Companies appear to be finding it easier to retain IT staff, with the number reporting retention problems dropping 10 per cent compared with six months ago.

But a lack of suitable candidates on the market is still a significant headache for many employers, according to the latest Computer Staff Salary Survey from remuneration analyst Computer Economics.

Although 45 per cent of respondents said they had experienced problems hanging on to technical staff, resignation rates halved to less than seven per cent and the average IT staff turnover rate dropped from 19.3 to 12.7 per cent.

But filling key roles is a challenge because many employees are preferring to stay put until market recovery is more certain, the analyst said.

Of those that do move on, most have gone contracting, been headhunted or left for career progression reasons. But money is still the biggest single factor prompting individuals to move on.

Only the redundancy rate among IT staff has increased, moving to its highest level in five surveys at 2.6 per cent, with many companies cutting back on contractors or converting many to full time employment.

Meanwhile, the number of IT employees who receive bonuses has stabilised at 51.3 per cent, virtually unchanged from last year.

Although almost five per cent of employees received retention bonuses in the last six months, the value of payments is declining, dropping on average over £10,000 at IT director/manager level to £7,000.

The survey also found that resignation rates for women are now one per cent higher than for their male counterparts, at 7.6 per cent.

Women have also experienced higher increases in earnings, with a 7.2 per cent increase in the 12 months to October 2001, compared to 6.8 per cent for men.

The survey is based on data covering 50,000 IT staff employed in over 550 companies.

Job Title / % Resignation Rate

IT Manager 3.9
Department Manager 7.6
Manager 4.6
Consultant 4.1
Project Manager 4.9
Services 5.4
Analysts 8.0
Juniors 10.1
Trainees/Assistants 10.9
Total 6.8

Number of Employees / % Resigned / % Total Turnover

Under 50 7.5 / 15.7
51 to 100 9.8 / 15.3
101 to 500 6.6 / 14.8
Over 500 5.9 / 7.6
All IT Staff 6.8 / 12.7

Source: Computer Economics