hiring developers & cultivating innovation for agency growth
TRANSCRIPT
HIRING DEVELOPERS & CULTIVATING INNOVATION FOR AGENCY GROWTH@CHRISALVARES
WHY HIRE DEVELOPERS?
WHY HIRE DEVELOPERS?
HelpRetain
Employees
HelpRetainClients
RELATIONSHIPS + PERFORMANCE
CLIENT RETENTION
CLIENT RETENTION
RELATIONSHIPS + PERFORMANCE+ TECHNOLOGY
CLIENTS LOVE TOOLS
CLIENTS LOVE BEING PART OF THE PRODUCT PROCESS
IT’S LIKE MAKING BABIES
USE DEVELOPERS & SOFTWARE TO FILL THE GAP
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
SALARY + CULTURE
SALARY + CULTURE+ DOING MEANINGFUL WORK
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
FOR THE NEW GENERATION, DOING MEANINGFUL WORK THAT RESONATES GOES A LONG WAY.
DATA TRANSFORMATION (ETL) +
DATA WAREHOUSE
EVERY AGENCY NEEDS 2 PIECES OF SOFTWARE
HOW SHOULD YOU DEFINE SUCCESS FOR INTERNAL TOOLS?
USE “PEOPLE” BASED METRICS
IN 2014:
30 OF 40 PEOPLE WORKING ON REPORTING AFTER 6PM
IN 2015:
15 OF 60 PEOPLE WORKING ON REPORTING AFTER 6PM
IN 2016:
1 OF 102 PEOPLE WORKING ON REPORTING AFTER 6PM
HIRE TECHNICAL PEOPLE
HIRE TECHNICAL PEOPLE
15% Engineers 35% Write SQL
HIRING DEVELOPERS
5 REASONS WHY HIRING DEVELOPERS SUCKS
#1 DEVELOPER’S “LIE” ON THEIR RESUME
GIVE THEM A STANDARDIZED CODING TEST
+ CODE REVIEW SESSION
github.com/agencypmg/programmingChallenges
#2 MORE DEVELOPMENT JOBS THAN DEVELOPERS
REDUCE RED TAPE.
CONTRIBUTE TO OPEN SOURCE.
BE A GREAT PLACE TO WORK.
#3 DEVELOPERS ARE EXPEN$IVE
EXPERIENCE IS OVERRATED.
FIND DEVELOPERS LEARNING THE NEWEST TECHNOLOGIES AND CONTRIBUTING TO OPEN-
SOURCE SOFTWARE
#4 THERE ARE A LOT OF BAD DEVELOPERS
HIRE SOCIAL / ENTREPRENEURIAL PEOPLE
FIND “T” SHAPED DEVELOPERS
“T” SHAPED DEVELOPERS
• Lots of General Knowledge in a multitude of fields
• Front End DesignFront End DevelopmentUser ExperienceDigital Marketing ExperienceCustomer SupportBackend DevelopmentMachine LearningPaid SearchSEO
• Specialized, Focused Knowledge in one or two particular fields. T
General knowledge
specialized knowledge
#5 RETENTION RATE IS LOW
GIVE DEVELOPERS OWNERSHIP IN THE STUFF THEY BUILD
INCLUDE THEM IN DECISION MAKING PROCESS
HOW DO I INTEGRATE DEVELOPERS INTO MY COMPANY CULTURE?
FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS
HIRE POSITIVE DEVELOPERS
WHO ARE GOOD BARTENDERS
CONTINUE TO WINE & DINE
DEVELOPERS WITH MARKETING KNOWLEDGE ARE POWERFUL
DEVELOPERS ARE MORE POWERFUL WHEN THEY
UNDERSTAND THE DOMAIN
TAKE AWAYS
- Use developers to build a competitive advantage and work with clients to develop great technology.
- Hire Positive, Entrepreneurial, and Technical People
- Trust & Verify Developer Resumes
- Focus on Solutions, Not Problems
- Train developers outside of development.
Q/A?
@CHRISALVARES