Superfluous headhunters?

Many IT employers fail to find suitable applicants for an advertised position, you write in your book. What are the reasons?

Frank Rechsteiner: Many companies present themselves much better in recruiting than they actually are in their day-to-day work. Newly hired employees are soon blindsided when they discover what the "great working atmosphere" and the "exciting customer projects" really mean. They rightly feel lied to and deceived.

What should IT employers do to avoid having to offer such "cheat packs"?

Rechsteiner: The first thing to do is to work consistently toward improving corporate culture and personnel management. To this end, I present a six-point plan in my book.

It contains numerous recommendations for action to implement guidelines that will help employers attract even the most demanding IT specialists.

These tips are backed up by numerous studies, practical examples, and interviews that I conducted with business leaders, managers, and HR executives from the IT industry.

What specific recommendations does your six-point plan contain?

Rechsteiner: It is very important to give employees the greatest possible personal responsibility and room for self-realization. After all, knowledge managers like IT experts cannot be managed "top-down"; they need autonomy.

Likewise, employees should be developed and deployed specifically according to their strengths and preferences. After all, this not only spurs the growth of the IT specialists, but also their own value creation.

One company that consistently acts according to this strategy is the PC manufacturer Dell with its "Dell Plan 2020". One building block is "Thematic Employee Teams," which have commonalities in terms of gender, nationality, ethnic origin, lifestyle or other interests.

The goal is to release creative forces because each team member can contribute his or her own perspective and world of ideas.

How does an IT employer manage to do away with bureaucracy and hierarchies, as you go on to call for in your book?

Rechsteiner: In my day-to-day work, I repeatedly come across IT companies that are paralyzed by administrative routine and silo thinking - even though they belong to one of the most innovative industries.

IT providers should make use of their own resources and also initiate the digital transformation internally as soon as possible. This not only helps to streamline processes and mobilize employees.

Departmental and knowledge boundaries are also disappearing as new structures emerge that are geared to actual operational requirements.

What are the benefits of your six-point plan for culture-based IT recruiting?

Rechsteiner: Companies that have aligned their culture according to clear guidelines and thus built a distinctive employer brand can specifically search for applicants who fit their own values, norms and attitudes.

It has long been proven that job placements can only be successful if, in addition to the professional suitability of the candidates, the cultural fit is also taken into account.

What should employers consider when implementing culture-based recruiting?

Rechsteiner: They must have the management behind them and make it clear to all stakeholders in the company that without a sustainable, unique work culture, they are lost in the battle for the best talent: Your culture is your brand.

Only those who take this fundamental cause-and-effect relationship into account and establish a clear code of conduct in their dealings with employees, customers and business partners can achieve a decisive competitive advantage in recruiting.