- Tech professionals chase more money and a better work/life balance
- Retention increases in Tech companies with a ‘high social purpose’
- Fierce competition for tech skills
- Biggest growth area in technology jobs will be in flexible, non-employed, work
- Fastest rising salaries for tech jobs in 2020 revealed
Two thirds of tech professionals are happy in their work - but despite this half expect to change role in the next twelve months, citing pay (59%) and work/life balance (40%) as the most attractive draws to a new role.
These findings, published today from The Harvey Nash Tech Survey 2020 which surveyed over 2,000 tech professionals globally, underline the skills challenge that businesses will face this year if they are to keep and attract the best tech talent.
However, the accompanying report reveals that there are three areas where Tech companies can have a significant influence in improving staff retention:
1. Having a social purpose - Only 40% of workers for ‘high social purpose’ organisations expect to move in a year, while for the rest this increases to 56%.
2. Skills training – Offering ongoing training to employees not only supports the business, it helps in staff retention, with almost a quarter (23%) of tech professionals stating that they left their last job for greater opportunities for training and personal development elsewhere. Almost three in ten tech professionals expect their current skills to be out of date within three years, rising to six in ten within six years.
3. Good line management – the most common reason cited for leaving a job is because of better career prospects elsewhere (51%). However, the second highest reason is an individual’s boss (36%). Clearly, having good line management and a boss that an individual respects/gets on with can make a significant difference to retention.
Beverley White, CEO of Harvey Nash, said:
“In today’s digital economy, there is fierce competition for tech skills – with retention being as much of an issue for companies as attracting new talent. Whilst there is no silver bullet to keeping prized tech staff, our research highlights where companies can make a significant difference.
“Training and skills development perhaps speaks for itself – but social purpose is quite subtle. Only one in ten tech professionals consider social purpose as one of their top three factors in choosing a job - with pay and work/life balance valued much more highly and widely. However, far fewer tech professionals working for organisations with a ‘high social purpose’ expect to change jobs in the next twelve months than those working elsewhere, and three quarters of respondents say that the issue does matter to them at some level. Gender plays an important role too, with women 50% more likely to value social purpose as critical in choosing a job. In short, having a clear social purpose is not only good in itself but plays an important part in the retention and attraction mix for tech businesses.
“When you consider that hiring and opportunity costs can amount to tens of thousands of pounds per individual, understanding and acting on these influencing factors can make a huge difference to the bottom line.”
Replacing key people
When it comes to replacing IT staff, tech companies may want to look outside of the sector for talent that they retrain into positions in the industry – as the survey found that over a third of technologists presently working in the sector came from outside. In the case of Business Analysis and Business Intelligence this rises to almost half, and even in highly technical roles like Software Engineering, almost one-fifth cross-trained.
At the same time, companies may want to shift the balance of their permanent and flexible labour, as half of respondents reported the biggest growth area in technology jobs will be in flexible, non-employed, work.
Beverley White concluded:
“For individuals with ability and determination, our Tech Survey paints a picture of opportunity in 2020. Even in the most technical roles, it’s possible to carve out a successful tech career from the outside.
“Tech companies will already be considering their optimum balance of permanent and flexible staff for the year ahead – both at a global and local level. There will always be a central place for permanent workers – especially ones who are focused on core activities and developing the intellectual property of an organisation. However, organisations are increasingly using outsourcing and flexible labour to build scale as well as to access hard-to-find skills. It’s a shifting and intricate dynamic that organisations need to continually monitor if they are to achieve the best mix.”
Soaring salaries in 2020
With the Harvey Nash Tech Survey 2020 highlighting that one of the UK tech sector’s biggest attractions is how much it rewards people, and with the sector experiencing the highest skills shortages for more than a decade[1], average salaries have continued to the rise for many of those roles that are in most demand. These include:
| Business Analysis | Security Specialist | Project Management | Testing |
| £66,596 | £94,673 | £64,910 | £51,114 |
| Up 28% in 12 months | Up 22% in 12 months | Up 16% in 12 months | Up 11% in 12 months |
-ENDS-
Media Contacts:
David Pippett
ProServ PR
david@proservpr.com
+44 (0) 7899 798197
About the Harvey Nash Tech Survey 2020
In its seventh year, The Harvey Nash Tech Survey 2020 report, Mapping the Tech Genome, is based on a survey of 2,088 tech professionals across 72 countries, making it one of the largest tech studies in the world. The data in this press release is solely based on the UK sample, which comprised of over 1,200 tech professionals. Please get in contact if you require global data.
About Harvey Nash
Leading technology recruitment
We are masters of technology recruitment, helping organisations find the very best talent – from software developers to business transformation leaders. With over 30 years’ experience and global reach, we have an unparalleled knowledge and capability in all areas of technology.
We are part of Harvey Nash Group, a leading global professional services organisation with three key areas of focus: Technology recruitment, IT solutions and Leadership services.
Find out more: www.harveynash.com
To learn more, please visit www.harveynash.com.
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