In Minnesota, our unemployment rate is 3.3%. And for creative & digital talent, it’s basically at 0%.
It’s an employee’s market for sure.
I’ve been a part of over a hundred SAP projects, and at Mindset, we screen thousands of SAP resources annually, are consistent supporters of Minnesota ASUG, run SAP innovation meet-ups, write SAP books, speak at Sapphire, Tech Ed, and dozens of ASUG chapter meetings — so, we know a thing or two about what drives talent in our community to move jobs.
The other insight to remember: there are a few extremely talented SAP resources on a project that drive nearly all of the results. It’s your goal to recruit as many of these people as possible, letting you relax, have fun, and run a smooth project.
Here are the top five ways to land the best SAP Talent in MN:
- Move fast on the latest SAP trends. Even if it is a POC or Pilot. Top talent wants to stay as the top talent, and to do that they must always be working on the latest and greatest software. This could be S/4 HANA, Fiori, SAP Cloud Platform, IoT, Mobility, the latest Success Factors, or anything else, but it should be pushing the envelope. Make it part of your standard process.
- Work in a great location, in a great office. The days of IT professionals being socially awkward and anti-social hiding in a cubicle in the basement are over. Geek is the new chic! 🙂 This creative class will much prefer a cool place in the North Loop, Downtown, or near great restaurants, than a high paying job in the exurbs. If it is out there, make it fun at least?
- Setup an accessible, flat organization, where people can make fast decisions. There is nothing more demoralizing to top talent than to have put in the work to make a great decision or a great solution and have it stopped because of an overly structured organization that is playing telephone and politics. Move fast, trust your talent. I can’t stress this enough, I’ve spoken with hundreds of individuals over the years that quit bloated or slow organizations.
- Bring in talent from all types of sources, and pay them quickly. Some talent (especially incredibly experienced talent) organize as independent contractors for certain tax advantages. They will never want to become a w2 employee, and that’s okay! Sometimes you need the person with 18 years of experience troubleshooting obscure BADI’s and not trying to work a career ladder. Note — don’t let your procurement team beat them up on payment terms, they are not your personal bank, they are just great at their job. And just because paying them comes through an invoice and ACH, as opposed to payroll and ACH, doesn’t mean you can’t still invite them to happy hour. 🙂
- Have a clear and long roadmap, and make a commitment. Even if you have a hybrid of employees, contractors and consultants, people want to find a nice home for at least a few years. A promise of consistent great work, innovation, and growth is 10x more important than high pay.
You’ll notice above I didn’t mention money or benefits as a top reason? When you actually talk to the best of the best, as long as pay is fair, that stuff doesn’t really matter. These people are driven by excitement, learning, impressing, and the desire to have a profound impact on a company.
So what are you waiting for, go get em’!
Please comment if you think I missed anything, or would like to debate any of the points — I’m always interested to hear another opinion.
Cheers,
Gavin
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