. Organizations can and should use it to help teams collaborate, plan, learn, and adapt to evolving needs. According to this study, more than 80% of the employees stated that technology empowered them to better communicate and collaborate. Tools that help mitigate cybersecurity risks and keep sensitive information secure are also a must-have.

Make data accessible on a need-to-know basis

With everything going digital, employees need to have access to required data with ease. Easy and instant access to it makes them more productive and keeps them engaged. While this is highly valuable to organizations, a noteworthy aspect is to ensure that employees get access only to data that falls within their responsibilities. With ransomware attacks rising to 35%, a need-to-know access to data can reduce this risk and prevent data leaks.

Encourage collaboration

Collaboration can nurture stronger bonds within teams and boosts engagement. Research by Gallup suggests that those who have close workplace friends are 7X more likely to have better output, higher personal and customer engagement and enjoy greater well-being. To catalyze such relationships, employers can plan virtual celebrations, create intimate virtual spaces for employees to connect with each other, do a daily virtual huddle, and even create separate channels for specific categories as needed. Planning physical retreats as often as possible can also work wonders.

There are many companies who have successfully embraced workplace flexibility including Dell, Unilever, Sodexo and Humana, and yours can too. As a partner in aiding your efforts to hire, manage, and build global remote teams, look no further than Talent500.With automated hiring processes and pre-vetting of profiles, we can help you find talent that adds value 5x times faster. Our in-depth pre-assessment has helped place 300,000+ professionals and build teams in 50+ organizations. Request a consultation now to know how you can leverage our tools to effortlessly manage and build your remote workforce.

The post Work flexibility: 4 tips organizations can try to attract top talent appeared first on Talent500 blog.

While instilling culture across the organization is a challenge in any setting, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored its importance as it significantly impacted productivity and forced leadership to evolve to the new normal. Their reassessment and reevaluation either strengthened the work culture or diluted it. Nevertheless, be it a fully remote workforce, or a distributed team working on a follow-the-sun model, culture is key to creating a sense of genuine connectedness and belonging.

Increased stress, lopsided work-life balance, isolation and job insecurity have all contributed to lower productivity of distributed teams and remote workers in recent times. This is only compounded by company culture that is transactional rather than relational. In fact, companies that managed to instill positive organizational culture, offering their workforce flexibility and transparency, saw big gains. Not only are 68% of teams evaluating their culture to better reflect the new normal, but 62% of remote and hybrid employees and 52% of on-site employees said that their workplace culture had a positive impact on their work as per a 2021 report by Gartner.

Here’s a deep dive into the challenges and means of scaling organizational culture in a globally distributed workforce.

Challenges of building workplace culture in distributed workforce

Fragmented and dispersed workforce

One of the ways to cultivate workplace culture is through shared experiences. In the past, these took shape as shared learning seminars and other such in-person activities. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, such interactions aren’t as frequent or are fully digital when they occur, and thus lacking in one way or another. This makes building and enforcing a strong work culture challenging in a distributed workforce.

Too much transparency in the workplace

While transparency is essential, especially now, too much is problematic. Companies with an overly transparent culture often face issues of over-sharing, which in turn hampers the ecosystem. For instance, too much transparency about financial struggles, losses or even salaries can lead to unrest, detrimental competition and even unwarranted dismissals.

Increased pressure for productivity

Spurring productivity, while essential to any organization, is among the hurdles companies will likely face when building the right culture. Both managers and employees can make it difficult to set the right values or even act in accordance with them when there is pressure to boost productivity. According to research, 50% of senior leaders stated that this type of pressure is one of the biggest challenges in creating a positive culture.

How organizations can build a strong culture in a globally distributed workforce

Be intentional about culture and celebrate cultural differences

Having a set of principles or values that leaders and the top tier of management believe in and act on, is step 1. Bringing up workplace culture from onboarding and throughout the employee work cycle is key to it being taken seriously. While it is important to have a culture that all employees can share, it is also important to accept and honor diversity. An empathetic culture is mission critical in a globally distributed workforce, since companies are now expected to be diverse. According to this study, 84% of the CEOs said empathy drives better outcomes; the same study also said that 90% of GenZ employees are more likely to stay if the organization has an empathetic culture.

Leverage technology to better communicate and collaborate

Communication and collaboration are critical tools that support organizations in building desired workplace culture. Remote working can have a negative impact on both of these and active measures to counteract such gaps must be put in place. Organizations can assign mentors to the new hires, have online team huddles, and upgrade to technology that streamlines communication. Only through effective communication can the values be imparted into every sector and silo of the workforce.

