TrainACE - IT and Cybersecurity Training Blog

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2021 turnover rate in the information technology (IT) industry was 22.1 percent, which is higher than many of the other business sectors included in the reporting. Why is there such attrition in technology roles? Is it something that organizations simply have to live with?

Absolutely not. But to prevent employee turnover, organizations have to understand why it’s so important and what they can do to reduce the number of IT employees who leave.

Why You Need to Address Employee Turnover

Not having a strategy for lowering turnover rates can have a negative impact on your organization. High attrition rates can result in:

• Loss of revenue: Losing an employee can be financially significant – especially if one of your best employees leaves. Some experts estimate that it can cost up to 150 percent of the employee’s salary to replace them.
• Loss of productivity: It’s estimated that it takes about 45 days to fill a developer position on average. That means 45 days of productivity loss, and that isn’t even considering the cost of onboarding the new employee.
• Lower morale: When there is a vacancy in the IT department, it means that other employees have to pick up the slack. While they may have the knowledge required, they are still missing the manpower, and it may take a while to get back to a full staff. This can quickly lead to employees being overworked, stressed with extra work, and ultimately, declining morale in the department. Low morale cannot be put on the back burner. When you’re already short an employee, you don’t want to alienate others. They may become resentful and consider leaving themselves.

How Can You Reduce IT Employee Attrition?

So, how do you keep your high performers with your organization? While some turnover can’t be prevented, much of it can. Here are some best practices that will help with IT team retention:

Offer Competitive Compensation

Salary and benefits are the reason that individuals get jobs and keep showing up for them. It’s also a key reason why people leave their current jobs and go to work somewhere new. So, it’s important to keep up with what is competitive in the market. An increase in salary is often at the top of the list of what would encourage employees to not seek work elsewhere, followed by benefits and time off.

Recognize Employees

It’s important to recognize and reward employees for their hard work. Sometimes a simple “thank you” will go a long way toward making an employee feel appreciated. Showing employees appreciation, especially publicly, and rewards of some kind are great ways to recognize their achievements.

Allow Continuing Education Opportunities

Employees want training that will strengthen current skills and develop new ones. Allowing training opportunities and continuing education is extremely important to IT team members. In fact, it’s been reported that employees in the U.S. would give up a raise in exchange for more training opportunities that will allow them to advance in their careers.

Upskill Employees

Training your existing employees for new roles is not only good for the employee but also for the organization. Upskilling employees provides organizations with a team that has the skills needed to evolve and grow while strengthening employee engagement in their work, which encourages retention.

Develop Career Paths

Help your employees develop career paths and opportunities for growth. Becoming stagnant in a current position while wanting to grow and advance is one of the major reasons employees look for work at other organizations. Employees who know their supervisors and managers will help them advance in their careers are not as quick to look to outside opportunities.

Recruit Internally

Recruiting for new or vacant positions from inside the organization is a must. Employees who are not afraid to seek positions on other teams or in other departments within the company are more likely to not look outside for new roles. Companies that encourage cross-training, identify the skills of current employees, and help connect them with internal openings have found that these practices help retain quality employees.

Help Your IT Team Members Grow (and Stay) within Your Organization

Retaining knowledgeable, efficient, and productive IT employees should be an important concern for organizations today, and that means investing in their employees’ career development and growth. Employees who are supported and empowered to pursue career advancement within the organization are more likely to stay where they are than seek new opportunities elsewhere.

At TrainACE, we help organizations like yours with corporate IT and cybersecurity training for teams. You can see the benefits of helping your employees develop their career paths, and that involves continuing education, upskilling, and recognizing their achievements. Whether you have a whole team or a smaller group of employees that needs training, TrainACE can help. Contact us today for more information.