How to win the title of the most desirable employer in a competitive market?

Dalia PetuškienėMarketing & Communications

Devbridge, a US programming services company, whose main clients are in Western Europe and North America, had the greatest part of its talented employees gathered in its Lithuanian offices. According to Viktoras Gurgždys, the company's Vice President and Head of Lithuania, it is the strong team, international projects, and a high level of social responsibility and transparency that earned the company the title of the most desirable employer this year.

According to the CEO, the company's focus on impeccable product quality and the development of a strong expert base has allowed it to grow from a team of just a few people into one of the world leaders in software development.

"Our key driver of growth is our community of more than 700 professionals who are committed to helping our clients see business processes through the prism of innovative digital product development. At the end of 2021, we concluded one of the largest transactions in Lithuania, which took place on a regional scale and involved many countries. Devbridge partners have become part of Cognizant Softvision, which develops customized digital products on a global scale. We continually plan for active development and investment in employee well-being, but we also strive to maintain strong business momentum and focus on product development to help our global customers achieve the desired results," the manager revealed. V. Gurgždys.

Strong Employees Attract Talent

Since opening its offices in Lithuania in 2011, company employees have become the most important element of successful activities. Experienced professionals are the ones that help attract new talent and promote company growth.

"Our business model is quite simple - the stronger the people we have, the more talent we can bring in later. The market in which we operate is small. Professionals know each other, so they easily assess what kind of team we have. People want to work with talented colleagues and implement complex projects. Therefore, one of our main challenges is to build a team that shares the same values as the organization and that wants to work together to help the business achieve its strategic goals. When seeing strong future co-workers, people realize they'll receive all the support they need, and at the same time, they will be able to make bigger and better decisions. This also leads to further growth of the employee. However, the company must also be a stable, yet fast-growing organization with professional people that operate in a promising market, ”V. Gurgždys emphasized.

Title Motivates to Do More

According to V. Gurgždys, a strong team of managers and colleagues is what motivates professionals to join Devbridge today. However, high salaries, working conditions, the organization's growth rate, revenue, and interesting projects also stimulate interest in the organization.

"Our consistent growth has been driven not only by our employees' excellent work but also by the increasing complexity of our business challenges, which are forcing us to constantly change, thereby enabling us to be globally competitive. Creating a good atmosphere within an organization requires a great deal of individual effort on the part of each manager, daily. Whether it was the crisis in 2008, when we were just starting in Chicago, a prolonged pandemic, or the sale of a business, we have always felt a great responsibility to our team. We understand that our people not only work with us, but have families, create their own well-being, and have all sorts of obligations. So every time we think that mistakes and wrong decisions can have irreversible consequences, we are even more motivated to think about how we can continuously strengthen our business, so that people not only progress and receive an income, but also always feel safe. I believe that this approach and individual attention to the employee helps us to distinguish ourselves in a competitive market and has contributed to the most desirable employer's title, "V. Gurgždys emphasized.

The Most Desirable Employer 2022 ranking analyzed all Lithuanian companies that had an average of at least 20 employees in 2021, were profitable, and submitted their 2020 financial statements on time to the Centre of Registers. Companies were ranked according to job stability, wages paid in the company, and an assessment of the company's reputation.

"This is not the first year that we have seen such intense competition among the contenders for the title of Most Desirable Employer of the Year. The fact that the best are changing only proves how difficult it is to both win and retain this title in these economic conditions. For several years running, the Most Desirable Employers have been selected based on objective, publicly published criteria reflecting job stability, pay, and the choice of potential employees, while only profitable companies are eligible to apply. Thus, all those who apply for this title can objectively assess their chances of being among the best in Lithuania", said one of the competition's organizers, the INVL Investment Management Group representative, Head of Retail Services Dr. Dalia Kolmatsui.

Business Needs to Grow Talent

According to the company's Vice President, technological progress, IT sector development, and rapidly growing customer expectations are increasing the demand for new employees, so we need to look for ways to secure the demand for specialists in the near future.

"We are actively educating not only future professional programmers but also helping to prepare people from different professions to take on new career challenges. The free Sourcery Academy, initiated by the company, has so far taught participants the basics of coding not only in Lithuania but has also been used by students from West Africa, and a coder's academy in Poland was launched in the spring of last year. It is expected that the learning program, developed and perfected by Devbridge professionals in Lithuania, will not only help to prepare young people for the global labor market but will also broaden the theoretical knowledge that they have acquired on their own," V. Gurgždys said.

According to the CEO, the company has been actively investing in non-formal education for children in Lithuania for the last ten years, as well as in students and adults who want to change their profession.

"It is estimated that by 2030 the worldwide shortage of IT professionals could reach more than 4 million. As such, we must attract IT, professionals, not only in Lithuania but also in neighboring regions. We need not only to expand the scope for seeking talent but also encourage more IT companies to invest in training young specialists, as only in this way can we contribute to improving the image of the technology sector worldwide," says V. Gurgždys.