Councils are finding it easier to recruit and retain ICT
staff, although top-level pay still lags significantly behind the
private sector, according to a salary survey from the Society of IT
Management.Despite
being the perennial poor relation of the private sector, the survey
of 5,000 IT staff in 140 local authorities revealed that salary
levels have increased slightly since last year.
It also
showed that councils are finding it easier to keep hold of their
staff, thanks largely to the global economic slowdown. Only a
quarter of councils said they had experienced retention problems,
compared with 32% last year and 45% in 2001.
The study,
which was carried out by remuneration specialist CEL, for the local
authority IT directors' organisation, also found that only a third
of authorities had problems recruiting staff, compared with 60% in
2001.
However,
Andy Roberts, chair of Socitm's member services group, warned that
councils should not be complacent.
He said,
"The public sector is enjoying the benefits of difficult conditions
elsewhere - when the economy picks up and competition for skilled
staff increases, the private sector will increase salaries and we
will find our recruitment and retention problems will worsen once
again."
When the
results were measured against CEL's Computer Staff Salary Surveys,
a large gap was still visible between IT salaries in local
government and elsewhere. This was widest at a senior level, where
IT directors earn up to 40% less than their private sector
counterparts.
But it
appears that fringe benefits are an important part of the package
offered by local authorities. The report found that more than 90%
of councils offer flexible working hours and nearly three-quarters
of town halls have a structured training and development plan for
all staff. A quarter of councils surveyed allow selected staff to
work from home.