How to create IT Leaders with effective talent management

Although there is no single strategy for developing IT leaders, effective management to attract and retain talented employees is a great way to achieve this, whether in the medium or long term.

Let’s explore the best strategies for developing IT leaders and how to attract and retain talented employees in small, medium and large companies.

Strategies for developing IT leaders

Many companies are not able to implement these strategies because they prefer to quickly hire  IT leaders in the job market, generally making advantageous financial proposals for them to leave their current companies. Also, another important thing to mention is that forging an IT leadership takes some time, especially for those organizations that have never created a culture that supports it.

Encourage a culture of continuous learning by:

• Providing access to workshops, seminars and on-line courses regarding IT skills.
• Supporting self-directed learning.
• Promoting a culture where learning is an ongoing process.

Enable and delegate by:

• Offering coaching and mentorship to help employees develop their IT leadership skills.
• Giving employees opportunities to take ownership of projects and make decisions.
• Ensuring employees to understand what's expected of them.

Foster effective communication by:

• Creating a working environment where people feel comfortable sharing ideas and feedback.
• Supporting active listening.
• Sharing information efficiently and effectively.

Develop leadership skills by:

• Offering formal and structured leadership training programs.
• Providing guidance through pair of experienced leaders with new ones.

Build relationships and teamwork by:

• Supporting a culture of teamwork and collaboration where people work together to achieve shared goals.
• Building trust and respect among all team members.

Provide feedback and recognition by:

• Doing regular performance reviews with constructive feedback.
• Acknowledging employee achievements.
• Promoting a positive workplace where people feel supported, valued and inspired.

Embrace change and adapt by:

• Helping employees navigate through change adjusting to new professional challenges.
• Staying updated about emerging technologies and industry best practices.

The strategies mentioned above do not need to be implemented in sequence, and can preferably be adopted together. The most important thing is that they become part of the company's plans on a permanent basis.

9 best ways to attract and retain employees

There are several procedures to attract and retain talented employees in a company, such as:

• Spreading a company's values, culture and mission to attract potential employees through social and traditional media.

   

• Offering competitive compensation and benefits above the ones on the market, especially when comparing to the competitors.

   

• Creating a positive work environment without any possible kind of internal harassment or prejudices.

   

• Providing opportunities for career growth and development, not only for young professionals, but for senior employees, as well.

   

• Supporting work-life balance, including parenthood.

   

• Prioritizing diversity and inclusion, i.e., hiring without any discrimination against sex, race and age.

   

• Recruiting competitively by going after talented professionals, not waiting for them to apply for a position at the company.

   

• Engaging employees in all possible situations inside the company, not only regarding job activities, but also including social and sports activities occasionally.

   

• Reviewing and improving employee retention by evaluating or adjusting the current procedures or by just adding new ones.

The above methods of attracting and retaining talented employees are independent of each other and can be implemented in any order (in sequence or in parallel). The most important thing here is that the more methods a company implements, the greater the chance of success.