More than half of some 1,200 IT professionals surveyed intend to change jobs in 2010, according to recent data, which shows that the main drivers for high-tech workers to seek new employment are better career opportunities and more monetary compensation.
Retaining IT talent critical to post-recession recovery
“A full-time hiring revival is underway. This month, job postings for those coveted positions on Dice jumped 20% month-over-month, while contract positions were flat. In order to add permanent staff, companies must have confidence in their business outlook — and that’s exactly what we are starting to see. And, there’s no doubt where companies are looking for the fresh talent: your employees,” wrote Tom Silver, Dice senior vice president of North America, in a company report.
Statistics from high-tech employment expert Dice and its Dice Retention Survey released this week show that a majority (51.3%) of IT professionals polled would leave their current employer as the economic recovery gets under way. The number one reason why these high-tech workers would abandon their positions is the belief that better career opportunities exist elsewhere. Coming in second to opportunities was a desire for increased compensation, and IT professionals indicated “frustration with lack of recognition” as the third reason they are looking to put their skills to use for a new employer.
Other reasons cited for the job searches include working with new or emerging technologies — a desire perhaps driven by companies’ need to halt projects during the recession — as well as a fear that their positions may be outsourced, which could come from months of cost-cutting efforts on behalf of their employers. And some IT professionals said the fact that their employer was underperforming in the industry would push them to leave.
All this data, according to Dice, could make 2010 the year that many IT professionals leave their current employer for new work elsewhere. As more companies list job openings, these high-tech workers are realizing their skills might be better put to use somewhere that they could get adequate compensation and recognition. And one thing driving the move will be high-tech recruiters that seem keenly aware of unhappy IT workers and more than happy to dangle higher salaries to potential candidates to get them working with their clients.
More than two-thirds of high-tech workers polled for the Dice Retention Survey said they had been contacted by headhunters since the beginning of this year. More than one-fourth think it would be easy to some degree to find a new job. More than 30% say their department has experience higher “voluntary departures” this year than in 2009. And nearly 85% of IT professionals polled said their employers this year have offered no incentives to deter a move by them to another company.
The survey data also points to the fact that employers might be completely unaware of their dissatisfied IT staffers. Fifty-three percent of those polled by Dice said they don’t communicate their unhappiness on the job to employers. Forty-two percent they would want more money to stay with their employers, and for more than 90% of IT professionals, a salary increase of between 6% and more than 20% would be required to convince them stay with their current employer if offered a new position elsewhere.
All these statistics add up to trouble for employers who cut past the fat into lean muscle during the recession of 2009. For one, the IT talent in-house at most companies now hold the critical skills needed to help the business recover as the economy returns. They own a wealth of knowledge specific to their industry and their employer, in particular. And managers that forgot in the panic of stalled projects and budgets cuts to recognize and reward their employees could find themselves in more pain in 2010 as demands from the business to ramp up IT services increase and staff resources flee for better opportunities.
“The resurgence of full-time hiring only amplifies the challenge of retaining top technical talent. While more compensation goes a long way, creative and individual solutions may be necessary to keep the right mix of technical skills at your company — instead of your competitor,” Dice’s Silver concluded in the report.
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