TEKsystems, a leading provider of IT staffing solutions, human capital management expertise and IT services, today announced findings from its quarterly IT Executive Outlook survey, conducted in partnership with the Inavero Institute.
While nearly half of IT leaders anticipate their temporary (55%) and permanent (57%) IT headcount to stay the same in the first quarter of 2012, more than a third also expect to hire temporary (34%) and permanent (35%) IT workers during the first three months of the year. Approximately 30% of those respondents expecting to increase hiring in the first quarter anticipate 10% increases to temporary and permanent IT headcount.
IT leaders report Enterprise Architects, Cloud Architects and Data/Master Data Management Architects are among the most difficult positions to fill. On a scale of one to 10, over 60% of IT leaders rate these skills a seven or higher. More than 50% of leaders express difficulty finding Security Specialists (56%), Business Intelligence Specialists (55%) and Mobile Application Developers (53%).
“IT leaders are hiring because businesses realize the vital role skilled IT professionals play in competitive success. Many organizations are simultaneously implementing major IT projects to help achieve business objectives, including mobile applications, business intelligence, virtualization and security initiatives. As a result, the market for IT professionals with relevant skills is extremely tight,” says TEKsystems Director, Rachel Russell. “One way to combat this challenge is to build proactive and strategic recruiting programs that attract necessary skills and prevent you from becoming short armed or stretched too thin.”
2012 Salary Expectations
Forty-four percent of respondents report that IT staffs can expect to receive raises in 2012. The majority of anticipated raises are between one and five percent. Cloud Architects, Enterprise Architects and Data/Master Data Management Architects, however, could see raises that exceed 10%.
“Given the current economic conditions, a raise of any size is very positive for IT workers,” comments Russell. “While compensation is always important, however, it’s not all that skilled IT professionals seek from their employers and prospective employers. IT professionals consistently tell us that other job attributes like opportunities for career advancement and skill development, location and commute and overall benefits are equally, if not more, important to their overall job satisfaction.”
About the IT Executive Outlook Survey:
TEKsystems partners with the Inavero Institute to conduct a quarterly survey of more than 1,500 IT leaders. The first quarter 2012 online survey was completed by IT decision makers during December 2011. IT managers and directors represented the majority of survey respondents at 85%, and IT executives made up the remaining 15% of responses. IT leaders represented all industries, regions and company sizes.