IT managers are staying in their jobs despite growing
evidence that the IT jobs market is recovering and demand for
experienced managers is rising.
The number of IT managers changing jobs has slumped by more than
half over the past 12 months, a study by the Chartered Management
Institute reveals.
Its findings suggest that strong signs of recovery have been slow
to be translated into higher salaries for IT managers.
The survey of 1,000 IT professionals found that the number of
resignations fell from 12% of IT managers in 2003 to just 5% for
the 12 months ending January.
The CMI said the fall could be connected to companies offering only
modest salary increases to new recruits, making it seem less
attractive for IT managers to jump ship.
Although resignation rates had fallen across all sectors, the drop
was greatest in IT.
The survey showed that earnings for IT managers, including bonuses,
only rose 2.6% over the year - from £51,492 to £52,828.
Resignation rates were highest in business service sectors at 8.6%,
and 6.2% in human resources. They were lowest in manufacturing at
1.5%.
Petra Cook, CMI head of policy, said, "It is encouraging to see a
decrease in resignations. If unchecked, they can impact upon the
future strategic development of UK organisations."
IT managers in the chemical industry are currently paid the highest
average wages, earning £55,359, and those in retail only earn
£35,748. Although there were only small increases for IT managers,
their total pay was still well ahead of the average manager's wage
of £42,050.
Despite the low resignation rate, some 33% of the IT managers
surveyed said they were having difficulty retaining IT staff with
the right skills.
And 23% of respondents said they had difficulty recruiting IT staff
with the right skills.