InformationWeek

September 14, 1998

Executive Report: Beyond The IT People Shortage

By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

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he rules for the intensely competitive game of finding and keeping IT talent are becoming more complicated. It takes more than high salaries and generous perks to attract and retain workers with hot skills. IT professionals are not just out to make a quick buck; they're seeking challenges and growth. IT people want to expand their skills in order to keep their marketability hot and their work interesting.

chart More employers are starting to realize this. They're actively pursuing and implementing programs that help their IT workers expand their skills, as well as their paychecks. The goal for many IT organizations is to be the employer of choice. For some companies, this means starting with the basics, such as keeping closer tabs on salary trends. For others, it means pursuing loftier programs, such as those that aim to help IT people get a keen understanding of how their work helps realize a bigger corporate vision.

IT people are a bit different than other workers, says Sue Towsley, regional director of research and consulting firm Blessing-White. IT people demand more autonomy with their work, yet they thrive on collegial support. If that sounds contradictory, it's really not. "Show me the vision, but give me flexibility and autonomy to do my job" is a mantra for IT pros, Towsley says.

Blessing-White research also shows that as a group, IT people tend to identify their jobs more closely with their profession, instead of with the companies that employ them. That makes it harder for employers to gain IT workers' loyalty. IT professionals can take their skills anywhere and still make lots of money. That's why it's important for companies to work on creating a strong culture of challenge and growth opportunities-and developing a good rapport between managers and staff-within their IT organization.

When it comes to skills development, IT people don't just need to learn the newest programming languages or networking protocols. They need to understand the context of how their work fits into corporate goals. That means offering IT people a chance to learn the business, such as through stints within business operations where they can see firsthand how users benefit from the IT staff's efforts. It's also not a bad idea to help IT people polish their communications skills to make them more productive with users.

Among IT professionals' biggest fears are skills-obsolescence and burnout, Blessing-White research shows. That's why employers need to give employees the opportunity to keep skills fresh and offer work flexibility. The goal should be to pay your IT workers competitively, while keeping them from becoming bored or burned out.

Senior writer Marianne Kolbasuk McGee covers IT services, careers, and workplace management.

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