According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2022, software engineers are projected to switch jobs 57.3% of the time, highlighting a growing trend towards job-hopping in this field. This is perhaps attributable to the surge in appealing job offers with higher salaries, flexible schedules and potential for career growth.
The role of a DevOps professional is crucial in facilitating coordination between different teams in a company. Consequently, the departure of a DevOps team member can have far-reaching effects on the organization. To prevent disruption and ensure a constructive and collaborative team environment, it is important to take steps to retain your DevOps team. Here are some useful suggestions to help you maintain a stable and effective DevOps team.
Avoid Context-switching and Ensure Long-term Ownership
Similar to other software engineering roles, DevOps professionals take pride in their work. However, neglecting long-term projects can lead to burnout and even prompt engineers to leave the organization.
Context-switching can be attributed to one of the most significant factors:
- Ambiguous plans or inadequate communication can lead to confusion and hinder project progress, causing stress for the engineering team and impeding overall advancement. It is crucial to establish a comprehensive plan before initiating any task to prevent such challenges.
- During emergency situations, like resolving a bug or responding to an event, developers must remain focussed on their maintenance tasks, even when dealing with multiple applications.
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend six sharpening my axe.” A statement from President Abraham Lincoln.
In any project, a methodical approach is critical. Achieving success in the project necessitates the implementation of a comprehensive planning process, coupled with effective communication.
Granting developers complete autonomy is the best approach to minimize or eradicate context switching. DevOps professionals should be accountable for various tasks, including scaffolding, Docker containerisation, Terraform configurations, monitoring, alarms and on-call support for their application.
Under the DevOps framework, the software development life cycle can be arduous and time-consuming. To avoid developer burnout, it is crucial to curtail the extent of context switching required in the process.
Ensure Effective Communication Between Your Product and Technical Teams
The product team invested several weeks developing an app’s layout without consulting the engineering team, rendering their inputs superfluous once the final deliverable was presented. As a result, the development team’s efforts were futile.
To prevent such occurrences, it is vital to foster collaboration between the engineering and product teams. Particularly during the design phase, these teams should work in close coordination to ensure smooth application development. By working together, the product team, which analyses market trends and designs the product, and the engineering team, which builds and implements the necessary technology, can reap significant benefits. This approach helps DevOps professionals take charge of the entire process, imbuing a sense of comradery across all the involved teams.
Related: 6 Crucial DevOps Best Practices You Shouldn’t Overlook in 2022
DevOps Teams Must Embrace Agility
Permitting developers to experiment with various approaches could enhance their sense of project ownership. Extended involvement in a single project may lead to disinterest among programmers, thus allowing them to adopt a more innovative approach may boost overall productivity and well-being.
Fostering a collaborative and creative workplace culture can facilitate attracting top-notch IT personnel. It is critical not to overlook the best talent, particularly in today’s fierce market for technology-related skills. Offering remote work arrangements also provides flexibility. Studies suggest that remote workers are more satisfied with their jobs and less likely to quit their positions.
Can DevOps Teams Be Retained From Quitting?
Developers may decide to leave their current positions for various reasons. With the projected increase in global demand for DevOps experts in 2022, developers can choose roles that meet their preferred work-life balance, salary, and career development needs. To retain developers, it is crucial to involve them in decision-making and instill a sense of ownership over their work.
If you’re searching for a reliable DevOps team to manage your project, consider Works Teams. Works Teams aids enterprises in rapidly forming successful software development teams to address their specific product, service, and solution requirements.
