>>>>>Just to balance all the negativity, I'd like to hear your opinions on what is the most important thing that makes a developer a great developer.
>>>>>
>>>>>Is it whether has
>>>>>- Excellent analytical skills?
>>>>>- Highly proficient with the used tools?
>>>>>- Fast?
>>>>>- Ability to write clear code?
>>>>>- Good communication skills
>>>>>
>>>>>Or perhaps something else?
>>>>
>>>>I think trustworthiness should be in the mix.
>>>
>>>Would loyal be a better description? That would include developers who do not leave when they get a better offer elsewhere ?
>>
>>Trustworthiness and loyalty are different things. A poor developer can be very loyal.
>
>eh. I'm confused. A trustworthiness and loyalty are synonyms aren't they (as you know english is not my native tongue, so correct me if I'm wrong). So why do you think a trustworthy developer is a great developer?

There's a comparison at https://wikidiff.com/loyal/trustworthy (for English, anyways)

>>If a great developer gets what they carefully consider to be a better offer elsewhere, why would they not take it?
>I agree. However from a business perspective it then might not be a great developer.
>
>Let me explain. This is a discussion I had with my business partner. You can hire the best developer in the world, but if it takes 9 months to get up to speed (yes, this what we are looking at) and jumps ship after 12 months, he / she is not a great developer from our perspective.

From a business perspective you don't want a great developer, you want a productive employee, one whose efforts earn you more than it costs to employ them. Maybe a good developer for 24 productive months beats a great developer for 3 productive months.

>>To some extent self-interest is important for markets to operate as we expect. How did you hire that great developer in the first place, and how do you expect to retain their services?
>
>Good point, but it takes two to tango. We have had/have very loyal developers that worked for us for many years, but we've had also developers that jumped ship after 12 months without any notice and time to hand over the project to another. From my perspective, when I'm hiring a new developer I'd like to know whether this is the kind of guy/girl that will jump ship very easily or one that is looking for a more permanent position.
>
>We have made some big mistakes to hire young .NET developers fresh from university only interested to fly away after a couple of months when they found something else and can put our company as a reference for experience. That was a huge waste of money.

My understanding is there has been a global shortage of tech talent for years and it's been especially acute lately as the global economy "recovers". That will exacerbate normal hiring difficulties. And if someone really wants Google or Facebook on their CVs there's not much anyone can do about that :(

Taking 9 months to get up to speed seems extraordinarily long. Just a thought experiment - maybe your product is in VFP and you can only get .Net developers, so it takes a long time to teach them VFP to a proficient level. Is there any way to shorten that? Maybe you could sponsor a course in VFP at a local college, where students could earn credits towards their diploma. Or set up an arrangement where students can get work experience with your company.

If it really does take that long and there's no way to shorten it then I agree, that's a big risk for your business. I've heard of cases where a probation period was used but that would be a tough sell in the current environment. In some cases trades address this through apprenticeships but I have no idea if the Netherlands supports anything like that for tech.

Straight contracting, or short-term employment contracts have also been used but again a tough sell in the current environment and I'm not sure how the Netherlands/EU views arrangements like that.

I believe some tech companies offer retention bonuses to motivate employees to stay, but that runs the risk of quit and stay syndrome. You can Google [tech companies employee retention strategies] for other ideas.

Long ago if you'd had 5 jobs in 10 years, that was extremely suspicious. In tech these days, that's considered normal. That will be the reality for fresh graduates. You might actually have better luck with employees who are closer to retirement, they may have the "longer-term" mindset you're looking for.