Beyond the Paycheck: The Real Reasons Tech Talents Stay

Tech professionals are driven by more than just financial rewards. They seek purpose, trust, and autonomy. When these needs aren’t met, the paycheck won’t keep them around for long.

Purpose: It’s More Than Code

Techs don’t want just to churn out code.

Show them the big picture.

How does their code contribute to the company’s goals and strategy?
How does it impact the customer’s business?

They need to feel like they’re making a difference. This desire for purpose is especially strong among Millennials and Gen Z workers, who make up a significant portion of the tech workforce.

Several studies (cf footnotes) showed their approach to work is values-driven. They want their jobs to align with their personal values and contribute to meaningful projects.

What you can do:

• Your technical leaders are the bridges between the business strategies and the technology. Be sure they know they are aware of your company’s and customers’ goals.
• Schedule some strategic times to gather your tech team and express how their work impacted business: more sales, better performance, etc. That can be during retrospectives, or at the end of a project.

The Power of Collaboration

Tech workers are problem solvers. They like environments that value their ideas and hear their voices .

Create a place (or processes, for remote workers) where they can collaborate with their colleagues, share their knowledge, give opinions, and suggest ideas.

Ignoring your team’s inputs, they will probably become disengaged and demotivated. That means a decline in productivity, or worse, resignations.

Foster a culture of collaboration and open communication and create a more fulfilling work environment for their tech teams. Employees who feel heard and valued are more likely to stay with the company and contribute their best work.

What you can do:

• Organize cross-team workshops. It will help everyone understand the struggles of other departments, and reinforce empathy towards each other. Additionally, presenting work or skills to other teams will empower employees, enhance mutual respect, and create a sense of community.
• Encourage regular feedback. With planned feedback sessions, team members can talk about their thoughts and concerns openly, making them feel heard and valued.
• Implement Pair-programming. Developers can work in pairs to solve problems, write code, and review each other’s work. That will improve code quality, facilitate knowledge sharing, and help team members learn from each other.

Involve your team

Tech workers are creative and innovative. They want the freedom to experiment, take risks, and make decisions (within their areas of expertise, of course).

Don’t micromanage your tech team, or tell them how to do their jobs.

Don’t dictate solutions. A collaborative environment where the team’s ideas are valued and their voices heard is much more effective. Build together.

What you can do:

• Build with the team. Brainstorm together about what makes quality code, good products, and good communication.
• Trust your team. Technical teams are the perfect example of what can work remotely. With good tools and good processes, your teammates will know what they have to do (and why, cf point 1).

Invest in the Future

If you focus on purpose, collaboration, and involvement, you’ll create an environment that attracts (and most importantly, retains) top talent.

This could require a shift in mindset from seeing tech workers as executants to recognizing them as valuable assets, contributing to your company’s success.

Invest in their development, empower them to take ownership of their work, and create a culture of collaboration and trust.

Your team will soon be more engaged, more productive, and more innovative.

Studies:

• Gallup Workplace Report (https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx). Key takeaway: Only 21% of employees are engaged at work. Employers need to focus on factors beyond just salary.
• Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey (https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/genzmillennialsurvey-2022.html). Key takeaway: Gen Z and Millennials want purpose-driven work and seek employers who align with their values.