What does tech talent want in 2023?

Our recent report What do tech talent want in 2023, co-published with Hackajob, delves into the needs and aspirations of tech talent. We asked those in a range of different tech positions, from Software Engineers to UX designers, what they love most about their job and company. In this article, we explore the key insights from the report.

Company culture is king

Culture is a word that often gets thrown around but it can be difficult to quantify. Despite this, it’s clear that it’s important to tech talent. The report showed that after compensation, candidates are most attracted to a role and organisation by the overall culture (15.1%) and mission (13.1%).

Looking at why tech talent choose to stay at their current company, we asked “what do you love about your current company and what makes you stay?” The top reason, given in 45.4% of responses, was company culture.

The unique culture of every organisation is made up of all the little things done to empower their teams. At Gearset, our culture is underpinned by trust, collaboration, self-development, teamwork, feedback, and a focus on solving our customers’ problems. These core attributes are part of who we are at Gearset, and encourage our people to be their best, both as individuals and within our team.

Remote as a ‘perk’ is no longer an option

The new world of hybrid and remote working has enabled a generation of developers to work on their own terms and in conditions that are more suitable for their working lives. When asked “What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?” remote working was ranked highest by technical talent — above tech stack, location, and benefits.

When asked about their work preferences, an overwhelming majority of respondents signalled their preferred way to work is fully remote.

Gearset provides working styles including fully remote and hybrid roles, and we make sure we’re transparent with the needs of the roles and how these work to ensure everyone is on the same page from the start. Our flexibility ensures that each team member is set up for success.

Lack of learning and development leads to frustration

It’s clear tech talent wants the opportunity to continually learn and develop in their role and the company. When asked “What are some of your biggest work-related challenges and frustrations?”, lack of learning and development was ranked almost top, just behind salary in the report.

Learning and development is highly supported and encouraged at Gearset, but is very much driven by the individual rather than being constrained by a predetermined structure. We support folks with various initiatives, including an annual learning and development budget of £1,500, mentoring opportunities, management training, personal development plans, and peer learning.

Maintaining a good work-life balance

Over three quarters of survey respondents said they’re unhappy with their roles and have looked for a new job in the past six months. Of those folks who’ve looked for a new role, the main reason they stayed in their current role was clearly work-life balance. A good work-life balance is enough to retain tech talent, even if they’re interested in greater compensation in other areas.

Work/life balance means something different to all of us. Whether it’s working from home on the days that suit you, or working true flexible hours to suit your life and how you work best, Gearset supports it. We trust our team when it comes to when they work to deliver the work they need to do.

Info on the report

The data for the report was gathered and analysed by Hackajob, using figures from their Engineering 2023 Survey.

They received over 1,000 responses from technical talent to understand what attracts and retains them as well as what aspects of their roles are most important to them. Technical talent includes, but is not limited to, Software Developers, Engineers, Data Scientists, QA Testers, Data Analysts, UI/UX designers, Product Managers and more.

Read the report

To access the full report visit the Hackajob website here.