CompetingCompeting for Software Designers

As the trend toward paperless business transactions moves forward, Docutrend Software is positioned for success. Docutrend helps their clients eliminate paper use by automating their business processes. The company has recently developed a new software system that gives Docutrend an advantage over their competitors as it can be adapted to fit a variety of different types of clients. The company now faces the challenge of getting a solid staff in place to help sell, customize, and provide service for the new software for the company$$s growing client base.

Docutrend has been in business for two years and currently has just $17$ employees working on a variety of software applications for clients. However, expected demand for this new software application will require significant growth for the company. Docutrend will likely double in size in the next six months, and add even more employees by the end of the year. A majority of the new hires will be the software designers needed for the new software application. As the company Recruiter Carrie Steward begins the recruitment process, she knows that compensation is an important consideration in order to fill these important positions.

In addition to software designers, the company needs to hire additional support staff. These hires will include customer service representatives, marketing and sales professionals and administrative staff. But recruiting the software designers is going to be the biggest challenge. The job market for software designers is very competitive. Docutrend is located in a geographic area that is penetrated with software development companies. As a result, Carrie will need to consider how to make the opportunities at Docutrend attractive to potential hires.

Carrie must carefully consider what the company$$s competitors are paying when determining the pay policy that Docutrend should pursue for the new hires. She knows that it is necessary to at least match the competition. If Docutrend sets pay that lags behind the competition, they will specifically have a challenge attracting talented software designers. But Carrie is not sure if it is sufficient to match the pay of the company$$s competitors. Docutrend is a fairly new company and she is concerned that top software designers will not be attracted to the opportunity unless the pay is higher than competitors. However, as the compan for Software Designers

As the trend toward paperless business transactions moves forward, Docutrend Software is positioned for success. Docutrend helps their clients eliminate paper use by automating their business processes. The company has recently developed a new software system that gives Docutrend an advantage over their competitors as it can be adapted to fit a variety of different types of clients. The company now faces the challenge of getting a solid staff in place to help sell, customize, and provide service for the new software for the company$$s growing client base.

Docutrend has been in business for two years and currently has just $17$ employees working on a variety of software applications for clients. However, expected demand for this new software application will require significant growth for the company. Docutrend will likely double in size in the next six months, and add even more employees by the end of the year. A majority of the new hires will be the software designers needed for the new software application. As the company Recruiter Carrie Steward begins the recruitment process, she knows that compensation is an important consideration in order to fill these important positions.

In addition to software designers, the company needs to hire additional support staff. These hires will include customer service representatives, marketing and sales professionals and administrative staff. But recruiting the software designers is going to be the biggest challenge. The job market for software designers is very competitive. Docutrend is located in a geographic area that is penetrated with software development companies. As a result, Carrie will need to consider how to make the opportunities at Docutrend attractive to potential hires.

Carrie must carefully consider what the company$$s competitors are paying when determining the pay policy that Docutrend should pursue for the new hires. She knows that it is necessary to at least match the competition. If Docutrend sets pay that lags behind the competition, they will specifically have a challenge attracting talented software designers. But Carrie is not sure if it is sufficient to match the pay of the company$$s competitors. Docutrend is a fairly new company and she is concerned that top software designers will not be attracted to the opportunity unless the pay is higher than competitors. However, as the company is only beginning to grow, she is not sure if the company can afford to lead the competition.

Question. What pay policy would you recommend? Why?