The #1 Place to Find Top Tech Talent in Australia

With the tech sector directly contributing over AU $76 billion to the Australian economy last year, the growth of this industry can’t be overstated. While tech businesses enjoy this growth, they face one major problem; people. They need the right talent to fuel growth, and with borders closed for the foreseeable future, Australia’s shortage of tech talent is further exacerbated.

The question then becomes: What recruitment strategies should you use to attract local talent to your tech business? Well, because of the negative market sentiment caused by the pandemic, people are now much less likely to switch jobs.

So it’s difficult to attract local and international talent..now what? As a good therapist would say “the answer lies within..”. No, I’m not talking about taking a 6 month meditation course or doing some deep soul searching, I’m talking about internal mobility.

What is Internal Mobility?

Recruiting externally is extremely beneficial. You get diversity of thought and fresh perspectives from people outside the organisation. But not only is it getting increasingly expensive and time-consuming, but also more difficult. In fact, Australia is seeing thelowest responses to job ads since 2012.

When looking for top talent, most companies overlook the alternative to recruiting externally. In doing so, they ignore their number one asset; their own people! In comes the concept of internal mobility.

Internal mobility is the movement of employees across different roles within a company. This could either be vertical; i.e promotions, or horisontal; i.e moving between departments.

Why should you care about Internal Mobility?

First off, it takes63% less time to hire internallycompared to hiring externally. Nolisting job ads, launching recruitment campaigns, or sourcing and communicatingwith new candidates. The person you hire is already familiar with the organizational culture and how things work.

It takes approximately2 yearsfor an external candidate to understand an organisation’s processes enough to perform on the level of an internal hire. These are 2 long years where an employee isn’t performing optimally. It’s therefore no surprise that 60% of employers sayinternal hires significantly outperform external hires!

And we haven’t even started discussing training costs. When an external candidate is recruited, it’s unlikely that they’re familiar with the exact software, technologies, and tools that your company uses. They usually need some form of training. And of course, this training incurs a lot of time and money for your business. By hiring internally, you can expect shorter training times and a smoother work transition, since employees are already familiar with organizational systems and processes.

With a shortage of qualified tech talent, recruiting the right employee has never been more difficult. Unfortunately for you, it doesn’t end there. The only thing more difficult than hiring the right person...is retaining the right person after hiring them.

Why your Employees will Love Internal Mobility

One of the biggest reasons people leave their business is lack of growth and lack of learning. People aren’t just motivated by money anymore, they want a work environment where they can consistently learn new things and develop their skills. Internal mobility provides the tools and experiences that your employees need to be more engaged with their work.

You wouldn’t want to see gloomy faces every time you walk into the office. You’d like to feel some positive energy, and more importantly, be around motivated people. You can’t get that by giving them the same repetitive tasks to do daily. Personal development is becoming increasingly important, and internal mobility plays a huge part in that.

With internal hiring, employees can explore different areas of the company. Not only will they be more engaged and feel more valued, but they’ll also learn new skills and understand how the company works as a whole.

To Sum Up

Employees are the backbone of your company. Whatever you want your business to look like down the line, it can only be achieved with the power of your employees. Try to build an internal mobility framework that integrates with their personal growth and development. Leave it to the positive energy that allows their creativity to flow.

You’ll not only find a way to effectively grow the skills of your employees, but also a low-cost way to grow your business. Of course, this is not to say that you shouldn’t hire externally, but rather to emphasise the importance of internal mobility as a supplement to your recruiting strategies.