As the economy starts to bounce back, talented IT professionals are getting ready to explore the job market.
The recession proved to be an exhausting challenge for IT managers of large financial services organizations. The daily stress of downsizing and project delays made it difficult to keep projects on track and meet the company’s technology goals. Yet, talented managers have persevered and delivered through tough times. So why, now that things are just starting to settle down, are they considering a change?
Top performing employees who excelled under challenging business circumstances may not view their performance so much as a victory, but as mere survival while options were limited. Managers who picked up the slack during downsizing could be the first out the door as the economy strengthens. Your most valuable employees — those who held things together during the recession — may well be looking for a change as new jobs become available.
“As the economy starts to improve, one third of workers say they will look for a new job. Similarly, almost one third of employers are concerned about losing their high-performing workers.” According to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, a growing number of workers are dissatisfied with their current pay, work/life balance and career advancement opportunities. Increased workloads, longer hours and fewer resources add up to frustration in the workplace. During the recession, many employers were forced to make difficult, though necessary adjustments to headcount, resources, compensation and overall strategy. Those cutbacks have taken their toll and companies now need to look at how they can mend the employee-employer relationship.
Turnover is expensiveWhen employers ask “how can we attract and hire the most talented employees?” we suggest that equal focus be given to “how can we retain our most talented employees?” The financial implications of losing a talented employee are substantial. Researchers have estimated the cost of employee turnover to total anywhere from 30% to 150% of an employee's annual compensation. This is in addition to the hidden costs associated with possible project delays and disruptions in team-based work environments.
Hiring is on the rise!!National surveys show hiring on the rise. A survey of Chief information officers (CIOs) expect to increase hiring in Q4, according to the latest
Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report. In August, 2010 highlights of a CDW IT Monitor national survey reveal:- “Half (50 percent) of IT decision makers at the corporate level anticipate increased IT budgets in the next six months, up one percentage point since June 2010. This is the highest figure in this category since October 2008.”
- “Twenty-one percent of corporate IT decision makers expect to hire additional IT staff in the next six months, down one percentage point from the June CDW IT Monitor.”
- “Nearly half (46 percent) of corporate IT decision makers expect increased IT budgets for discretionary IT projects, an increase of two percentage points since June 2010.”
In a Q2 2010 Monster.com national survey, The IT Hire Intelligence Survey showed that 78 percent of responding companies have plans for hiring IT positions over the next proceeding six months. Companies will add IT positions to keep up with expanding workloads and to implement projects that were shelved during the recession. Talented IT professionals, who have been boxed in for years due to the economy, will have many more opportunities in the strengthening labor market.
On the local front, Massachusetts is among the top states leading the labor market out of the recession. Since January the state has added jobs every month and in just the past six months, 60,000 jobs were created. Mass High Tech magazine relates, “At least five of the state’s largest tech employers… plan to boost local head count in 2010.” Our relatively strong recovery is partly because the local economy is based more on technology, health care, and education, and less on construction, housing, and consumer goods, which were hit the hardest by the recession. As a result, the state’s key industries are in a better position to rebound and we’ve already seen several of the state’s largest technology employers boost local head count this year.
Another positive indicator is the rise in technology contract hiring. This month, an eWeek.com article entitled, IT Contract Work Is Up, Permanent Hiring Slowly Increasing, states that, “ Technology contractors appear to be seeing the best growth rates in hiring.” Companies who need to hire, but are shy to jump in, are testing the waters with contingent workers. Once they feel confident that their business uptick isn’t just a short-term spike, they’ll look first to their temporary workers to fill vacancies.
The last indicator is that IT recruiting agencies have been receiving more job requirements from their clients and have been hiring more recruiters just to keep up. With the demand for top notch IT talent already on the rise, companies are increasingly faced with the challenge of retaining their most valued IT Staff. A local IT Staffing executive urges his clients, “Don’t underestimate the difficulties your employees have gone through during the recession and the temptation to start fresh, somewhere else. Identify your key team members and determine what they require to stay. Work with them to see if the company can accommodate their needs . . . Don’t be afraid to enlist the advice of a trusted staffing agency. They can be a valuable resource to you when it comes to retention, providing valuable input as to what your competitors are offering.” Retaining your key IT talent will be a challenge, but is well worth your time and effort.
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