With the persistent low unemployment rate in the engineering sector, it remains a candidate’s job market. Companies must be strategic to attract and retain top talent. While competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits will always be important to employees, other factors carry increasing weight in their career decisions.
Particularly since the pandemic years, engineers highly value workplace culture – that intangible yet powerful element that shapes how a company treats its employees and stakeholders, and how everyone interacts with and supports each other in the workplace. Beyond job satisfaction, a positive culture empowers employees, supports engagement, establishes a sense of belonging, and fosters loyalty – all of which increase retention. And, retention is critical in the engineering field. It goes without saying that open roles are costly and difficult. But, further, the company-specific knowledge and technical expertise of long-term employees can significantly impact a company’s bottom line and success.
A thriving company culture doesn’t just encourage current employees to stay – it attracts top talent to apply. As candidates search for companies that align with their personal values and career goals, they pay particular attention to a company’s culture as demonstrated through its job postings, online presence, and branding. Engineering candidates are keen to work for companies that have an attractive, robust culture.
Company culture can be a bit elusive to define and create (or refine). To build an engineering culture that’s appealing to candidates and current employees, it’s important to understand what workers value in the workplace and the best strategies to develop a culture that will drive success on every level.
Defining Company Culture
The term “company culture” has become a buzzphrase in the corporate world. But what is it, exactly?
Sarah Edwards aptly describes company culture as:
as an organization’s shared values, behaviors, standards, and practices. In many professional circles, business executives define it as simply “the way things are done” in the workplace. Others call it a workplace’s “personality.” It drives everything employees do, from how HR interviews candidates to how discipline and accolades are doled out.
As Edwards hints, not all companies intentionally shape their culture; for many, it’s simply the way they do things. However, crafting an authentic company culture will ensure that you attract and retain those employees who “fit” well and contribute to your company’s success.
The Impact Of A Strong Engineering Culture
A strong, intentional company culture is important for every business. However, those in the engineering sector should take particular care to shape their culture into one that specifically meets the needs of engineers. There are certain things that engineers value very highly in the workplace including purpose-driven work, autonomy, and collaboration. Highlighting those values in your culture will have a significant payoff in terms of recruitment, retention, and the overall success of your company.
Improved Employee Satisfaction
Engineers who feel valued, empowered, and supported in the workplace are happier. That happiness usually translates into higher engagement, a stronger sense of loyalty to the company, better retention rates, and a positive impact on the company’s bottom line.
Increased Productivity
When engineers are happy at work and have access to the types of support and work environment they prefer, they’re usually more committed to their roles and the company’s overall success. An environment that encourages collaboration, innovation, continuous learning, autonomy, and flexibility is one in which most engineers thrive.
Higher Retention Rates
When a company intentionally creates a positive culture that targets the workplace wishlists of engineers, turnover rates are lowered since employees are happy and less inclined to leave. Higher retention creates cost savings since there are fewer costs associated with recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training. Additionally, the stress of filing open roles in a sector with a low unemployment rate, and the impact on morale when other employees have to pick up additional work, is alleviated. Finally, the knowledge and skills that are specific to your company are retained within your company, which can only benefit your bottom line.
Enhanced Employer Brand
Companies with strong, positive engineering cultures naturally have an employer brand that’s attractive to top engineering talent. As awareness of that brand is shared through word-of-mouth, online reviews on platforms like Glassdoor, and the company’s own initiatives (e.g., website testimonials and social media posts), the company becomes more attractive as an employer to both active and passive candidates. As a result, recruitment costs may be reduced and the hiring process may be shortened.
The Components Of A Strong Engineering Culture
Creating a positive engineering culture requires that employers understand what engineers most value in the workplace. Broadly, most engineers thrive in environments that empower them to innovate, collaborate, and grow. To create that environment, employers should focus on a few specific concepts.
Open Communication
Generally, engineers appreciate environments where ideas and concerns can be freely shared, both between colleagues as well as with those in the C-suites. Open and transparent communication is key to fostering trust, collaboration, and innovation in a company culture that supports engineers.
