A recent study by IT job
search specialist Dice found more than half (54 percent) of hiring managers and
recruiters anticipate that tech talent poaching will get more aggressive this
year, while just 3 percent of respondents expect it to let up.
That expectation is
amplified when looking at hiring managers working in the technology or
consulting industries. In those markets, 62 percent of those surveyed said
talent skirmishes would get more aggressive, against 1 percent in the less
aggressive camp.
The survey suggested hiring
managers are taking frequent steps to keep technology talent from departing to
the competition. The most popular tactics were accommodating flexible work
hours, offering work on new or emerging technologies, and increasing salaries.
Still, a majority of hiring managers (54 percent) said they believe they can
tell when a technology professional is about to exit.
The most frequent sign is a
change in habits related to work or a noticeable lack of engagement with
colleagues or projects, but other signals include employees taking large
numbers of single-day absences, changing to more formal dress and getting
up-to-date on expense accounts. Hiring managers also said they believe hiring
multi-skilled, experienced technology professionals with industry-specific
experience helps diminish the potential risk around making a poor hiring
decision. Nearly three-quarters of corporate respondents were doubtful that the
requirement for industry experience would be relaxed in 2011, saying that
relaxing the requirement would be unlikely or there would be no change.
For more, read the eWeek article: IT Talent Poaching to Increase in 2011: Report.
