Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 24 | Page 35

EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

For the past two and a half years , companies have faced an increasing skills shortage brought upon in part by the pandemic . From having to pay salaries that have increased exponentially to meeting the needs of a workforce clamouring for remote and hybrid work , companies have had a myriad of issues to deal with in the recruitment and retention of staff .

In such a tight labor market , particularly for skill sets such as what we require at Neo4j , we have been very fortunate to have a talented engineering team that is well connected . As such , referrals have been a big source of hire for us .
We are also investing heavily in growing our recruitment team , which will enable us to proactively seek out candidates that would be a good fit for Neo4j . Being a technology company , we are also expanding our tech stack and sourcing tools .
We need to look at new and innovative ways of attracting the best talent there is .
feeling and we can then take the appropriate steps to support them as needed .
Employees are the main contributor to the success of our business . It ’ s important that they are supported and looked after . We deliver surprise care packages and have established a work from home stipend to help employees on the home front to assist them with working from home .
This was particularly important during the pandemic where we had to shift to remote working .
We generally have high employee conversion rates once we find the right candidates during the recruitment process but we cannot rest on our laurels as the talent crunch is an issue that is expected to continue for some time to come , and so we need to look at new and innovative ways of attracting the best talent there is .
Employee retention plays a big role at Neo4j as we want to keep our employees happy and engaged , and be able to offer on-going career opportunities to staff .
To mitigate burnout , Neo4j has also added additional holidays , and extended others ( such as in the US , 4th of July and Labor Day ), to give employees a bit more time away from work in an age where unplugging is a perpetual challenge .
From a professional development standpoint , we ’ ve increased the opportunity and budget for external learning opportunities and worked closely with managers to effectively and inclusively lead diverse , remote teams to foster efficiency and a sense of belonging . p
As such , two-way communication between management and staff is essential . We schedule regular catch-ups between employees and managers by using a tool called 15five , which has a check-in feature teams are asked to fill out monthly .
Managers review these and respond accordingly . It gives a great pulse check on how individuals are
NIK VORA , NEO4J ASIA-PACIFIC
VICE-PRESIDENT
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO APAC 35