About the event
Burns Sheehan hosted an in-person roundtable during International Women's Week, where engineering leaders combined their knowledge and experiences and discussed some of the latest challenges in tech, specifically within leadership roles, as well as explored the practical steps we can take towards encouraging the next generation of diverse technologists.
Date & Time: Wednesday 5th March
Location: Burns Sheehan London Office
This was an candid event, giving our attendees the opportunity to expand their networks and openly bounce ideas off of other seasoned engineering leaders in the tech community.
Moderated by Natalia Baltazar, Co-Founder of SmartShift, we explored:
💡 DEI Refresher: How are you finding the current diversity scene in tech? Are you seeing any great initiatives that you can share with the group? Are there any key challenges you’re still experiencing?
💡 Outcome over Output: How to deliver measurable business outcomes and manage increasing expectations while maintaining focus on business strategy, product alignment, and team leadership?
💡 Measuring Growth Beyond Numbers: What alternative metrics can companies use to define sustainable growth when scaling headcount is no longer the primary measure?
🔗 Check out the summary sheet here
Fostering inclusivity in tech:
- Graduate hiring. Businesses are prioritising senior hires due to market demand and cost-cutting measures, leaving graduates struggling to secure roles. Hiring from programs like Code First Girls helps bridge this gap, providing commercially trained ‘grad’ Engineers.
- Diversity at Senior Level. Without targeted support for diverse mid-to-senior Engineers, the DEI gap persists. As businesses focus on experienced hires, addressing the lack of diversity at this level becomes even more critical.
- Economic diversity matters. This is sometimes overlooked when hiring for a diverse workforce.
- DEI advocacy vs. budget. DEI initiatives like Women Who Go don’t require funding; they need time, awareness, and open-minded supporters.
How to up your game as an Engineering leader:
⭐️Hiring metrics
- What really matters? Are you tracking company diversity to tick a box, or is it a genuine commitment within your business?
- Scaling headcount doesn’t always equal success. What other metrics could you look at? E.g., tracking team predictability.
- Time-to-hire vs. quality-of-hire: Speed is important, but it’s also important not to sacrifice diversity efforts for short-term wins.
⭐️Workload management
- As companies reduce management headcount, leaders face heavier workloads outside of people management, often with an increase in technical responsibilities.
- It’s important for leaders to identify high-impact activities and empower wider members to take the lead on less critical work.
- Companies should periodically review management structure to ensure sustainability and alleviate burnout.
⭐️Team wellbeing
- Be vocal about diversity in leadership, as this helps reinforce the importance of DEI across the company.
- External mentorship programs are a great way to promote allyship.
- Actively support junior team members by empowering everyone to have a voice and influence. Progression is key to employee satisfaction and therefore retention.
⭐️Operational impact
- Companies like Tesco use DevEx platforms to track engineering effectiveness. This is a slightly more expensive option but great for improving productivity, code quality, and team collaboration.
- If your Developers feel heard, there is a much greater chance of retention.
❓How to improve DevEx?
- Implement a developer portal
- Shorten feedback loops
- Promote cross-team collaboration.
⭐️Company culture & decision-making
Engagement surveys vs. real conversations:
- Surveys can be skewed by mood & context—open discussions are often more effective.
- Team health checks must go beyond surface-level metrics.
- If a manager is surprised by feedback, are they really engaged with their team?
- Have consistent & dedicated time to check in on your teams.
To hear more about Grace's advocacy for improving gender diversity in tech, check out her blog below!
If you'd like to hear more and are interested in attending further events, please reach out to Principal Consultant, grace@burnssheehan.co.uk
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