IT managers need to pay more attention to employees' work/life balance, or risk losing them to lifestyle-friendly companies.

Organisations that can't afford to pay top rates can still compete for sought-after skills by offering good work/life balance packages, according to the NCC Skills Source Consultancy. The organisation, which has recently received a barrage of requests for advice on the issue, says top earners want the opportunity to enjoy a good lifestyle as well.

"There used to be a tradition of people working all hours to get the work done, but today IT professionals want time to enjoy the money they earn," said John Eary, head of the NCC Skills Source Consultancy.

But employers' efforts to implement flexible working practices appear to be little more than rhetoric. A Personnel Today survey found that 69 per cent of employers have no flexible working policies, and a Department of Trade and Industry survey found that one in five organisations think flexible working arrangements for parents are of no benefit to the company - despite the importance of the skills shortage as a business issue.

"There's a danger that it's just seen as being nice to staff, but there are actually good business reasons for doing this," Eary said. He advises IT employers to revisit their staff recruitment and retention policies, and consider conducting a staff survey to find out what is important to their work/life balance.

"The old image of IT staff being only interested in technology is out of date," Eary added. "IT staff are also demanding a life outside work."

First published in Computing