Overcoming Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Top Tech Talent

It’s no secret that recruiting tech talent in today’s market is tough. Amid developer shortages, fierce competition and rising IT salaries, it’s not too far off to call it a “tech talent war.” 

Let’s be honest: it’s time to call in reinforcements. I’ve worked in the Latin American tech talent industry for 10-plus years and know your frustration. What’s more, reports suggest that the problem may get worse, resulting in a global shortage of 85 million tech workers by 2030. 

While it’s easy to lament the current talent landscape, there’s actually a lot your company can do to tip the scales in your favor. After a decade of working with tech talent in Latin America, I’ve put together some actionable strategies for your business. 

Let’s overcome the challenges of tech talent recruitment by applying some best practices that I’ve seen work firsthand. We’ll go through a variety of Latin America-specific strategies including:

• Strengthening company culture

• Leveraging technology and remote work

• Investing in talent development

• Partnering with a contract recruiter

• … and more!

The Current State of Tech Talent in Latin America

Latin America has a reputation for churning out young, exciting tech talent at cost-effective rates. In fact, hiring Latin American developers has become 286% more popular since 2021 – and it’s a no-brainer why. 

With top English skills, shared time zones and cultural proximity, Latin America is a hotspot for tech talent. Not only has this region generated about $2.75 billion in yearly software industry revenue, but recruiter interest is only growing. 

This year alone, 75% of companies seeking US engineers also recruited from Latin America, marking a massive spike in interest. 

Challenges in Recruiting Top Talent

Despite Latin America’s huge potential, companies still face significant challenges when recruiting and retaining elite tech talent. Given the fierce competition for talent, businesses today are focused on:

• Discovering qualified candidates in the region 

• Accurately screening candidates (especially if they have untraditional backgrounds)

• Attracting top talent (with competitive salary and benefits, for example)

• Showing off the company’s value proposition

• Creating developer-friendly recruiting processes

• Pivoting recruitment practices according to an evolving market

Yet, in my experience, there’s one area that all companies are falling far behind on: retention strategies. Below, I’ll go in-depth into how to unlock the potential of the Latin American software industry by refreshing your company’s retention practices. 

Tackling Challenges With Retention Best Practices 

Often the most effective way to capture skilled developers is to keep those who are  already on your team. After all, 52% of employees claim that managers could have done more to keep them from leaving the company. This is especially true for the tech industry, which has the highest turnover rate of any industry at 13.2%. 

In the end, retaining developers at your company can help you save money from costly turnovers and achieve fuller teams for on-time product development. Here’s how to keep your best developers on board! 

1. Strengthening Company Culture

Challenge: Impersonal or unhealthy culture can put off top talent.
Solution: Build up a friendly culture by thinking employee-first.  

Sixty-seven percent of employees believe culture holds greater importance over strategy or operations – and I couldn’t agree more. When you have a strong culture, your team members will feel like they belong and together they’ll build better products. 

Without a healthy culture, unhappy developers will leave your company in droves. Just consider that 62% of employees quit their jobs due to a toxic company culture.

Recommended Solutions

To build a strong company culture that resonates with tech talent, you should focus on employee-first initiatives, such as:

• Invest in company culture by creating a monthly “culture budget” 

• Design people-oriented onboarding 

• Use transparent communication for better team cohesion 

• Encourage work-life balance through on-site programs (such as  yoga, gaming contests)

• Measure developer happiness through regular surveys 

2. Leveraging Technology and Remote Work

Challenge: Inflexible hours just don’t work for top tech talent.
Solution: Provide both remote work and flexible schedules. 

Remote work is no longer a nice-to-have. A whopping 95% of employees wish to create their own schedules, while 80% want remote work-from-home benefits.  

You can better attract top developers by offering both remote work and flexible schedules. It’s a win-win, as remote work technology can bridge the gap for your hybrid team members located all over the world. 

Recommended Solutions

To reap the benefits of remote work, consider taking these key steps:

• Ensure every developer has access to a workstation and required technologies 

• Set clear expectations for core versus flexible hours 

• Build virtual office spaces where employees can connect 

• Recognize achievements on boards, Slack channels, and others  for employee visibility 

• Create unplugging practices to safeguard work-life balance 

3. Investing in Talent Development

Challenge: Employees will exit if they’re not growing their careers.
Solution: Create a robust, individualized professional development program. 

Nobody likes to feel stuck in their career. If you want to keep skilled developers, you’ll need to help them develop new skills. In fact, 85% of employees consider it “extremely important” for companies to offer professional development. 

For example, the tech company Paragus boosted retention rates by creating a personalized career path for each developer – and you should do the same. 

Recommended Solutions

Some top strategies for providing tech employees with opportunities for growth and development include:

• Develop individual career growth paths for every employee, involving both technical and soft skills 

• Offer an educational stipend to take courses, attend conferences, among others

• Create an in-house mentorship program

• Allow space to pursue passions, pet projects and presentations 

4. Partnering with a Contract Recruiter 

Challenge: Reaching top tech candidates outside of your regional expertise.
Solution: Partner with contract specialists with know-how in capturing top talent. 

Recruiting in Latin America can be difficult for companies who don’t have expertise in the region and aren’t sure how to reach local developer networks, startups, university programs, among others 

That’s where an expert contract recruiter can be crucial to success. Contract recruitment is becoming a popular option, with 55% of companies planning to utilize more contract talent in the coming years. 

Contract recruitment fills a temporary, specialized role with an interim developer, with an eye toward hiring long-term if the talent is a good fit. This is especially important for tech, as the industry has one of the longest time-to-hire averages at 33 days (though it can take much longer for specialized roles). 

Recommended Solution

Contract recruitment empowers companies to get access to expert tech professionals and take advantage of benefits, such as:

• Quick access to specialization

• Cost-effective rates

• Rapid time-to-fill for fuller teams and greater productivity

• Flexible contracts according to needs

• Ability to evaluate potential for long-term fit

In particular, contract recruitment is an ideal option to get your feet wet and discover whether an interim professional is right for your long-term needs. 

Maximize Your Latam Tech Talent Recruitment, Retention

While the tech talent landscape is always evolving, my hope is that these expert-backed retention strategies will help your company keep your best Latin American developers in the long run. Start implementing them today to reduce turnover and better overcome the uphill battle of recruiting tech talent!