4 Key Strategies for Retaining Top Tech Talent

How the loss of IT talent affects companies

Employee departures from a department negatively impact organizations in a number of ways.

The hiring process requires employees’ time and money, and employee departures result in a loss of institutional knowledge. Employee departures can potentially affect employee morale and productivity, and a high employee turnover rate can be an indication of a larger problem, such as a toxic work culture.

CIOS and IT leaders must work with others, including HR, to prevent employee attrition before it happens.

4 strategies for retaining IT staff

These strategies can help CIOs and IT leaders retain employees and improve the turnover rate of tech talent in their company.

1. Understand employee challenges and needs

Employees want to feel respected and like their voices are heard. Therefore, CIOs must show that they value their employees.

Employees may have to deal with personal situations such as family problems that can negatively impact their work. When employees have personal problems and work in an already poorly managed environment, this can lead to conflict in the workplace.

CIOs and IT leaders need to get to know their employees better so they can improve their relationships with their employees and understand what they are going through. A simple question can provide a starting point: What can the company do to improve IT staff jobs?

Team building events and social gatherings outside the company can help improve employee engagement and publicly recognize IT team members for their accomplishments.

2. Involve IT experts in decision-making

Many IT professionals feel like they are not included in important business decisions and may believe that business leaders see them as disposable. When possible, CIOs should share what’s going on behind the scenes so IT professionals feel included.

Additionally, business leaders should communicate with IT staff about important business decisions to make IT staff feel valued. IT staff may be able to share insights that executives haven’t heard elsewhere. Business leaders should also ask IT staff for their input on areas that don’t directly affect their department.

Reaching out to IT staff shows that managers value the contributions of all employees.

3. Promote continuing education

A common gap in the management of IT professionals – and one of the main reasons for their departure – is the lack of sponsorship for continuing education such as conferences, courses and self-study time. Almost all aspects of IT are constantly evolving, and ongoing employee training and development is important for employees and their companies.

CIOs should consider allocating a portion of their budget to training. Once they have done this, CIOs must ensure that employees are aware of and taking advantage of the resources available.

4. Hold IT staff accountable

IT talent will develop more quickly as employees if they are bound to clear standards. Demand that IT employees meet certain standards will help them succeed as employees, which will make them happier at work. CIOs and other executives should work with HR to establish these requirements for IT staff.

Establishing methods to measure the progress of IT staff also makes managing these employees easier because IT leaders can clearly see how their employees have developed as workers.

CIOs should also demonstrate that they are open to feedback from IT staff. Employees may leave the company if they feel they are being held to unrealistic standards.

Kevin Beaver is an independent information security consultant, author, and professional speaker at Principle Logic, LLC based in Atlanta. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Beaver specializes in performing vulnerability and penetration testing as well as virtual CISO consulting work.