Technology Leadership – What you really need to know

Technology Leadership – What you really need to know

 Taken from a recent survey conducted by Computer Weekly, the following stats highlighted some very interesting trends relating to employees within the IT/Technology sector…

  • 33% of IT professionals have moved jobs during the last 12 months
  • 25% of your team will change jobs in the next 12 months
  • 33% of your team are actively looking for a new role
  • 80% will answer the phone and listen to what a recruitment consultant has to say
  • 72% of IT professionals believe that they need to leave in order to progress their careers
  • 32% of people who had a pay rise last year believe that there is still opportunity to progress with their current employer
  • 22% of IT professionals have felt let down by their employer in the last week
  • 47% of IT professionals work 5 hours more than their contractual hours with 22% working 10 hours or more above their contractual hours per week.

 The Good News

  • Keeping your staff happy is not all about money
  • The 3 most effective methods of retaining your team are –
    • Giving them interesting and challenging projects to work on
    • Making sure they are surrounded by good people
    • Ensuring there is open, honest and regular internal communication
    • Innovation is the most important factor in retaining your team.  Allowing your team time to innovate will make them want to stay.
    • 80% of IT professionals who are not allowed time for innovation believe that they need to move on in order to progress their career

Source: computerweekly.com

Despite best intentions to give what you can, it is almost inevitable that at least 2 members of your current IT team will move on within the next 3 months and that’s when the fun really begins!  Finding the time to read through CV’s and conduct interviews can be a tough call on top of your already busy workload.

As the news reports unemployment levels dropping, the old age topic of skills shortages raises its ugly head yet again – only this time it’s worse.  For many years, we have dealt with this within the IT sector but due to the recent recession, other industries were also beginning to feel the pain.  This situation was mainly due to very few graduate/trainee roles being created in the last 5 years.  A lost generation?

And now, at least you have the green light to recruit, so you need someone to hit the ground running, a few years’ experience, someone to bridge the gap between entry level and ‘experienced’, not quite a manager, someone who can be molded into your way, but someone who doesn’t need to have their hand held every minute of the day.

With the competition really heating up, strong candidates in the £28-45k bracket are getting 3-5 interviews within a week and most are receiving multiple offers within a fortnight.

So, the burning question is “how do I get them?”

Money is still a motivation, but it’s worth noting that most will not move for money alone.

Speed is important – many great candidates are lost between CV to interview.  However, speed is not the only answer as candidates are waiting for the right opportunity.

The one most common thing missing of late is Attractivity.  To get the right people, you really need to shout about what’s in it for them.  You may have been through a tough patch with redundancies, pay-cuts and working harder than you’ve ever worked before or even been scared for your own job security, but think back to what attracted you to the role.  So many hiring managers are still making the common mistake of thinking that people are just grateful for a job as this is definitely no longer the case in over 80% of the IT market.

Consider future projects that are in the pipeline.  Candidates really want to know – whatever they are.

What about new technologies?  So many of your competitors never tell of new technologies and something as simple as this can give you the competitive advantage.

Where did you start in your current organisation?  Where have others moved to within the organisation?  What are the opportunities for career progression?  Share some success stories.

And last, but by no means least, training.  Even if it’s on the job training or mentoring it is worth noting.

Here at Langley James, we are passionate about recruiting – that’s why we do it!  We love getting to know you and getting to know our candidates resulting in the right person for the right role; something we have done over 3,000 times in the last 15 years.  We are experts at attracting the best calibre of candidate for your role, not just skills wise, but that all important personality too.

Written by Lucy Rawes, Operations Director

 

IT Market Summary – December

Langley James IT Recruitment Market Summary – December

Key points

  • Strongest rise in permanent placements since March 2010
  • Contract requirements at fastest pace in over 15 years
  • Permanent salary growth highest since October 2007

 

Stronger rises in permanent and contract appointments.

The number of people placed in permanent jobs continued to increase in December, with the rate of expansion accelerating to the sharpest since March 2010.

 

Vacancy growth holds near 15-year high.

Demand for staff continued to increase strongly in December.

 

Permanent salaries rise at fastest pace in over six years…

Average starting salaries for people placed in permanent jobs increased further in December with the rate of growth the strongest since October 2007.  Contract staff pay rates rose at a solid pace that was slightly slower than in the previous month.

 

…amid declining availability of candidates.

The availability of candidates to fill permanent roles continued to fall in December.

 

Permanent IT staff skills in short supply – Business Analysts, Digital Marketing, General IT, Java, PHP, Web Developers.

 

IT Contractor staff skills in short supply – Business Intelligence, Digital Marketing, .Net, PHP, Web Developers.

 

Staff appointments

Our IT consultants signalled further growth of staff appointments in December, with both permanent and contract requirements increasing at faster rates.  In fact, the latest increase was the third-strongest since the start of Langley James IT Recruitment in 1999.

 

Our IT consultants commented that growth of temp billings reflected a combination of greater demand from existing clients and the securing of new contracts.

 

Vacancies

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that job vacancies were up 14.9% on an annual basis in the three months to November.  Latest available data signalled that internet-based recruitment spending rose by 4.6% in the second quarter of 2013.

 

Demand for staff by sector

Permanent staff – Growth of demand was broad-based across all key types of permanent staff with Executive/Professional moving into the top spot.  IT & Computing remained in third place.

 

Contract staff – IT & Computing posted the fastest growth with Nursing/Medical and Accounting/Financial completing the top three placed in the demand for staff league table.

 

Staff Availability

Permanent staff availability fell at a sharp and accelerated rate in December.  The sharpest reductions in permanent staff availability was shown in London and the Midlands.

 

The availability of contract staff fell for the sixth month running in December.  Although easing slightly from November’s nine-year records, the rate of decline remained marked.

 

Remuneration

The rate of inflation of permanent staff salaries quickened further in December with our IT consultants reporting that these frequently attributed to shortages of quality candidates.

 

Rates of pay for contract employees increase for an eleventh month in December.  Strong demand for staff was reported to have driven the latest growth of temp pay.

 

About Langley James

Langley James was founded in 1999 by James Toovey, a highly respected recruitment industry professional.  James wanted to provide something unique: a bespoke recruitment service which was founded on service excellence.  With offices in London and Manchester, we are now providing our ‘boutique style’ recruitment services throughout the world and over the last 14 years, have worked with some of the most respected companies in the world.

 

To find out why so many companies turn to Langley James for support for fulfilling their IT recruitment needs, call and speak to one of our specialist consultants today on 0845 124 9555.