Your business depends on software and most of the time it’s not the type you can simply buy off the shelf. You need custom solutions for specific problems. Or, your company might be in the business of selling software to customers or deploying apps and services that customers and clients use to interact with you.

Suffice it to say, you need developers on your payroll. But not just any developers. You need the best. After all, if you don’t hire the best developers available, how are you going to release the best possible software?

You might have the best of intentions with your releases, but without the means to make them so, you’ll run into trouble. With that in mind, how do you attract the best developers to your company? Traditionally, you offer them attractive salaries and benefits, but any company with the means can do that. On top of which, any company with a bigger budget will always look more appealing.

So, what can you do? Fret not, you’ve got options. Let’s take a look at some of the unique ways you can lure the best developers into accepting an offer from your company.

Encourage Creativity

Developers are a creative sort. They love coming up with unique solutions to challenging problems. However, some businesses would rather their developers follow very specific and carefully planned out paths toward success. A lot of top developers look upon this management technique as too confining.

You should always show potential developers that you encourage creativity. By doing this, you show a certain level of trust not only in their skills but their ingenuity. This might seem counter to how you manage some of your other employees, but many developers will flourish in an environment that encourages them to deliver creative solutions.

Encourage Open-Source Development

When you encourage open-source development, it opens up a world of possibilities for your developers. Yes, you want all of your developers to be committing to those proprietary projects that will directly empower your business. But to give those same developers the freedom to also engage with open-source projects, you show them you clearly understand how the industry works.

This has the added benefit of indirectly benefiting your company. When your developers contribute to open-source projects, your company will very likely, in turn, use that software. At the very least, your developers will hone their skills in such a way that they will bring an expanded skill set to your table. 

So why not encourage behavior that will benefit everyone involved? Plus, it shows your developers you respect the work they do outside of your company as much as the work they do within. And if your developers are working with languages like Java, JavaScript, and PHP, they’re already working with open-source languages.

Offer Perks Geared Toward Their Wants and Needs

This will take a bit of work on your part, but when you’re looking to hire top-tier developers, do a bit of research on the candidates to find out what motivates them. For example, you might have a potential candidate that’s an exercise fanatic. You might offer free gym memberships. Candidates are coffee aficionados? You could work with a micro-roastery and offer their beans in the break room.

Maybe there’s a particular developer you’re looking to hire who’s looking to be able to mentor younger engineers. Or a developer who prefers to work in a more diverse environment.

There are so many ways you can mold your perks to the wants and/or needs of potential top-tier developers.

Pitch Your Projects, Not Your Company

Instead of bragging about what your company does and has to offer, you might find that pitching a particularly impressive project will get you further. Most companies offer the same attractive packages to employees. Salaries, benefits, bonuses, vacation. It’s pretty rote at this point. 

But not every company can woo a developer with a remarkable project. If that’s you, there’s your major selling point. If the project your company is about to embark upon is breaking new ground or raising an already impossible bar, you’ll have a much easier time getting the best talent on board. Why? Developers love a challenge—the more complicated and impressive, the better. 

Allow Flexible Hours, Remote Working, and Open-Plan Office Spaces

Since the pandemic hit, companies around the globe have been forced to offer remote work for their employees. That’s pretty standard fare these days. But if you couple that with flexible hours, you’ll be starting to become a bit more appealing to the best of the best. 

And for those that will have to at least spend some time in the office, you can offer them ultimate comfort coupled with security measures. You’ll at least seem as though you’re paying attention to the current trends. 

Everything you can do to make yourself stand out from the pack will look like a bonus to potential developers.

Offer a Clear Growth Track

Developers want to know the possibility of growth exists within your company. During the interview process, you must show them you have a very carefully laid out plan for this. From junior, senior, and master developer, you need clearly defined roles that serve as a ladder for your developers to climb. 

If developers look at your company and assume their existence will be static, they won’t want to jump on board. With obvious rungs on the ladder (with associated pay increases), you’ll be much more likely to gain the attention of those who are serious about their careers.

Conclusion

You don’t have to follow the leader when you’re looking to hire new talent. In fact, becoming the company everyone else follows will go a very long way to making it possible for you to not just attract the best developers but keep them. Consider some of these suggestions and see how easily they can be implemented. The end results will be worth every second of time you invest.