As a strategic partner in a company's day-to-day operations, HR needs to understand what drives information technology employee turnover and what can be done to slow it down. That there are 190,000 IT job openings in the U.S. but only seven candidates for every 10 positions makes the retention problem even more vexing.

The main reason IT professionals leave a job is to seek more career development and more enjoyment in work, including being assigned more "interesting" projects, according to HayGroup consultants, which surveyed IT professionals who left their positions within the previous 12 months.

In fact, a January study from Linkage HR consultants revealed that more than 40 percent of respondents would consider job-hopping to the same position elsewhere even for the same pay and benefits if career development and greater challenges were part of the bargain.

Both younger and older workers put career development high on the list of attractions. Enjoyment of work is an important factor particularly for workers under 30, which contradicts conventional wisdom that Gen-Xers are solely concerned with benefits such as vacation, time off and flexibility.

The reasons cited for leaving by more than 50 percent of IT professionals fall mostly into five main categories:

1. Career opportunity
2. Enjoyment of the work
3. Reward
4. Leadership
5. Availability of technology

Little enthusiasm for managing

The Hay survey also reveals that two-thirds of non-management IT professionals report "not being able to get ahead without becoming managers" as a main reason for leaving. One way HR can help sidestep this problem is by developing alternate career paths that allow high-tech workers to advance in ways other than becoming people managers--for example, through such non-management paths as leading goal-specific projects.

According to Vince Milich of Hay's IT effectiveness practice, "It is surprising that technology companies are still not effectively addressing one of the key issues that causes people to change their jobs. With just a little time and investment, career development can become a beneficial part of a company's overall retention strategy." Milich suggests that improving retention requires taking the pulse of the workforce much more often and implementing programs that specifically and enthusiastically address employees' concerns--"especially in the areas of career advancement, enjoyment of work and reward."

More info: IT professionals who worked at mid- and large-sized IT companies and are currently employed by large tech and industrial firms were surveyed. The study was prepared in conjunctions with the University of Houston's College of Business Administration's Information Research Center.

Online: http://www.haygroup.com

This article is from hr-esource.com, an online publication of WEST Group, a Thomson Company. www.hr-esource.com