InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
May 29, 2000
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IT Recruiting
Demand For IT Talent Grows In The Midwest
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t's not easy to get people to relocate to the Detroit area, but once they get here, they like it," says Dave Bent, CIO at Visteon, the Dearborn, Mich., automotive parts subsidiary that Ford plans to spin out later this year. Detroit-area natives are often reluctant to move elsewhere, which works in Visteon's favor when recruiting locally or trying to retain existing staff.But Visteon has lost "about three or four" people in the last several months to dot-coms on the West Coast, which produces a ripple effect. "Offers from the West Coast drive up salary scales here, too," he says. Visteon has successfully recruited recent grads from East Coast universities, including MIT and Harvard, says Bent. The company also finds success in recruiting former IT consultants who are burned out by frequent job-related travel and "want to settle down," he says.
The demand for IT expertise in the Midwest is great and growing. "A lot of companies in the Midwest came to IT late," says Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, an IT trade group. "Now IT demand is spreading to all companies."
Like Visteon's struggle to get IT transplants to Detroit, getting outsiders to move to Columbus, Ohio, isn't easy, says Tom McFadden, group VP of services and operations at clothing retailer The Limited Inc., which is based in Columbus and has an IT staff of about 750, including 100 temporary workers contracted through third parties. There are 40 to 50 IT job openings at The Limited, and McFadden estimates there are about 900 IT job openings the in Columbus area alone.
"When we get candidates here for an interview, we have to sell them on the area," he says. Some of those local Columbus amenities include short commutes ("there's no traffic"), good restaurants, the symphony, good recreation, and a very clean city, he says. Columbus also gets high ratings for its private and public schools. Also, unbeknownst to most people, "Ohio is No. 1 per capita in golf courses," he says.
The Limited offers a good relocation package that includes temporary corporate housing. Compensation offers vary depending on the person and the position, McFadden says. However, he adds, The Limited will offer signing bonuses, cash, or stock, depending on the circumstances.
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Illustration by Jim Dandy
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