I’m David Knott. I’ve been working in enterprise technology for over forty years and I’m still learning. This blog is based on mistakes, failures, lessons and some things I find interesting:
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To hire and retain software engineers (and other great technologists): your first steps should be trust and value
Many traditional companies are asking the same questions. Why can’t I hire the software engineers (and other talented technologists) I need? Why don’t they stay? Why do my best people keep leaving once I’ve trained them?
There are a lot of obvious answers to these questions. Talented technologists are in demand by traditional companies and digital natives. Traditional companies are often perceived to lack the brand, mission and feeling of excitement that newer companies have. Newer companies may have different compensation structures.
I believe that these reasons are largely valid. However, I think that there is a deeper reason that is more important: many traditional companies have not yet learnt to truly value and trust their technologists. And I believe that this reason is rooted in the history of how technology functions have evolved in large, traditional companies.