How are Boston tech companies attracting, retaining and growing top talent?
That was the topic of BostInno’s State of Innovation: Talent Inno meetup last night. The event was presented by Workable at their new office in downtown Boston (which, not to mention, has a killer view). The panel featured Amy Spurling, CEO and co-founder of Compt; Claire Hughes, HR business partner at Formlabs; Tuan Ho, CEO and co-founder of ScholarJet; and Sam Oliver, technical recruiter from PathAI explored topics like identifying individuals with high potential early, developing an existing workforce and holding onto top performers.
Here are some key takeaways from the discussion.
Tap Into Alternative Talent Pools
Candidate pools are oversaturated with graduates from top-tier schools like MIT and Stanford University. If you want to find talent—particularly diverse candidates who can offer your company fresh perspectives—expand your recruiting into community colleges, coding bootcamps, and elsewhere. Rethink arbitrary requirements like computer science degrees and a set number of years of experience.
Tapping into these traditionally underserved candidate pools will require a long-term investment. Don't be afraid to make it.
Involve Your Team in Recruiting
If everyone has a stake in the recruitment process, you're more likely to get better candidates.
There's a feedback loop at play here. Engineers need to feel like they have power at the company in order to make good referrals. Good referrals will come through those engineers in turn.
Don't Just Market Diversity—Foster an Inclusive Work Environment
"Diversity" and "inclusion" are hot buzzwords these days, and with good reason. But true diversity and inclusion only come through long-term investment. That investment requires executive buy-in, consistent engagement with the employees already on your team, and investment in communities that have been historically underserved by the tech industry.
Throughout the processes, you'll likely have to check your own biases, too. There are tools for this—Formlabs uses a software called TapRecruit that flags gendered words in job descriptions so the company can make listings more neutral.
The Latest Perk: Ensuring Your Employees Have Good Lives
The days of kombucha on tap and off-sites in Hawaii might not quite be over, but they're not the main draws for job seekers anymore. More than anything, candidates (and employees) want strong health coverage, child care, and flexible work policies.
Thank you to all who came out last night. Join us in August for BostonFest, our summer pillar event and celebration of the city’s best cultures in the innovation class. Before the party, make sure to vote in our Coolest Companies Competition. Cool can mean a lot of things to people, so tell us what makes your company interesting, impressive, creative or unique by submitting a Coolest Company nomination.
Thank you to our presenting Sponsor!
Looking for even more tips on how to stand out when recruiting top tech talent in Boston? Take a look at tips for 'Wooing top tech talent: Recruiting in the Boston tech scene.'
