To hire in government IT, cover the basics, but promote the meaning of your mission
Back in February I wrote about talent attraction and retention in government. It’s a growing hot topic in #GovTech circles as the Boomers retire and lots of younger professionals (Gens X, Y, and Z) have pursued more popular and often more lucrative jobs.But it’s not hard to figure out how to make GovTech jobs attractive.
Longtime tech and management pundit Bob Lewis covered this (indirectly) in a recent column titled Human performance — the essence of IT effectiveness. Bob’s short list to cover:
- Leadership
- Staffing and skills management
- Compensation and rewards
- Organizational structure
- Team dynamics
- Culture
Meanwhile, for anyone hiring in GovTech, all this boils down to doing 2 things well.
- First, make your jobs worthy of professional attention — ensure your culture, compensation, titles, and growth options are covered well enough, like any employer. Get all the basics right, and you won’t have to fully compete on compensation. (Indeed, you probably shouldn’t even try.)
- But second, lean hard into promoting your public service mission and the positive impacts your team brings to your local or regional communities.
People want money, sure. But they also want purpose and meaning (not to mention autonomy and mastery). Take the money issue off the table (just barely) and focus instead on your “why.” You’ll attract candidates better suited to building the culture you need, they’ll stay longer, and the truly inspired ones will help you innovate.
If employees do okay in pay and benefits, but get a chance to make a meaningful difference, you’d be surprised how many folks would be delighted to join your GovTech team.
