Photo by on Brands&People Unsplash What do developers want? Big bonuses? The latest iPhone? A new watch? Whilst few people would say no to free swag, we think it takes a lot more than ‘stuff’ to create an engaging working environment for developers in 2022. Why keep engineers engaged? 1: Retention The current market for developer talent is fierce, and only expected to grow with the global talent shortage expected to hit . Further to this, according to a massive 74% of developers are currently open to new job offers. If your developers are not engaged and enjoying their work, they could be leaving the nest for pastures new in no time, all at a cost to your organization. 85.2 million by 2030 Stack Overflow 2: Performance According to , engaged teams are 21% more profitable and 17% more productive. Any tech team that wants to be high-performing should have an engagement plan in place to ensure developers are in an environment that allows them to do their best work. Forbes It’s clear that retaining and getting the best out of your team’s developers has never been more important. But what metrics matter when looking to incentivise developers in 2022? Photo by on Japheth Mast Unsplash What metrics drive developer engagement? Using objective frameworks such as Google’s can be a significant driver in incentivising developers to improve performance. DORA framework At Adadot we believe the ultimate set of developer metrics can be split into three key sections; work, wellbeing, and collaboration. 1: Work Making it easy to know what ‘good’ looks like is massively motivating. Without this, we run the risk of leaving our development teams to work in silos in a conveyor belt style, shipping code but not knowing why, or how effectively they are doing so. to bake rigorous scientific theory about developer performance into their working environment. We recently wrote a blog about how Zoopla use the DORA framework Making these metrics transparent is also vital, and something that Gitlab does really well. They publish all their on their website so anyone can see them. This takes the power of metrics away from hidden rooms full of management and puts it in the hands of those on the front line of development. Not only does this make performance and benchmarks universally clear, but it also allows people to understand the wider purpose of those metrics, showing what they ladder up to and why. team performance stats So metrics can be useful, sometimes. However, every action has a counterreaction, and the same applies here. We’ve all experienced a pushy salesperson, who has been incentivized through a bonus scheme where they get money for each sale made. This will typically see sales go up, but customer satisfaction goes down due to the focus on sales rather than service. Are our metrics sending the right signals to our developers? Or are we driving short-term productivity at the expense of their wellbeing and, ultimately, their long-term productivity? 2: Wellbeing Stack Overflow did some research into developer engagement, and whilst competitive remuneration remains the number one concern for developers at 70% of respondents, work/life balance is not far behind at 48.3% of respondents. The need for greater focus on wellbeing is clear, and that shouldn’t stop at your HR department, it should extend to the way you measure performance too. The doesn’t stop at work alone, with burnout and work environment being key components. DORA framework Adding these dimensions to the metrics you use to encourage developer performance ensures you’re recognising the right working behaviors; shifting the means of enhancing performance from increased hours to increased efficiency. 3: Collaboration Strong collaborative practices are also key to developer team success, and therefore developer engagement. However, again using DORA as our Bible, we acknowledge that metrics aren’t everything here. Ensuring you cover the softer side of collaboration through effective retrospective sessions that capture continuous improvement ideas from developers is important, ensuring their voices are heard and the team ‘ ’ accordingly. This further lends itself to ensuring your developers are empowered to be self-organizing and given the autonomy they need to excel, moving away from any hint of command and control management to more Agile servant leadership approaches. inspects and adapts The rest is down to you, we give you the data and levers to pull, you just need to choose which ones to pull. This article was first published here.

Google

2022 - All About Teamwork

2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Developer Tools

2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Devops

2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Git

2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Github

2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Leadership

2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Slack

2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Solidity

2022 - Software Developer of the Year

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Slack

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Git

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Developer Tools

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Devops

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Solidity

Nominated for 2022 - All About Teamwork

Nominated for 2022 - Software Developer of the Year

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Github

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Productivity

Too Long; Didn't Read

In your car, at home, or at work — Bosch technology shapes many areas of life.

3 Non-Monetary Ways To Incentivise Your Developer Team

3 Non-Monetary Ways To Incentivise Your Developer Team

Too Long; Didn't Read

Company Mentioned

Alex Harris

About Author

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN...

3 Non-Monetary Ways To Incentivise Your Developer Team

Too Long; Didn't Read

Company Mentioned

Alex Harris

About Author

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN...

RELATED STORIES