Opinion: The Tech Factor – how comms can win the tech talent search

As Deliveroo launches its search for 300 new ‘tech’ staff, Phil Borge, director, head of business services at Eulogy, discusses how internal comms is key to helping companies get ahead in the increasingly competitive tech talent search.

It’s no surprise that Deliveroo, like nearly every tech company in existence, is on the hunt for a glut of new tech talent.

In fact, it’s not just tech that requires tech; increasingly the myriad skills that sit under the banner of technology (from front end developers to software engineers to algorithm programmers) are in high demand from businesses across almost every industry.

So vital has the catch all of tech become as a driver of innovation and growth, that corporate success may as well be directly linked to the numbers of tech-heads being recruited.

The challenge faced by Deliveroo, and by nearly every other company engaging in the same talent search, is standing out in the eyes of potential recruits. Competition will be fierce, and it is becoming increasingly tough for business to differentiate their offer in a marketplace saturated with these types of roles.

To offer competitive salaries and benefits packages is a given, and even the days of differentiation through the provision of funky environments, sleep pods and subsidised food don’t quite deliver the stand out they once did. If everyone on the street has a foosball table, whose house do you visit?

Increasingly there is a clear objective – and fresh opportunity – for comms teams to support recruitment drives, through their efforts in channelling positive and stand out messaging externally; to anywhere this rare tech talent congregates. And, beyond being part and parcel of a standard corporate positioning and awareness brief, creative campaigning and lead generation tactics are also becoming recognisable tools to ensnare the attention of potential recruits.

But an often missed opportunity, and one which should absolutely be marshalled by comms, is a focus on the internal story – that of current employees. An existing team has the potential to be the most powerful group of advocates a business has. They know what it’s like to work for the company, they are experiencing all it has to offer, and they can display the passion and commitment to the parent business, evidence of which becomes yet another way of encouraging new recruits over the line.

Bottling the essence of a strong and engaged internal team can actually be pretty easy, if you’re lucky enough to have a strong and engaged internal team. It’s also near on impossible to fake it. A sensible starting point, regardless, is to listen. Listen to employees, find out why they choose to work for the business, and find out what keeps them happy. It is this, and authentically this, which can make all the difference in the fight for fresh talent.

For Deliveroo, a sensible starting point will be with its existing tech family, and what makes them tick. Is it the salaries, the benefits, the fresh fruit and the foosball? Or is it something else; something which is best delivered – with a little help from comms, and HR – by the tech team themselves?