Lead by example

Actions speak louder than words. For culture to truly set in, the organization’s values must be actioned by top management and the board of directors. Leaders should believe in what they say and do to get the desired results. On the other hand, leaders acting in opposing directions can create distrust among the employees, which then further deteriorates into a negative perception of the workplace. Simply put, when it comes to building the right culture, a ‘Be. Do. Say.’ style leadership is necessary.

Apart from the above measures, organizations should also rely on the in-country experts when managing a distributed workforce. This means that even though company values would be at the forefront in communication between employees, in-country experts should be at the forefront in matters concerning monetary and non-monetary compensation. This is because there are different customs and laws that come into play.

Dependency on the experts here can help with compliance and stronger culture. Talent500 can help you build and grow your global workforce in a seamless way with our AI-powered tools. Request a consultation now to know how we can help you manage your workforce, stay compliant, and engage with employees to cultivate a strong culture.

The post 3 challenges and solutions for building strong company culture in a globally distributed workforce appeared first on Talent500 blog.

Still, sharing criticism is part of managing software development teams. It can be a formidable tool for creating high-performing engineering teams that yield results with the right strategy.

A typical development team will have several developers working together at the helm of a team manager. It consists of back end developers, front end developers, designers, testers, and copywriters. As a lead developer, you are at the task of handling the needs and wants of the clients while monitoring developers for performance and skills. You also have to share honest feedback with team members that may not always be positive.

Unfortunately, while providing criticism is essential, few managers understand how to do it right. In fact, according to a Gallup survey, only 26% of employees agree that the feedback they received made them work better.

We aim to help senior developers become effective managers by sharing tips on how they can help their teams get better at what they do. Let’s begin and know how to be an excellent senior developer/ lead developer.

1. Know your team

Before you provide criticism, you must know each programmer in your team at the individual level. Profile each person to understand their strengths and weaknesses. It will help you anticipate the areas in which each team member is most likely to fall short.

Your goal is not to stop providing criticism but to enable the learning and growth of the team members. As a lead developer, mentorship is one of your core responsibilities. Before you call upon an unacceptable behavior or shortcoming, first ensure that you understand the other person’s concerns. If their opinion is different from yours about the given task, look at things from their perspective.

If you find that the criticism is acceptable to you personally, you can confidently share it with the concerned person.

2. Practice empathy and encouragement in communication

To err is human, so be mindful of this wisdom, and you will never make the feedback a one-way monologue. Show empathy in your communication and ask the recipient about their perspective of things. It should go without saying, as a senior developer, you must make subordinates feel valued.  

Encouragement must accompany criticism, and when you maintain a respectful tone, your message is much more effective. Replace ‘you’ and ‘your’ with ‘we’ and ‘our.’ Remember, you are trying to create a dialogue, not single out the mistakes.

3. Directing people, not code

A development team will have different levels of seniority and experience working on the same product. Not all teammates will have the same coding style, and each person will take a different approach to solve the same problem. As a lead developer, your job is to keep each team member motivated while demanding code quality, stability, and optimization. It is not possible without criticism but be careful.

How you will deliver the criticism can be the difference between leading an average coder on a path to becoming a great programmer or placing him into a vicious cycle of unproductiveness where he will leave the job or get fired.

You have to lead the person, not the code. Avoid punishing a developer for the mistakes he commits when coding. Instead, convey what is expected from him, making him realize that he can improve.

4. Provide clear and actionable feedback

In your career progression, you might have come across managers who told you something like, “You should be more reliable,” or, “Try to be more proactive.” That’s ambiguity at its best. How are you supposed to know what they are referring to? Never initiate talks or provide feedback with such blurry statements.

Instead of saying, “Try to be more proactive,” be more specific. Something like, you told me you would come up with some solution to improve server response time, but still haven’t. Are you facing any issues?

If you are not sharing specific criticism, you are confusing developers in your team. They cannot identify which behaviors are inappropriate for successful performance. Providing constructive and transparent criticism lets them know that they are doing things right, but there is room for improvement.

Furthermore, always keep in mind that you target a specific action or behavior with criticism. Please avoid commenting on the person or their personality at all costs. It includes things that are beyond their control. For instance, if you share feedback on an employee’s speech, talk about the content, body language, presentation, etc., rather than telling them that their voice is too husky.

5. Value their opinions and vision

Incentives and benefits might make employees happy, but their opinions and vision keep them engaged at work. Being dismissive of their views might break their spirit. Unless you appreciate your team members’ ideas, no number of team-building events and company retreats can motivate them to work.

Conclusion

Delivering criticism without hurting anyone is the difference between ineffective and efficient managers. As a lead developer, focus your criticism on helping your team grow rather than forcing them to deliver short-term gains.

Talent500 is the platform where many fast-growing startups and Fortune500 companies hire senior developers. Join our community of elite talent today.

The post How to provide criticism to your team as a senior or lead developer appeared first on Talent500 blog.