A new report by Jellyfish found that engineering teams are shifting more time and resources to work leading to growth and innovation. Despite the numerous challenges engineering teams have faced in the past two years, teams have both adapted and become more virtually collaborative as remote and hybrid work models multiply, and are looking to increase their workforce to continue to push innovation forward. More than 79% of engineering leaders expect to grow the size of their teams in 2022, with 57% of respondents expecting over 10% headcount growth. 

When asked about their highest priorities in 2022, 36% of engineering leaders said improving the engineering team’s operations, tooling and process is their primary focus. When asked to name the biggest challenges this year, 45% of leaders said “making sure everyone is focused on the highest priority work” tops the list, indicating that there will be heightened attention to reducing the volume of unplanned work. Other cited challenges included employee onboarding ramp time, virtual onboarding and hiring.

The data also shows that virtual collaboration increased more than 20% as teams embrace remote and hybrid work models. Leaders reported productivity benefits from this increase in virtual collaboration, with 44% of engineering leaders citing increases in productivity due to remote work.

To compile the findings in the State of Engineering Management in 2022, the Jellyfish Research team analyzed the work of over 23,000 engineers, while surveying hundreds of engineering leaders to understand the current state of engineering management. The survey was conducted in February and March 2022.

Read the full report by Jellyfish.