Twenty five per cent of businesses are having difficulty
retaining IT staff following a surge in demand, a study by research
organisation Computer Economics has revealed.
Of the 300 organisations questioned, 40% said their biggest
problem was finding staff with specialised skills and 38% said they
were struggling to recruit IT staff because of a lack of suitable
candidates.
Fifty per cent of those organisations experiencing staff
retention problems were public and voluntary sector organisations,
Computer Economic’s Fringe Benefit Survey 2005 revealed.
The survey found that 90% of organisations are actively
recruiting in all areas of IT, including development, technical
services and operations/customer support, compared to 80% in
2004.
This mirrored the findings of the Computer Weekly/SSL Survey of
Appointments Data and Trends, which showed that electronics,
communications and retail companies as well as the public sector
have all stepped up their recruitment of IT staff.
The survey found that recruitment is highest among banks, financial
services firms and IT suppliers.
More than 50% of all the organisations polled by Computer
Economics said job insecurity had been the biggest factor in
retention problems as people felt unsure of the future of their
role. Competition from other organisations was the second biggest
reason companies failed to hang on to staff, according to 41% of
organisations.
Employers are using perks in an attempt to keep their employees.
The average cash bonus was £5,771 a year, although this amount
varied by sector.
But the provision of company cars has fallen. Only 25% of IT
managers were given a company car, compared with 30% last year,
although other IT managers received cash for car allowances
instead. Trevor Morriss, reward management consultant at Computer
Economics, said benefits had little or no bearing on attracting
staff to a job.
Demand surges for IT staff >>