On the Toptal.com site they've posted an article from Fernando Martinez with some suggestions about how to attract and retain software developers. The ideas cover the full range - all the way from the job posting/interview process out to how to keep them with the company and help them thrive in their role.

Management is all about people. Whether managers or employees, both are thinking about how to achieve their personal and professional goals. The combination of these goals and the personal traits of the people involved give shape to relationships that, in time, can be positive, productive, and fulfilling, or sometimes just plain stressful, demanding, and conflict-prone.

[...] This is especially true in managing software developers, because of their job’s technical complexity and creative nature, compressed into often narrow timelines for producing results. [...] In this article, we will focus on the main management aspects, rather than on the technical ones, that we think should be considered by anyone who wants to be successful in managing to retain software developers.

He starts with a look at how to attract and hire the right people for the roles you're trying to fill with suggestions about the interview process and the job offer. Next he gets into recommendations about managing the team itself and the importance of training, organization and communication. The article then goes on to cover other topics like conflict management, keeping up motivation and assigning objectives/follow up.

Cal Evans has posted another in his series looking at the right things to do when writing job posts and trying to attract developers for your company. In his previous posts he's talked about building a good team and getting the jobs page right. In his latest post he talks about a secret to writing the post itself: keeping it simple.

Is your company trying to hire a developer? Are you a recruiter responsible for helping your client hire a PHP developer? Do you have a job post out on the net? Get this one thing right and you’ll find your PHP developer. Yes, that’s the entire secret; keep it simple. Make it easy for us to scan, easy for us to understand, easy for us to figure out how to apply.

He includes a few points to follow to help guide you into the "keep it simple" approach including avoiding "semantically null terms" and listing the minimum skills for the job, not everything you could possibly need.

Rich McIver has provided a guide of sorts for companies out there to help "attract, retain and utilize rock star programmers" for their business:

There are plenty of programmers out there, but rock star programmers? They are few and far between. Learn how to locate these gems and keep them happy with the resources below.

The article is broken up into five different sections:

• Job Sites
• Locating Quality Programmers
• Screening
• Care and Feeding of Programmers
• Other Considerations

There's tons of links under each with some good advice not only for those doing the interview but also for the interviewee trying to land the job.

Rich McIver has provided a guide of sorts for companies out there to help "attract, retain and utilize rock star programmers" for their business:

There are plenty of programmers out there, but rock star programmers? They are few and far between. Learn how to locate these gems and keep them happy with the resources below.

The article is broken up into five different sections:

• Job Sites
• Locating Quality Programmers
• Screening
• Care and Feeding of Programmers
• Other Considerations

There's tons of links under each with some good advice not only for those doing the interview but also for the interviewee trying to land the job.

The Zend Developer Zone has posted their latest episode of the PHP Abstract podcast hosted by Cal Evans himself covering ways you can attract quality talent to your organization.

Along the way I've picked up a few truths, mainly stolen from people like Joel Spolsky. Some of these ideas can be found in an article I wrote a while ago titled "Nerd Herding", a link to which can be found in the show notes. Recently, I've had many people ask me variations of the same question, "How do I find talented programmers?" So today, I'm going to share with you some of the things I've learned.

The latest show is available for direct download or, as always, you can subscribe to their feed to get this and lots of other great shows.

The Zend Developer Zone has posted their latest episode of the PHP Abstract podcast hosted by Cal Evans himself covering ways you can attract quality talent to your organization.

Along the way I've picked up a few truths, mainly stolen from people like Joel Spolsky. Some of these ideas can be found in an article I wrote a while ago titled "Nerd Herding", a link to which can be found in the show notes. Recently, I've had many people ask me variations of the same question, "How do I find talented programmers?" So today, I'm going to share with you some of the things I've learned.

The latest show is available for direct download or, as always, you can subscribe to their feed to get this and lots of other great shows.