What types of awards or incentives can I offer our cyber talent to improve retention? Has anyone had success reducing churn with recognition initiatives like that?

Question

Answer

Yes, I am reasonably qualified for the same. Few things that worked for me are as follows
- Flexi work hours/async work hours - Once the story points are decided, we do not call up people to check out where they are. However we do have a tool on company laptop which tracks the productive hours based on our preference
- Curated training path - We assumed a shelf life of 18-24 months for the developer and built around 10 templates for work vs training, proof of concepts and some tangible output while team is learning new things
- Appointment of a happiness officer whose job is to contact people working from home, is part of delivery team and sync up, ensure their personal warmth - family events, kids, parents, schooling, hospitalization and other errands

We did not try to match our competitive salary or over buy from team, our referral candidates filled the bulk of our needs

Answer

1. Career progression initiatives - training sponsorship, certification fee reimbursement
2. Send to conferences
3. Engagement in meaningful work aligned with cyber skills
4. Networking and collaboration facilitation with industry leadership
5. Engagement in strategic decisions of cyber architecture in company
6. Gamification and Hackathon
7. Train the trainer programs

Answer

Education, training, and conference opportunities go a long way. This shows your staff they are valuable and you are investing in their development and success.

Answer

Conferences and upskilling choices

Answer

The first thing to ensure is that the fit is right for the individual and the organization. If that is not correct, there is no incentive that will work long-term.

Treating people like humans rather than automatons goes a long way. This involves flexibility and communication on the management side. Much of our prevailing work culture focuses on "allowing" workers to do certain things, which implies a power struggle. Perhaps empowering employees to do certain things would go a long way.

Tangible things such as recognition are helpful in creating an environment where people want to remain working. It's great to foster a community of teamwork, where colleagues feel comfortable recognizing others for their contributions in authentic ways. Management can begin this process, and encourage others to recognize their colleagues. I make it a practice of acknowledging colleagues, even those not in my department, regularly in our online system. This is generally a welcome surprise.

Being reasonable about time off is important - if someone requests a couple hours off or a half day - I may ask them if they might just take the whole day. What is there to lose?

Also, building professional relationships encouraging growth helps with retention. Showing an interest in someone's career development and trajectory is key. Offer to fund professional growth opportunities or training.

Answer

I'm not sure that awards and incentives will do the job. Most people stay when:
1. They are well compensated
2. They are valued and feel like they are doing meaningful work
3. Their values align with the company culture or vision of the company.
4. There is a development path for them to grow within the company

Other things that help include:
- Great Benefits
- Training Program (Conferences)
- Flexible Work Schedule
- Support and appreciate from their leadership team and team members

What types of awards or incentives can I offer our cyber talent to improve retention? Has anyone had success reducing churn with recognition initiatives like that?

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