How to Source IT Engineers for your Digital Health Projects

The IT recruitment market is challenging. Post-COVID, more people were leaving their jobs than ever before. The great resignation saw employees job-hopping, with higher expectations from their employers. They preferred the convenience of flexible working, and were more willing to search for jobs that offered this. 

Not only that, but the US job market and the IT market are facing labor shortages. As mentioned, employees are demanding more from their workplaces. The IT market is lacking developer talent, as tech businesses continue to grow at a faster rate than workers are becoming qualified. 

As a result, IT companies have had to expand their search, and provide candidates with better offers. This has led to a lot of movement in the tech recruitment industry. So, how do you source and retain IT engineers for your digital health projects?

Remote

As mentioned, tech employers have to offer their engineers more than competitors in order to hire them. In the post-COVID landscape, more employees expect remote working as standard. 

Tech development can be completed remotely. Therefore, it’s important to provide this option to candidates where possible. 

However, hiring remote workers doesn’t just benefit the employee. It’s important to widen your search where possible, as hiring real developer talent is such a challenge.

Advertise remote positions where possible, and open up your search globally. Take advantage of the potential talent that other countries have to offer, and don’t just advertise in your local area. Ultimately, as long as your employees have the right equipment, they can carry out their duties anywhere. 

Sourcing IT engineers for your projects will increase the variety of expertise within your company, and help you to find talented candidates that you would not have otherwise scouted. 

Varied Projects

Similarly, IT engineers have higher expectations of their work duties and their projects. It’s important to keep employees engaged in their work. Developers are keen to work on a variety of projects, rather than the maintenance of one solution.

Since their skills are so in demand, many IT engineers can choose positions that suit them. Development companies can offer a variation in the workday, as engineers can transfer projects within the company. Ultimately, engaged employees are more productive, and retention rates are higher for businesses that can keep up with developer expectations. 

Ensure that variation is clear in any job advertisements, and during candidate interviews. IT engineers will seek positions that test their expertise and offer new experiences. 

Flexibility

Flexible working is becoming a critical part of the work industry. The standard 9-5 is less common, as many believe that it no longer provides maximum productivity.

Workers are searching for jobs that fit around their lives. This is the case in most industries. However, where remote working is possible, it should be encouraged. 

Provide a flexible work environment for your IT engineers. Provide clear KPI’s and targets for each team, and each team member. As long as targets are being met, it’s not especially important which hours your staff are working. 

The world is more connected than ever before. IT engineers might be working with team members in countries from across the globe. What working hours or days suit one employee, might not work for them all. When sourcing developers for your digital health projects, be as flexible as possible about working location, days, and hours.

Up-to-Date Tech Stack

The digital health industry continues to expand and evolve as a result of the pandemic. The industry showed steady growth, but suddenly the world needed new health tech solutions in a changing world.

Digital health firms had to adapt quickly, and work to create the newest innovations in the space. During the pandemic, tech like telehealth, mHealth and wearables skyrocketed in popularity. Ultimately, the nation began taking their personal health into their own hands where possible. 

To recruit the best IT talent, your projects need to offer the opportunity for expanding knowledge and career progression. Your project needs to work with up-to-date tech stacks within the industry. Show that engineers grow with your company, and that you invest in their training and career knowledge. 

Company Culture

The culture of a company is important to all new hires, no matter the industry. Your engineers need to feel comfortable at work, and feel secure in their roles. It’s important to create a positive company culture for your development projects. 

Encourage open communication at work, and ensure that all employees have opportunities for progression. For many workers, simply having a good holiday allowance and sick days is an improvement from their previous roles. 

A good company culture increases employee retention, productivity, and happiness, and can even help you to find new talent. If your engineers are happy, they are more likely to recommend you to others in their field. Generate a positive brand image as an employer to source IT talent in a limited market.

Digital Health Expertise

Finally, while it is challenging to recruit IT developers, specific skills are important in the digital health industry. Many tech solutions require standard programming knowledge, and an understanding of tech development.

Digital health projects require an understanding of the industry, not just the role. Health tech solutions are built for a variety of reasons, but many are relied on for the care of patients. In some cases, lives rely on digital health solutions. Therefore, they need to be reliable. 

Your IT engineers ideally should have experience in the digital health space. Developers with experience will understand projects quickly, and what skills are needed to complete the build. 

Compliance is also critical in digital health development, compared to other IT industries. Developers with experience in digital health will understand the risks involved in dealing with patient data. They might be HIPAA certified, for example. 

HIPAA certifications and compliance experience are particularly desirable, as compliance breaches can be extremely costly, and damage the reputation of a development company. 

At Vertrical, we understand the challenges of recruiting in the digital health industry. That’s why we have teams of IT engineers based around the globe, with the experience and skills to adapt to a variety of health tech projects. Our developers are ready to get started on your next project, so get in touch with us today.