70% of IT leaders would leave their current roles for a raise, finds TEKsystems
Jun 21, 2011 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.
HANOVER, MD – June 21, 2011 – TEKsystems, the nation’s leading services, today announced findings from its quarterly IT Executive Outlook survey, conducted in partnership with the Inavero Institute. Seventy percent of IT leaders say that they would leave their current role for an increase in compensation, while 53% of survey respondents indicate they would leave for an immediate or near term promotion.
In terms of the lowest rated job characteristics, nearly half (49%) of those surveyed say that a lack of opportunity for advancement is the worst aspect of working within their current IT departments, while only 12% of IT leaders say that their companies excel at offering advancement opportunities for their employees.
“The large number of IT leaders who would be willing to leave their current role for a promotion underscores the volatility of the IT labor market, especially for IT skill sets in high demand,” says TEKsystems Director, Rachel Russell. “To keep important IT leaders on staff and motivated, we counsel organizations to frequently monitor the effectiveness of their workforce management strategies. Fair compensation practices and formal career path discussions are keys to morale and retention.”
Training presents another challenge. Only 2% of IT leaders say that their companies are good at training and developing the IT team. “This is an interesting finding,” says Russell, “because the survey also shows that 36% of leaders said that their companies increased the training budget this quarter. Through our experience, IT training is a critical aspect of workforce planning, but easier said than done. Beyond adequate budget, great training involves selecting the right topics, using the right delivery models and building the right reinforcement mechanisms.”
While compensation, promotions and training opportunities are serious considerations, IT leaders express appreciation for other areas of their jobs. Survey respondents say that the best job features are tied between work/life balance (36%), the team (36%), the culture (36%) and the technologies utilized (36%). “We consistently hear this message from the clients and consultants we work with,” says Russell. “Key motivators like advancement, compensation and training are important, but their real motivators are heavily weighted on the softer, more psychological aspects of their work.”
Russell continues, “As businesses undertake increasingly strategic IT initiatives that are central to gaining a competitive edge, IT workforce management should be a top priority. To outpace the competition, it’s critical for businesses to have the best and brightest IT professionals onboard, and to keep them personally committed to the enterprise.”
About the IT Executive Outlook survey:
TEKsystems partners with the Inavero Institute to conduct a quarterly survey of more than 1,000 IT leaders in the U.S. and Canada. IT directors represented the majority of survey respondents at 49%, and IT executives made up 22% of responses. IT leaders represented all industries, regions and company sizes with 55% of responses from organizations that gross $1 billion or more annually.
About TEKsystems
People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals–while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go, the way they want to get there.