Consider the cost of the staffing process whenever your company needs new technology employees. The organization’s valuable resources are involved in writing job ads, perusing résumés, and interviewing candidates.
Once the best person is hired, time and money are spent onboarding the new worker, including training. When considering that massive investment, it becomes obvious why retaining your valuable employees is so important. With many technical workers on the lookout for a new position, it helps to understand the reasons behind this restlessness.
Let’s look more closely at this issue and why generational differences are an important part of the equation.
Millennials Want a Higher Salary
Hoping for a better compensation package remains a leading reason IT workers consider leaving their employer. A recent career study of tech pros noted 81 percent of millennials mentioned higher pay as one reason. This view is shared by 70 and 64 percent of Gen Xers and baby boomers respectively.
Being relatively new to their career is likely why more millennial generation IT professionals leave because of salary.
Younger Workers Hope to Improve Their Tech Skills
Around 80 percent of millennials in IT look elsewhere for work because of their desire to learn new technical skills. Slightly less than two-thirds of Gen Xers mentioned this as a reason. Tellingly, only 49 percent of baby boomers noted tech skills expansion as their motivation to find new work.
A Better Balance Between their Personal and Professional Lives
Around a third of all surveyed technical workers hope to improve their work-life balance, and will look for a company with a culture that makes this a priority. However, millennials, being relatively new to their IT careers, don’t feel as strongly about this issue as their older colleagues.
Burned Out Tech Workers Looking for a New Job
A similar percentage – around one-third – of IT professionals feel burned out in their current position. This is another reason influencing a decision to change positions. Baby boomers tend to suffer burnout more than the other surveyed workers, with millennials encountering the problem least of all three groups.
Benefits are Essential to Retain Younger IT Workers
Over one-third of the surveyed millennials mentioned a desire for better benefits as a motivating factor when searching for a new tech job. By comparison, only 26 percent of baby boomers and 25 percent of Gen Xers feel the same way.
Looking to build your team?
If you need further advice on building – and retaining – a great tech team at your company, talk with the experts at The CERES Group. One of the top technology staffing agencies in New England, we provide great candidates able to help your success. Schedule some time with us soon!
