HIRING HURDLES: Recruiting Skilled IT Workers a Challenge for Many CIOs, Survey Shows

Interesting article; not only for recruiters, but you in IT as well.

Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Locating experienced people tops the list of staffing concerns for technology executives today, a new survey shows. Nearly one in four (24 percent) chief information officers (CIOs) polled said finding skilled information technology (IT) professionals is their greatest staffing challenge. Providing employees with adequate skills training ranked a close second, cited by 23 percent of respondents.
The study, developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm, is based on telephone interviews with 1,400 CIOs across the United States.
CIOs were asked, "Of the following staffing issues within the IT department, which do you consider to be your greatest challenge as a CIO?"
Finding skilled technology professionals 24%
Providing staff with adequate professional
development resources to keep skills current 23%
Keeping employees productive 17%
Dealing with personality conflicts between employees 11%
Developing defined career paths for IT staff members 10%
Other 5%
None/don't know 10%
100%
"The need for experienced IT staff has grown in recent years as a result of increased investments by companies in new and updated systems and software," said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology. "In areas such as web development, database management, wireless networking and applications engineering, the supply of qualified professionals has not kept pace with the demand, leading to multiple job offers for candidates with the right mix of skills and experience."
CIOs at the largest firms (1,000+ employees) are having the greatest difficulty locating IT talent: 27 percent of IT executives from big companies named this their top staffing challenge. At smaller-sized companies, skills development is a greater concern than hiring. Twenty-six percent of CIOs at small companies (100 to 249 employees) said providing adequate training is their biggest concern, above finding qualified IT professionals (22 percent). (See Table 1 for a breakdown of response by company size.)
Lee noted that while companies with less staff may lack the budget for formal, in-house training or tuition reimbursement programs, their employees don't have to forego technical education. "Smaller firms often rely on affordable external training providers or web-based resources that can help employees keep their skills current or earn valuable technical accreditations," Lee said.
About the Survey
The national study was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. The study is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees. In order for the study to be statistically representative and ensure that companies from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by geographic region, industry and employee size. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportions of employee size within the region.
About Robert Half Technology
With more than 100 locations in North America, South America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at http://www.rht.com/.
Table 1: Responses by Company Size
CIOs were asked, "Of the following staffing issues within the IT department, which do you consider to be your greatest challenges as a CIO?" (top responses shown)
1000+ employees
Finding skilled technology professionals 27%
Providing staff with adequate professional
development resources to keep skills current 20%
Developing defined career paths for IT staff members 16%
Keeping employees productive 14%
Dealing with personality conflicts between employees 12%

500-999 employees
Finding skilled technology professionals 25%
Providing staff with adequate professional
development resources to keep skills current 18%
Keeping employees productive 18%
Dealing with personality conflicts between employees 15%
Developing defined career paths for IT staff members 12%

250-499 employees
Finding skilled technology professionals 29%
Keeping employees productive 18%
Providing staff with adequate professional
development resources to keep skills current 17%
Dealing with personality conflicts between employees 14%
Developing defined career paths for IT staff members 11%

100-249 employees
Providing staff with adequate professional
development resources to keep skills current 26%
Finding skilled technology professionals 22%
Keeping employees productive 16%
Dealing with personality conflicts between employees 10%
Developing defined career paths for IT staff members 10%