Factors that make a software developer stick to a company

Although we cannot stop any employee from switch but yes if a company can provide/fulfill the listed points then definitely the attrition rate can diminish.


For a software engineer and many other jobs following things are very important


Work

  1. Quality - The type of work/job one is doing. How will it help him/her in future as far as his/her career is concerned.
  2. Pressure - A seasonal work pressure is always good for an employee  but yes a constant work pressure could be a reason for an employee to think for a change
  3. Environment - How well the the team communicates and co-ordinates? The company should work on team building activities to keep team bonding intact. 
  4. Hours - Employees feel more comfortable in working in a flexible working window environment rather than a fixed working environment

Recognize, Appreciate and Reward 

An employee is hungry for recognition, appreciation and rewards. If someone is getting all of these then he/she have to reason to leave the organization

  • Recognize - Mentors and Managers should recognize the key players in a project
  • Appreciate - your key players from time to time to keep them motivated.  Appreciation can be at individual level or at team level. I prefer Team level appreciation because it gives them a reason to feel proud in public and also it motivates other to work harder to get there piece of appreciation.
  • Reward - can be a memento, a trip, a bonus or in any other form but yes it is very important. The amount doesn't matter much but yes it should be useful for the employee

Company Policies

The points we discussed above, directly or indirectly falls under company policy but it should have a wider spectrum. It should not be restricted to Work Quality, working hours there are many other things that a employee seeks from the company

  • Holidays - For the companies in India it is next to impossible to give holiday on every single occasion but yes holidays should be worked out in a way that it provides maximum benefits to the employee. Try to discuss your holiday calendar with your employees before finalizing it.Try giving an extra day off around weekends so that employee can plan a trip or something to rejuvenate themselves. Have provision for optional holidays.   
  • Leaves - Employees should get sufficient leaves in a year such that they should never feel that they are bounded labor
  • Employee Personal Grooming - Yes it is very very important for an organization to work out on seminars, workshops that will help the employee to work on its personal side. Communication Skills workshops, team activities, team outings, recreational activities etc are very useful. Although it should not be mandatory but employees should be motivated to attend such seminars and workshops
  • Suggestion and Feedback - Employees should be motivated to give/share there views and ideas/feedback. It is equally important for the company to work/act on the idea/feedback as long as it is feasible. Employee should never feel that it is a waist to give/share feedback/idea with the company. If worked properly it gives employees a feeling that they are a very crucial for the company, they matter a lot for the company
  • Interaction between different verticals of the company - Business Team should understand that how a software is developed and at the same time the software developers should understand how difficult it is to handle clients
I am sure if an organization is able to work and provide above listed points then employee retention won't be a such a big problem.



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