Finding and keeping strong talent, particularly senior developers, is a struggle for many Chicago startups. With more opportunities and better pay in places like San Francisco and New York, it's tempting for potential employees to head to the coasts.
With a growing tech scene and a lower cost of living, Chicago certainly has benefits for startups, yet there is still a need to find ways to keep locally grown talent from moving. Hireology Vice President of Sales Kevin Baumgart is uniquely qualified in this area, because not only does his company assist Chicago businesses in the hiring procces, but being a startup themselves, Hireology also has to find creative ways to retain tech talent.
"Traditionally, it may have been enough just to post on a job board," Baumgart said. "But recently, it's become much harder--especially during an economic downturn. Linkedin and Career Builder aren't enough now. People are getting creative and going to where the potential candidates are."
Baumgart said using Chicago's tight-knit tech community is crucial for employers to find the right candidates. Networking events at places like 1871 are a great place to meet good potential employees. And startup-specific sites like Built in Chicago are another great resource for employers. It's a sense of community that many organizations rely on to encourage talent to stay local.
"There's a midwestern charm," he said. "There's not that typical VC cutthroat mentality. These are friendly people who are working hard and trying to build businesses."
But when cost of living and midwestern hospitality aren't enough, Baumgart said businesses have found other creative ways to keep talented workers. Some companies have implemented unique employee referral programs to incentivize people to help fill openings. Referring a friend could lead to a paid day off, getting to choose your next work project, or even Cubs or Blackhawks tickets, all of which are incentives Baumgart said he's seen work for Chicago companies.
"It's about the drive to want to push job openings," he said.
Even though the pay is often less in Chicago than in Silicon Valley, some companies give equity to employees after a certain period of time, a strategy that has worked at Hireology, Baumgart said.
"We probably pay less than other companies, but we give equity on 90 days in," he said. "Even though it's a small percentage, giving people that equity is key."
And in the last 10 months, Hireology hasn't lost a single employee.
"If they didn't have a percentage of ownership, that would not have been the case."
Another strategy that has worked for Hireology is to hire employees from outside of Chicago who work remotely. With just one developer 10 months ago, Hireology now has eight devs working from all across the U.S. The challenge there is building a strong workplace culture with so many remote employees, but Baumgart said the developers are flown in once a quarter and conduct regular webcast meetings to keep everyone engaged.
It's also important to keep up the "startup culture" in order to keep young talent, he said.
"Ping pong tables, beer in the fridge. It's a young, fun company. I think companies need to do that to keep talent, or they're not going to stay."
And Baumgart said success stories like Braintree, Grubhub and Groupon are helping companies convince employees that Chicago is a hub for technology.
"One thing we've got going for us is that the tech community as a whole is starting to gain traction," he said. "More talk means more capital. It's fresh and exciting. In the coasts, it's been there for a while. It's way more saturated."
