UK businesses are facing a “merry-go-round” of IT leadership changes, and senior decision-makers say they are ready to move forward.
A survey conducted by Censuswide for IT services and support company Auxilion and HPE found that nearly two in five IT leaders plan to change jobs in the next two years.
More than one in four changed jobs in 2023, and more than a third revealed they had interviewed for another job in the last six months.
“The movement of senior decision makers, and especially into business-critical roles like IT, creates enormous demand and pressure on organisations,” said Niamh Cray, chief people officer at Auxilion.
“These gaps also have a broader impact in terms of their ability to maintain operations, complete projects and provide services.”
“When it comes to talent and recruiting, we believe companies should take a hybrid approach where they bring in contractors and resource partners. A more flexible model like this means organizations can act quickly to fill any skills gaps that arise and minimize interruptions.
High turnover among senior IT staff appears to be driven by a desire to work with cutting-edge technologies, with more than half saying they would leave their current role if their organization did not invest in emerging technologies such as AI.
“This data also sends a clear message to business leaders that a lack of investment in emerging technologies could lead to a loss of talent across the organization, which can be highly disruptive and detrimental. Businesses must embrace technology and leverage its benefits.” capabilities to stimulate growth. Cray added.
A recent report from software company Aura found that employee turnover in the tech industry is 1.12 times higher than in other sectors.
“This trend challenges the conventional notion of associating greater tenure with better retention,” said Aura Chief Product Officer Abylay Jetmekov.
Auxilion's report echoes the findings of last year's Gartner research, which found that nearly half of cybersecurity leaders are expected to change jobs by 2025. A quarter said they planned to leave the industry to play completely different roles.
A key factor in this, the study warned, was work-related stress, but it still reflects broader industry turnover trends.
High turnover rates in the technology industry have become a recurring problem in recent years and the problem can have serious implications for companies.
Chris Goudling, managing director of specialist human resources recruitment firm Wade Macdonald, recently said ITPro that a high turnover of talented staff can cause irreversible reputational damage.
Turnover rates could also be indicative of a poor work culture, Goulding warned.
“It should be treated like the red flag that it is,” he told ITPro.
