Peopleware: The Hiring and Rentention of IT Personnel

Abstract

The hiring and retention of IT personnel has remained a top priority for managers given the increasingly important role that information technology plays in the success of virtually all companies today. In this chapter, through a series of case studies, we report on a set of best practices that are designed to help organizations develop strategy, recruit, hire, develop, compensate, and ultimately retain valued IT personnel. In addition, a model is presented that describes the key drivers of job satisfaction, and ultimately determine turnover. It is suggested that the relative importance of these drivers, which include the quality of management, work attributes, compensation, and career development, will change for employees over time. Therefore, managing these drivers using the identified best practices can significantly assist organizations in attracting and retaining IT personnel.