How to Win the Competition for Top Talent — And Keep Your New Hires on Board
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally found on the Agari Email Security blog.
By Ernest Yuen
What is the biggest obstacle right now to recruiting and retaining great talent? Simply put, there is not enough supply to meet demand — and there may not be any time soon. The most recent jobs data put the national unemployment rate at 3.6%, the lowest it’s been in half a century. Across the country, there are more open jobs than people without work. That means employers in industries from tech to teaching to trucking are having trouble finding the right people and keeping them once they’re hired.
The situation is especially competitive in tech. Net tech employment in the US grew by 260,000 workers from 2017 to 2018, and the industry will add more than half a million more jobs by 2026, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even if you’re hiring outside the major tech hubs you’ll probably run into this issue, because “the demand for tech talent routinely exceeds supply in most markets” across the country.
Every organization needs creative, skilled, enthusiastic employees to grow and innovate. How do you find them now, when so many employers are going after the same job seekers? As the Director of HR at Agari, I see three elements that bring the right people on board and keep them around — even in one of the most competitive and dynamic tech markets in the country.
Competitive Pay is Table Stakes
Great talent doesn’t come cheap. The job seekers who bring the most to the table know what their skills and experience are worth. For them to seriously consider working for your company, you have to offer a competitive salary and benefits package. The exact amount of that offer varies by position and experience and also by region.
Median tech wages in the US are $81,900 per year now, per CompTIA’s Cyberstates database. In some tech hubs, the median is much higher. For example, in Agari’s hometown in the San Francisco Bay Area, the median tech wage is $110,800. In Raleigh, where Agari has a remote office, it’s $85,000. Knowing the local median for your industry matters for your offers. It also matters for deciding where to recruit…
