For the tech workforce, turbulence is nothing new. Now, AI has become another driver for change.
“We had job reductions in 2022 because we saw the financial environment change with interest rates. With the subsequent reductions at the start of 2024, you heard a buzz about keeping headcount low because of anticipated benefits from AI or technological advances,” said Grant Thornton Technology Industry National Leader Andrea Schulz.
Many tech workers now expect AI to take some or all of their jobs. In our latest State of Work in America survey, 41% of tech industry respondents said they were concerned about being replaced by AI this year. Only 28% expressed that concern in other industries.
In all this turbulence, it might seem like tech workers would have prioritized job security — but they haven’t. Instead, they want to move up.
Move up or out
The top reason that tech respondents joined their current organization (apart from benefits) was the opportunity for advancement. To them, advancement ranked higher than base pay — and 73% of tech respondents say they are now pursuing internal advancement, versus 56% in other industries.
Rather than worry about AI, tech workers want to move up ahead of it.
“Tech is actually built upon disruption and rapid change,” Schulz said. “The workforce at tech companies is all too aware of that. Unless they evolve, they could be rendered irrelevant and completely disrupted out of a career.”
“I think a lot of engineers are becoming very aware that the developments in generative AI and AI offerings could disrupt entry-level coding jobs,” Schulz said. “People are seeking to be trained, so that they can master some of the technologies that are emerging right now and make sure that they don't find themselves being automated out of a job — that's where the advancement opportunities really are at the forefront for this industry.”
In fact, if tech workers can’t move up, they might move out. Industry respondents listed “Lack of advancement opportunities” as the top reason they would leave their current organizations.
So, how can tech companies use their advancement opportunities to recruit and retain the best talent? “As AI creates some career disruption in tech, think about how you articulate, ‘The AI tools we're using are going to supercharge you, rather than replace you,’” Schulz said.
Companies need to show how new AI tools empower current roles, and how those roles can have big opportunities and impacts. “The biggest thing is job architecture,” said Grant Thornton Growth Advisory Services Senior Manager Jesse Leder. “Have an architecture set up so that people understand how their career progresses and how it impacts company goals.”
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Make big impacts
The tie between specific roles and the company’s goals might seem granular, but it’s important in this industry. “Tech tends to be more startups, and people who are passionate about the company growth,” Leder said. “There is more interest in how the company plans on progressing. That’s something people look for.” Often, they find it — our survey’s tech industry respondents are more likely to say they understand their contribution to the organization.
The best tech industry workers have a passion for succeeding along with the company. To recruit and retain the most valuable skills, show people that they aren’t just doing a job — they’re contributing to a larger success. “It’s no longer just that ‘You’re being hired for this position,’” Leder said. “You're being hired for this position, but you also want to know what's coming up in three years. Recruiters should have that as a baseline: ‘You're in this position now, here are the skills you need in three to six years, and here's where you could be.’ People want that information.”
“That’s going to be a big part of the story going forward,” Schulz said. “Companies need to say that they have opportunities for your advancement, and that advancement needs to have opportunities through training. Employees at tech companies are seeking out training so that they can remain competitive and relevant in the market.”
Train from anywhere
Leder said that companies need to communicate the training they offer, even if it’s not delivered in-house. “It could be that you get $2,000 every year to do independent training. If your company doesn't have some form of training, the best people are going to overlook your company. They want transparency about training and advancement up front.”
However, training can be difficult to quantify and communicate. “A lot of what training involves has been on-the-job learning,” Schulz said. Plus, many companies have struggled to find on-the-job training models that translate to remote work. The technology industry has many remote roles, and our survey shows that technology companies are still expanding those opportunities.
Leder explained, “That’s been a huge gap for the hybrid or remote workforce: How do you get that on-the-job training when you don't have someone sitting over your shoulder or at the desk helping to prompt you?”
Training, like software development, is an area where AI technology offers some adaptive solutions. “AI copilots are helping to enhance training within organizations, to overcome the remote work issue,” Schulz said. “By being able to engage your company's copilot, you can access a more authoritative source on your company's unique facts and circumstances. That helps facilitate and direct training, and helps to supercharge more of the workforce for those advancement opportunities.”
When it comes to class-based training, AI can assist in other ways. “AI can help to determine what training needs to be applied,” Leder said. “One aspect is: How do you progress in your current job? Based on the things that you do day-to-day, AI can assign you some classes — or, vice versa, if you’re interested in an area, it can assign classes to help you learn something new.” When tech companies integrate AI in training, they can empower people to take charge of self-service planning and development.
AI-driven training also helps to identify your company as an innovator, and tech workers want to be part of innovation.
Improve benefits
“People who are looking for top jobs in the tech industry are motivated by companies that are at the forefront of what they offer — not followers, not even fast followers, but actually leading in the innovative ways that they offer an attractive environment,” said Grant Thornton Growth Advisory Services Senior Manager Alon Avdi.
“It's so competitive among the top companies that the best employees take a hard look at — not just the compensation and advancement, but also at the benefits,” Avdi said. Schulz said that many tech companies have offered stock-based compensation to both recruit and retain their workers. “Those options typically vest over a four-year term, which creates a stickiness that boosts retention,” Schulz said. “But now, we have investor pressure to avoid dilution through employee equity incentive plans, and to maybe throttle back on those incentive benefits.” So, what are some innovative benefits that companies can offer instead?
“Often, tech companies lead the charge in saying, ‘Let's try this,’" Schulz said. “We’re now seeing four-day work weeks and other creative experiments where companies are saying, ‘If we're going to attract and retain people, we need to have differentiators.’” Sometimes, those innovative approaches can help address multiple needs.
Schulz said organizations can foster alternative development paths for their innovative talent, letting employees try other work arrangements, areas or roles. Teams might be allowed more time for exploratory work. “It’s allowing digital talent to thrive,” Schulz said.
There can be another advantage to these innovative arrangements, especially for technical specialists who want to advance without moving to a managerial role. “It’s decoupling some of the typical things that are asked of people when they move up within a company, like taking on a lot of managerial responsibilities,” Schulz said.
“It’s a way of saying, ‘We're going to give you an opportunity to advance that is separate from managing people. Your advancement is going to continue to focus on driving innovation, doubling down on your technical development, allowing you to thrive and grow separate from that managerial aspect.’”
In the highly competitive tech industry, your top talent can determine your speed of innovation. Empower your workers with AI and give them the chance to show you what they can do. When you tie their success to your company, they want to drive your company’s success.
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This Grant Thornton Advisors LLC content provides information and comments on current issues and developments. It is not a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter covered. It is not, and should not be construed as, accounting, legal, tax, or professional advice provided by Grant Thornton Advisors LLC. All relevant facts and circumstances, including the pertinent authoritative literature, need to be considered to arrive at conclusions that comply with matters addressed in this content.
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