How To Hire For Your Tech Workforce Without Technical Knowledge

It’s common to feel unsure about the steps to take when hiring for your tech workforce if you have limited technical knowledge yourself. According to recent statistics, 1 in 4 tech workers are hired without the right technical skills for the job. This highlights how challenging tech recruitment can be.

Nevertheless, if you have no technical knowledge due to being a HR professional or a non-technical professional in management, you will still be able to build an effective recruitment process with the right guidance, leading to you successfully hiring tech workers for your company. So, grab a cup of tea and take a look through my tips for hiring a tech workforce without technical knowledge, and feel confident in your next tech hire!

Tips for hiring a tech workforce without technical knowledge

This year, around 62% of organisations have reported a significant skills shortage, and with ineffective tech hiring procedures in place, many businesses will not know how to solve this problem. Below are some best practice tips and tricks for hiring a tech workforce as a non-technical professional.

Identify your team needs

Understanding the exact needs of your tech workforce is crucial to making a good hire. It’s the first step in creating an effective tech recruitment process. You might like to consider whether you already have an employee that you can train or upskill to fit the role, in order to save on hiring costs. However, if it is an urgent need that is business critical, you will likely need to undertake a hiring campaign to swiftly fill the skills gap.

Understand requirements for the role

As a non-technical hiring manager recruiting for a tech role, you need to do your research to understand what you need to look for. This means going a lot further than a job description, which just contains the job title and a list of required / desired skills and experiences. You should consider confirming with the candidate’s prospective manager the following aspects of the role:

• What tech is involved in the role?
• What projects will the candidate work on in the role?
• What is the team culture like the candidate will be entering?
• Does the candidate need management experience with extensive people skills or do they need to be someone with a strong technical focus that will get the job done?
• What projects/sector should the candidate have previous experience?
• What opportunities for career progression are there in the technical / wider team?

The exact questions to ask will depend on whether the role is on a contract or permanent basis and the urgency of the skills gap within your tech workforce.

Hire a contractor first

Recruiting a contractor who is open to moving to permanent work after a fixed term period as a contractor to prove their value, is a low-risk option for organisations that have minimal technical knowledge. Employing a contractor for a short fixed term period could also support your operations as you prepare to hire a full time professional.

Post on technical job boards

Technical specialist job boards are a must if you are considering hiring for your tech workforce without technical knowledge, or without the help of a technical recruitment agency. These job boards will have their own candidate pools of technical professionals, many of whom prefer to use them over the more generic and increasingly saturated job board sites which cater to all sectors and industries. This can help you limit the chances of your job adverts being applied to by individuals who are completely wrong for the role.

Use your technical team to your advantage

If your new tech hire is entering an already established tech workforce, make sure to involve the existing team from the outset. This can include checking job descriptions and interview questions with them, or even inviting them to sit in on interviews. The more you can introduce candidates to their potential work colleagues/ managers, the better your chances of finding someone who fits in well with the team and wants to join your business. Then, if you are hosting a team social or company event in the lead up to the candidate joining your business, invite them along to say hello and bond with their new team.

Include assessments

Assessments are an integral part of any efficient tech hiring process. They are particularly pertinent for managers without technical knowledge. Psychometric tests can be important in assessing a candidate’s personality, soft skills, strengths and weaknesses and how they would approach certain scenarios.

Other assessments, such as skills assessments, can be particularly important and valuable for non-technical hiring managers. Skills assessments can be provided by a recruiter, third party provider or in-house. They test a candidate’s competencies in the skills you are looking for.

By using both types of assessments can be a great addition to any tech workforce hiring process, as they ensure that any new hire is skilled, but will also work well in the team and the business.

Ask to see portfolio work

For certain roles, technical professionals will have portfolios or examples of previous work. If you are a non-technical professional, a portfolio can provide you with examples to evaluate a candidate’s suitability for your role, making it easier for you to see what they are capable of. They can be used alongside skills assessments to ensure the candidate has the right competencies needed for the role.

Use a technical recruitment agency

Technical recruitment agencies are not only experts in recruitment, but also have the technical knowledge and expertise to effectively hire for technical roles.

Some technical recruiters are generalists, which means they have a solid understanding of IT infrastructure across business operations and how this connects with tech workforces and the impact of individual roles. This knowledge can translate across multiple specialisms and be of great use to any business, especially individuals trying to hire without technical knowledge.

In comparison, other recruiters are vertical market technical specialists. This means they have their own technical niche and specialise in a certain technical area. This can allow them to really delve into and then deliver exactly what you are looking for. Depending on your situation internally, if you are hiring without technical knowledge, understanding what kind of vertical technical recruiter you need to assist you might be difficult, which could mean a generalist technical recruiter is more helpful in these situations.

Tech recruiters who have solid technical knowledge will often be able to shortlist candidates quicker to find the most suitable ones. This reduces your time to hire, saving you money on the recruitment process. They will also pre-vet the candidates, as well as carry out a first stage interview. This way when you interview the candidate, you will be confident that they have the right skills your team needs.

VIQU is an award-winning IT recruitment agency, which helps to support many organisations and hiring managers to secure the tech workforce they need. We can help to improve your processes, attract fantastic professionals and successfully hire the talent you need for your organisation. For more information, click here.