Continuous Learning And Growth
Opportunities for learning and growth are key to a workplace culture that supports engineers. Continuous learning is critical to harness the world’s rapidly evolving technology and ensure it’s effectively and beneficially applied in the workplace.
Further, learning is critical to career growth and advancement. A company that places a high value on learning is investing in its employees and preparing them for career advancement. Employees – and especially engineers – will value employers that provide those opportunities.
Flexibility
The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for many to re-evaluate their work/life balance. Remote and/or hybrid work and flexible work hours allowed people to enjoy life away from the work site more fully. Despite return-to-office mandates at many companies, employees continue to value and seek that newly-discovered balance.
Because unemployment in the engineering sector is low, engineers can be selective about the companies they work for. Offering a key incentive like flexible work arrangements is critical to attract and retain top talent.
Recognition And Autonomy
Many engineers thrive in environments where autonomy is encouraged. Taking ownership of their work, and being acknowledged for success in that work, motivates engineers to be creative and innovative.
Collaboration And Inclusivity
Collaboration is often key to innovation and problem-solving, which are key tasks for engineers. A culture that values teamwork and diverse perspectives within the team is attractive to engineers and beneficial to the company and its bottom line.
Suggestions For Building A Strong Engineering Culture
Creating a positive, strong engineering culture has several benefits. However, intentional effort does need to be made to create it; it won’t form organically. Companies need to consider what engineers value most in the workplace and thoughtfully design an environment focused on those concepts. This involves creating policies that support open communication, continued learning, flexibility, recognition and autonomy, and collaboration and inclusivity. There are several actionable steps that can be taken to achieve this.
Establish Clear Values
Start by defining the core values that drive your engineering team and your business. Whether it’s innovation, diversity and inclusion, or sustainability, these principles should drive the way you approach all aspects of your business from recruitment and retention to performance metrics and daily operations.
Invest In Continuous Learning
To stay on top of industry trends, foster innovation, and support engineers, continuous learning opportunities must be offered. Providing access to in-house learning through mentorships and external professional development like online courses, certifications, and industry conferences can meet the needs of engineers and help the company stay competitive.
Promote Work/Life Balance
An optimal work/life balance is high on the wishlist of many engineers. But, a healthy work/life balance for employees benefits the company too by preventing burnout and ensuring that employees remain productive and motivated. In addition to flexible work arrangements, consider offering generous paid time off, mental health supports, and wellness programs.
Foster Autonomy And Ownership
Encouraging autonomy and ownership empowers engineers and often leads to greater innovation, engagement, and job satisfaction. Being able to oversee the delivery of their projects fosters accountability and provides a feeling of accomplishment.
Build Inclusive And Collaborative Teams
Diversity and inclusion are key to creating strong, innovative engineering teams. By prioritizing diverse hiring practices and creating policies that support diversity and inclusion, companies can introduce fresh perspectives that can further drive innovation, problem-solving, and success.
Provide Meaningful Recognition
Meaningful recognition is important in any workplace but engineers thrive on acknowledgement. Shoutouts, awards, and bonuses can inspire a sense of pride, which can boost morale, motivation, productivity, and job satisfaction. In addition to recognition from leaders, peer-to-peer recognition programs can be quite valuable, allowing employees to feel seen and celebrated by their colleagues.
Solicit And Address Feedback
One of the best ways to show that you value your employees is to ask for their feedback and address their concerns. When they feel heard, trust is solidified and engagement will likely increase. Whether provided in person, via surveys, or anonymously, feedback should always be considered and acted upon where possible.
Creating an engineering culture that attracts and retains top talent requires a thoughtful approach and an ongoing commitment to creating an environment where engineers can thrive. By focusing on open communication, continuous learning, flexibility, autonomy, and inclusivity, companies can foster a culture that attracts the best talent and keeps them engaged, productive, and happy.
