I have just come across 2 articles on the web based around how to hire the best developers and I think they are both well worth reading. They are great articles, especially like me you are going through a ‘team re-adjustment’ period.
First up is Joel Spolsky of Joel on Software fame, this article is a few years dated but he makes a bunch of great points. Joel explains that making the workplace friendly and eliminating obstacles in the working day, and making your team feel wanted are the keys. I agree, especially as money isn’t always the number one motivator for people when looking for a job.
One thing I spend a lot of time trying to work out is making life as easy as possible for a developer. Things like having a machine they don’t have to wait for, one that’s trouble free and they don’t have to spend time installing things. Utilities and plugins that I find I evaluate first and then recommend if I feel they could be of benefit.
I love helping people and if I find something that I can do that will make my developers day easier – therefore they can spend more time coding – then I am on to it.
Secondly, and more recently, is an article by Frank Wiles and in his article about the high cost of low quality. This is a subject I have come across more than once. I have had a few teams of three or four developers and one of them is ‘de-hired’. While this is sad, especially if they are a good guy, you start to think that you need to hire a replacement.
Over a period of weeks though you discover that the former team member actually created as much work in bugs, re-work and other tasks, as they actually performed, thus making the rest of the team less effective. This is where I agree with Frank.
