How To Create a Dev-Centric Workplace and Increase Your E-commerce Sales As a Result

Developers are an extremely important part of an e-commerce business. The problem is, everyone wants them. So how do you find and retain the good ones?

If you are an E-commerce Manager, a CEO, or a CTO associated with the e-commerce industry, you will be aware of how precious your developers are to your team. The survival of an e-commerce business depends on the accessibility and availability of talented e-commerce developers whether that’s in-house or working with an agency.

The demand for e-commerce web developers is growing every day and finding good developers for your team is becoming increasingly difficult. If you are lucky enough to find and employ a developer to your team, you should do everything in your power to keep them.

An expert developer works tirelessly to resolve an online store’s biggest hurdles. Their efforts ensure that shoppers are happy which ultimately leads to increased sales for an e-commerce business.

Just imagine if a shopper was ready to make a big transaction and then there was a technical glitch. With no one at hand to fix this, it will only keep happening and sales will be lost. This proves the importance of constant technological development to ensure a storefront is shopper friendly. 

To attract and retain the best talent for your development team, you need to do more than just pay a competitive salary. 

This article lists 5 things you can do to keep your developers happy and create a workspace that nourishes and strengthens your e-commerce developers. 

Use these techniques to empower them and in return, grow your e-commerce business.

1. Offer a decent tech stack for in-house devs

Developers love trying out new technologies and keeping up with the latest advancements in the tech industry. They want the freedom to work with and learn a variety of tools that are using good code practices and languages.

When thinking about your budget as an E-commerce Manager, CEO, or CTO, it is important to consider their access to smart e-commerce technologies using machine learning, big data, and natural language processing. 

Ask them their opinion on the technology they want to work with and do everything you can to provide it. This will contribute to their motivation and job satisfaction.

2. Acknowledge and appreciate

The role of a developer is very complex so recognition of hard work goes a long way. It plays a major role in employee retention. When your e-commerce developers do something awesome, don’t forget to praise them. If budget allows, consider offering a personalized gift.

Emphasize on creating a positive company culture and appreciate your developers’ hard work. This gesture will be met with diligence and high-quality work for your organization. Eventually, this will translate into happy shoppers.

3. Career progression

Don’t limit your developers’ progression, instead, show support for your developers and allow them to learn new things. They will appreciate the mental stimulation and will become more motivated towards their job and your company. 

Career advancement is a great way to help your developers feel appreciated and part of a solid team. Providing them with more responsibility and challenges can be an incentive for hardworking developers. But, always be sure to increase their compensation by offering them a new esteemed title.

If you recognize one of your Junior Developers is showing traits of a Lead Developer, for example, ask them if this is something they’d be interested in.

A developers Career progression could look something like this: 

Step 1

Junior Developer to Lead Developer and Technical Architect 

Step 2

Lead Developer and Technical Architect to Technical Development Manager

Step 3

Technical Development Manager to the Chief Technology Officer.

4. Flexible working

Most developers will enjoy and take pride in problem-solving and the diversity of work helps to keep them engaged. But, it’s important to prevent burnout. 

As your developers start to prove their abilities and build trust with you, consider supporting them to maintain a work-life balance, showing you care about their well being outside of work. You can do this by offering flexible working hours and giving them the choice to work remotely.

However, it is equally as important to give them access to a team environment when they need to work closely with the product team.

5. Keep your expectations realistic

Time pressure makes developers unhappy. Do not do it. 

As an e-commerce business owner or manager, you must understand that developing smart technology takes time. It takes an enormous amount of planning, commitment and hard work to create something worthwhile.

All developers work at different speeds, according to their expertise and the complexity of the project. Therefore, remember to keep your expectations realistic and know that web development is an ongoing, complex job.

Have you tried any of these methods? Which ones work best?

Take the first step in the right direction by offering your developers a smart search tool such as Klevu. Schedule a demo with us here!