Retention
of IT staff
Retention
is no longer the major issue it used to be in IT, where every IT function
seemed to have a permanent retention crisis on its hands. This is because
IT headcount has been largely static, so the imperative not to 'leak'
people has been lower, and of course rivals' recruitment activity has been
very muted. Result: low levels of unwanted staff turnover.
Nevertheless,
retention is an issue in IT - especially in circumstances where staff are
needed in the short term but not in the medium term. The best example of
that is in the run up to offshoring or
outsourcing specific jobs. In these
circumstances crude tools like the retention bonus are often used to keep
staff until a specific date.
More
generally, however, retention is creeping slowly back onto the broader
agenda, as the market tightens and recruitment activity levels ease
upwards.
One
of the interesting aspects of staff retention currently is that it
requires a good career proposition. And good career propositions are not
universally available from IT functions today. The proposition for trainee
entrants may also differ from those offered to experienced workers.
Companies
that are offshoring and outsourcing are finding it quite challenging to
construct career propositions that convince sceptical workforces, but this
is vital to their long term success.
