Companies looking for software developers only seek experts assigned to their projects.
After all, would you decide on junior developers, who will use your project to learn new things? Or would you prefer people with experience who choose only the best solutions to complete their assignments?
I bet you, and many other entrepreneurs, would choose experienced devs.
But how do you make sure that company you’re about to work with employs senior developers? Asking for developers’ CV’s is one way. Next, you can evaluate employee development, sharing knowledge, or through mentoring.
Why it’s worth investing in employee development
For us, employee development translates into a better quality of work and delivery.
Investing in employees’ development increases their engagement. This in turn improves the profitability of their projects, a Gallup study reveals.
At the same time, we use it as an opportunity to offer our developers the space to grow. We achieve this by organising mentoring sessions and lecturing. During events, they can share their knowledge, exchange ideas, and collaborate on challenging tasks.
We also try to influence and improve our local IT community by co-organising meet-ups. We also ensure our active participation in them.
For senior developers, this approach also improves the retention rate. These roles not only focus on the project, but also professional development. For this reason, they are more likely to stay at a company and commit to its growth.
Finally, junior developers learn faster, getting inspired and making use of colleagues’ experience.
For our clients, this continuous employee development translates to working with experts. These individuals stand ready to share their knowledge to improve their projects:
“SoftwareHut communicated efficiently and actively works to resolve issues. They’re very knowledgeable and provide expert advice on how to tackle various challenges.” CEO & Co-Founder, Sustainable Travel Startup
So, what activities improve employee development and translate to product success?
Employee development tactics
At this point, it’s clear that employee development is a crucial and necessary step. This juncture leads towards the elicitation of employees’ full potential. It’s also advisable to implement some tactics and solutions to broaden their horizons.
Personal development of employees is invaluable and has a positive influence on performance. However, it’s professional development that plays a key role in increasing competence.
Fortunately, the modern world provides employers with many solutions aiding professional employee development. I would like to describe some of the most popular and helpful ones.
Courses
“Does your company offer any professional courses or training?” is one of the frequently asked questions during job interviews. Many companies invested in professional courses to meet current and future employee expectations.
Happily, there’s a wide variety of options, such as in-house and external training. There are also online courses allowing employees improve skills and expand knowledge.
Mentorships/knowledge sharing
No man is an island. All employees can benefit from knowledge sharing and mentoring, not only the inexperienced. It allows you to consult specialists when in doubt and provides comfort and morale. Two heads are better than one, so imagine the combined potential of a whole team!
Conferences and events
Another brilliant idea to aid employee development is delegating your workers to industry conferences. In SoftwareHut, we delegate our developers as speakers. Thanks to this opportunity, they gain invaluable experience and share their knowledge. However, it is also beneficial to simply participate in such events and to listen to insightful presentations and speeches.
Hackathons
Nothing quickens the pulse and the process of thinking like competition! To stimulate employees intellectually and entertain them, consider a hackathon.
A hackathon is a sprint-inspired event. Its purpose is challenging programmers, developers, designers, and PMs to work together. The objective is to create a prototype from scratch. This thrilling experience is a valuable lesson, and opportunity for ideas. It also ideal for putting teamwork to the test.
SoftwareHut Case Study: SH Speaking
About the program
Many companies understand the importance of employee development. SoftwareHut came up with its original idea to train its employees: SoftwareHut Speaking. It’s an initiative established to teach and improve the subtle art of public speaking. This crucial yet challenging ability is often neglected.
Thanks to SoftwareHut Speaking, fear of public speaking is tamed and reduced. The employees can practice in a stress-free environment and build confidence as speakers. This solution prepares them for future industry meetings. It ultimately allows them to feel comfortable while speaking about difficult issues.
Many lecturers educated by SoftwareHut Speaking gained their initial experience during local meet-ups. These individuals then proceeded to perform in national, and even international conferences.
Who’s involved, how they help each other grow
SoftwareHut Speaking is all about the people and sense of community. The aim is to create a safe space for programmers to improve their public speaking skills. It’s a non-judgemental and helpful group that offers only constructive criticism and advice.
The person who helped us launch SoftwareHut Speaking was Maciej Aniserowicz. He assumed the role of leader using his experience and knowledge to train our employees. As a seasoned speaker, he fostered a community of confident and qualified lecturers. Now we have our own leaders who extended SH Speaking to other offices.
How this improves project delivery
It is foremost beneficial for our programmers. However, SoftwareHut Speaking is successful from a business point of view.
SoftwareHut Speaking improves project delivery, allowing employees to explain issues in simple terms. It facilitates communication and improves the flow of information, reducing the risk of misunderstandings and confusion, and improving inter-employee relations. It is also effective between our company and clients.
Invest in a team that fits your project.
