If you find that your developers are falling behind on the skills needed to keep your company competitive or simply lack the motivation to learn new things, try these simple methods.
Reskilling and upskilling are essential to revitalizing the technology workforce. According to a report from the World Economic Forum , approximately half of the global workforce needs to receive training to adapt to evolving roles influenced by automation and emerging technologies. The report also warns that if the workforce does not acquire new skills by 2025, it could take many years for professionals to prepare for the future of work.
Every day that your teams don't innovate or learn new skills, your company falls behind. Check out the top skills predicted for software developers in 2024.
One of the best things you can do is motivate your developers to learn new skills like the ones above. Consider that the demand for skilled IT professionals continues to increase, and it will be crucial to equip your team with what they need to thrive. With new skills, they can help keep your company competitive as the technology landscape adopts new technologies.
But how do you achieve such a feat? Here are some ways to try to help motivate these developers to learn new skills.
Pay for training
You should consider budgeting and financing strategies for ongoing training. You can send your team to workshops, have them sign up for classes, pay for online training, or hire an expert who can do daily (or weekly) in-house sessions.
One of the problems you may face is that some members of your team do not want to work when they are off the clock. Remember that developers already work a lot, so if you're expecting them to take classes to learn new skills to help your company grow, don't be surprised if they talk about doing it on their own time (and their own money) .
Pay these developers to learn new tricks and let that happen during business hours. Even if it's a “lunch and learn” situation, these developers will be more willing to proceed if they don't have to foot the bill or study outside of work.
Recognize going beyond
Sometimes we get so busy that we forget to recognize who makes things happen. Yes, your development team may be paid a good salary for doing what they do, but remember that recognizing hard work will go a long way in motivating developers.
You want to go the extra mile to recognize developers who have learned new skills to help elevate your products and services. When developers who aren't learning new skills see how often those who are are recognized, they may change their minds and put in the extra effort.
Do not know where to start? Here are some tips for employee recognition that will help you craft a comprehensive strategy.
Deploy new technology to attract developers
This may seem a bit backwards, but if you start using a new technology, your developers might naturally be inclined to learn about it.
Let's say, for example, that your company hasn't started working with containers yet. You may already have some developers on your team who are fluent in YAML and understand how containers work. Instead of waiting for everyone to get involved, start using containers on a small scale.
Faced with perceived competition, developers who are not honing their skills will seize the opportunity, knowing they would otherwise be left behind.
Offer flexible work hours and/or remote work
Sometimes all it takes is demonstrating to your developers that you prioritize their well-being. If you insist on a strict Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-five office schedule, your employees may become exhausted or overwhelmed by the inflexibility of that schedule.
Free your developers from these constraints and you'll find that they'll likely be more willing to acquire new skills. And to add fuel to that fire, allow these developers to choose between working in the office, working from home, or a hybrid of the two.
This kind of freedom shows your developers that you trust them to get their work done, even if they're not under the careful supervision of management. This is a powerful motivating force. We have been advocating for remote work for over a decade and fully understand that this model can be successful with important considerations.
You'll want to make sure you have the proper infrastructure in place to enable this. Your developers working from home may need a little extra hardware to take home to ensure they have everything they need to not only get the job done, but also with a level of security and efficiency that meets the requirements of your business and the sector you serve.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
You probably have junior and senior developers. These categories are traditionally separated by time invested and money spent.
This limited model doesn't rely heavily on customizing your teams. One thing you can do that will go a long way toward motivating these employees is to keep a consistent dialogue open between developers and management so that your developers can express their goals to management. You may find that some software engineers are perfectly happy doing what they do, while others may feel the need to spread their wings and take on different roles.
It's not easy to have career conversations, but as an HBR article suggests, professionals need to proactively start a career planning conversation with managers to paint a complete picture of their ambitions and goals. You may find that low-skilled professionals would like to venture into DevOps, DevSecOps, or management. You may even find that some of these developers want to acquire new skills but don't have the time or haven't been encouraged to do so. Keeping the lines of communication open can make a huge difference in the motivation of your developers.
Make it mandatory
When all else fails, make it mandatory. If you approach this change without making it seem burdensome, you will find that your software engineers will align with the policy and do what is required of them.
It is important, however, that you adjust this according to the culture you have created in your business. Do you make this mandatory only for junior developers or is mandatory skill learning widespread? Are you also offering to pay for training and allowing it to happen during work hours, or are the developers on their own?
If you don't sweeten the deal a little (by paying the bill and allowing it to happen during work hours), you may find that making learning new skills mandatory can lead to a higher attrition rate.
Do this carefully and it could pay off. Handle this poorly and you will have a mass exodus on your hands.
It's all on you
If you're a member of your company's C-suite, it's up to you to make this happen in a way that doesn't scare your teams. Remember, the more skills your developers have, the more your company will benefit. So approach this change wisely and your dividends will be fantastic.
