How to ensure you are hiring developers with the right skills

Ever since the pandemic struck, businesses across industries have been disrupted, and are still trying to pick the pieces and make sense of this new work world.  Companies are facing a severe talent crunch and the software industry in particular has been further impacted by this disruption. According to the State of Software Development study, nearly 24% of employers agree that hiring developers in 2022 is difficult. A downside for companies experiencing severe skill shortage is that more than 50% of them report hiring developers who don’t meet the job requirements.

As organizations are faced with a historic level of uncertainty regarding finding the right talent, simultaneously, software technology is growing at a mind-boggling rate, reiterating the need to hire the best software developers.

Let’s start by looking at the major challenges businesses are facing today.

The need for tailored apps is at an all-time high

For companies to stay competitive in this new business and economic environment, the landscape calls for new digital strategies and practices. According to a new McKinsey Global Survey of executives,  companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations by three to four years.

While companies navigate between a remote or distributed way of working, it calls for skilled developers who can build and enable a digital workplace; companies can no longer settle with off-the-shelf apps. There is a sharp rise in the need for customized apps by businesses to meet their business requirements.

Remote work culture is changing everything

The remote work culture is on the rise and IT professionals are leading the way. While the ability to hire candidates from anywhere in the world is widening the talent pool, it is also making organizations lose talent at a rapid pace. Over 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November last year, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics presents a picture of a tightening talent pool that is forcing HR managers to ditch traditional approaches to hiring and training.

Development teams need platforms and tools that help the company preserve intellectual property. It is also important to combat orphan code and enable knowledge transfer. The right talent-hiring helps fast legacy creation in case severe team changes happen within a short timeframe.

Legacy tech maintenance is a constraint

The software development industry is experiencing a major shift and we are managing 100% more code today than we did back in 2010. Interestingly, 72% of the IT resources at big companies are engaged in the maintenance of legacy systems rather than innovating and creating competitive success in the long run. This is why identifying and hiring skilled talent who can use modern cloud infrastructure to help migrate is critical for organizations.

To tackle these challenges and hire the best talent we recommend these top tips.

Switch to objective-based hiring

Organizations will no doubt lose out on candidates if they are stringent about the policy, and insist on ejecting candidates who lack experience with specific language and tools. A competent programmer can pick up a language within weeks as new development tools and libraries are made available to them. This is one of the primary reasons organizations should hire for talent and not only skills.

Use realistic coding evaluations

Because ‘mis-hires’ are increasingly expensive for tech organizations, it is also imperative to thoroughly assess a programmer’s technical skills during the recruiting process to validate whether or not they will be a good fit for the role. Putting across coding problems taken from real-life situations that the company’s software team face on a regular basis is one of the best approaches in evaluating the potential on-the-job performance of developers.

Establish a system of verifying skills

When organizations move beyond technical skills, they can hire a developer who, at their best, has the capabilities to function as a Swiss Army Knife for software development. This is where organizations will benefit from looking for candidates who are able to display creative, insightful, and rational thought processes. If you think a whiteboard interview or code and bug fixing is the way, you might want to revisit that. It is best to create a work sample quality test as recommended by researchers Frank L. Schmidt and John E. Hunter.

Sell your company to the candidate

A common misconception is that during the interview process, a candidate needs to sell their capabilities to the interview. However, the tables have turned and now it’s up to recruiters to try and convince candidates to join the organization. A candidate needs to be fully on board with the company culture and their day-to-day functioning to ensure that it does not lead to an employee dropping off shortly after joining the organization.

Make quick hiring decisions

This is an important part of the overall hiring process. Some of the best hiring managers and leaders are the ones who can streamline the entire hiring process to make decisions within hours or days. Given that employees always have options of job offers available to them, this becomes even more critical. In a Talent500 Talent Intelligence Survey, over 5000+ active tech professionals said that 2-3 rounds of interview were sufficient. Long drawn interview processes simply don’t cut it anymore.

Talent500 can help you hire developers with the right skills from anywhere in the world, with a faster time to hire. Connect with our pool of pre-vetted elite talent. Request a consultation today.