Booming market is increasing IT staff turnover

New technologies are creating both opportunities and challenges in the IT job market, according to new independent research commissioned by specialised recruiter Robert Half.

More than seven in 10 (71%) Australian CIOs say voluntary employee turnover — defined as employees freely resigning — among permanent IT professionals within their organisation has increased over the last three years, with one in five (20%) saying the increase has been “significant”. Only 3% say that it has decreased.

With reports suggesting the number of IT workers in Australia will increase from 600,000 in 2014 to 722,000 in 2020, IT professionals are being presented with increased opportunities to move to more lucrative roles.

31% of IT employees leave organisations within two years or less, according to the research.

The research, which surveyed 160 Australian CIOs, reveals voluntary IT employee turnover is highest in large organisations (83%), followed by medium (77%) and small organisations (52%).

Of the CIOs who say voluntary employee turnover has increased in the past three years, the top five reasons are: more IT job opportunities in the market (46%), poor career progression prospects within the company (41%), concern over company performance and fear of redundancies (36%), poor work-life balance (34%) and a desire for more diverse career experiences (32%).

“The technology market is booming, creating an abundance of opportunities for talented IT professionals as companies increasingly adopt new technologies that require specialised skill sets to manage them,” said Robert Half Australia Director Andrew Morris.

“Losing top performers can negatively affect a company’s bottom line in many ways, from reduced productivity and staff morale to increased recruitment and training costs, as well as the loss of company knowledge and experience, highlighting the need for companies to have a proactive and well-developed staff retention strategy,” Morris added.

“Whilst exploring new career opportunities is the prerogative of the individual employee, IT employers can take certain steps to reduce staff turnover by listening and addressing their employees’ concerns before they escalate.

“Regular salary benchmarking, providing challenging projects and career progression opportunities as well as employee recognition are all effective retention measures,” he said.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Sergey Nivens

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