According to Bloomberg, the demand for software talent is increasing rapidly in Canada. As of 2017, Toronto was the fastest-growing market for tech-jobs in the world, creating more jobs than San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington. Increasingly competitive packages are being offered to software engineers in the current market, which has had a negative effect on cost-conscious startups hoping to hire the same type of talent.

Scout Technology Guides is both a small company and a proud employer of bright talented individuals, and we achieve it through culture. At Scout, our culture shapes how we do things, and how we do things shapes what benefits talented individuals can get from working with us.

1. Investment in leadership skills
Small companies often pride themselves in seeing their employees as people, rather than cogs in the machine. Scout goes one step further – we see potential leaders in each employee. Kris Garbet, service manager at Scout notes that Scout goes so far as to treat each employee as an engaged voice in deciding where they want to go. People are given the opportunity to co-create their career path in conjunction with the team and are empowered to be accountable for their goals by working with a career guide. Matt, CEO and founder of Scout, says that he sees building leaders as one of Scout’s main purposes. This is particularly important for high achieving technical talent because it is easy for them to be seen as executors rather than leaders in larger organizations. With concrete leadership skills and experience behind the high-quality technical talent, individuals can increase their market value exponentially.

2. Exposure to broader work experience
Working at a smaller organization inherently means you have your hands in more pies, as the saying goes. What makes Scout unique is that we actively situate ourselves at the forefront of relevant technology, and actively encourage collaborations and learning. For talented people working at Scout, or another company like it, this allows individuals to learn and develop at a rate more rapid than their counterparts in large organizations. This ability to learn more in a shorter period of time is a comparative advantage which can distinguish one individual from everyone else.

3. Better work-life balance:
Scout Technology Guides prides itself on being a great place to work; part of being a great place to work means that personal time and fun are respected. In the words of Shane Garner, a systems administrator at Scout, “we get the job done, but we have fun doing it.” Monthly pub nights and quarterly team outings are an integral part of the culture at Scout, and time outside of work is respected and encouraged. Scout Technology Guides believes that a good work-life balance allows each person to bring their best to the job.