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Question: In the past six to 18 months alone, several of our staff members have left for IT positions with other companies. At the same time, we're losing people to retirement. Do you have any advice for reversing this trend? It feels like we're always in a situation of needing to hire someone right away to fill a slot.
Katherine Spencer Lee responds:
The difficulty many firms are having recruiting skilled IT talent is largely overshadowing another trend of equal importance: Companies are finding it challenging to keep top IT talent.
Employment conditions are still positive—according to the latest Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report, a net 10 percent of CIOs plan to increase hiring activity this quarter—and technology professionals are taking note. Many IT workers have discovered their expertise is in high demand, prompting them to re-evaluate their current positions.
As you mentioned, the retirement, or pending retirement, of baby boomer professionals also is affecting retention efforts. This generation is just now beginning to leave the workforce, and the trend will only accelerate in the coming years.
Keep in mind that the departure of skilled employees is not only disruptive to a company's short-term operations, but it also can undermine broader business growth initiatives. Turnover can lead to increased stress or even burnout among staff who are required to pick up the slack, as well as weakened morale throughout your entire team.
Examining Your Compensation Structure
Salary is the first place executives should look when evaluating the strength of their current retention strategies. Pay plays a large role in employee satisfaction, and workers who feel undervalued are likely to look for greener pastures. As a result, it's imperative you keep abreast of current compensation trends.
According to the 2008 Robert Half Technology Salary Guide, starting salaries for all IT positions are expected to rise an average of 5.3 percent in 2008. The projected increase is even higher—more than 7 percent—for in-demand positions such as lead applications developer, applications architect and messaging administrator. If you haven't examined your firm's compensation structure lately, you could be underpaying key people, virtually opening the door for them to leave.
In addition to base salary, spot bonuses and financial awards based on performance also can serve as powerful retention tools. These initiatives help ensure your workers feel recognized and appreciated for their efforts, thus increasing their loyalty to your firm and decreasing their chances of exploring employment opportunities elsewhere.
Looking Beyond Salary
Money, however, is not the sole factor that your staff members will examine when deciding whether or not to stay on board. In a Robert Half Technology survey of CIOs, "providing training or professional development" and "offering flexible schedules" ranked as the top steps IT executives are taking to reduce turnover.
IT workers are particularly appreciative of professional development opportunities because the rapid evolution of technology mandates that they keep their skills sharp in order to position themselves for promotions and advancement. In addition, offering employees options for building their skills shows them that your company is investing in their careers and helping them to gradually assume greater responsibility.
The opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology or be involved in the development of a new product can be a huge reward in itself. But efforts to ensure employees remain engaged in their work can extend beyond the traditional realm of IT; members of your department may welcome the chance to join cross-departmental teams that focus on companywide initiatives, such as improving employee communication or exploring the best way to reach new customer groups.
It's important to note that many effective retention programs can come at little or no cost to your firm. Introducing initiatives that enhance the work environment—such as providing flexible scheduling or telecommuting options, and even establishing a corporate philanthropy program—are a cost-effective way to build employee loyalty.
As the IT field grows and the pool of skilled IT talent shrinks, retention will become an ever more important part of business strategy. Of course, you can't stop every good employee from leaving your organization, but you can hone your retention strategies to better your chances of keeping top employees on board for the long term.
Katherine Spencer Lee is executive director of Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis. Robert Half Technology has more than 100 locations in North America, South America, Asia and Europe, and offers online job search services at http://www.rht.com.
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