Robert Half have noted that since annual wage growth in the Australian IT sector in 2018 was reported to be 3.3 per cent – higher than the national average across all industries – IT employers need to be willing to offer competitive remuneration packages in order to attract and retain the best talent to their company. Indeed, Robert Half have gleaned the results of a survey among 160 Australian CIOs which shows exactly what incentives IT employers are using to secure and hold onto their top-performing talent.
What’s on offer to attract IT talent
With almost nine in 10 (87 per cent) CIOs saying it is more challenging to attract qualified IT professionals to their organisation compared to five years ago, companies need to adjust their staff attraction initiatives in a skills-short market.
According to the survey, many IT employers are willing to pay a premium to staff their teams with the best talent. Half (50 per cent) of CIOs are offering higher remuneration (base pay and/or bonus) to attract top IT talent. This is followed by 42 per cent who are offering additional employee benefits, and 39 per cent who are promoting an enhanced work culture, such as health and wellbeing programs.
Having a competitive edge in the market by having the best talent does not only rely on attracting the right employees, but also to keep them on board. To avoid losing their top performers, Australia’s IT employers are being proactive in their approach to staff retention. The top three initiatives CIOs have focused on over the last three years to retain IT staff are offering a higher salary (48 per cent), developing an enhanced work culture (48 per cent), and attributing more employee benefits (38 per cent).
“As Australia’s IT sector booms, companies are calling for the highest calibre candidates to remain competitive, drive innovation and implement new technologies faster than ever before,” says Andrew Morris, director of Robert Half Australia. “Consequently, as top IT talent becomes more highly sought-after in Australia’s tightening IT talent pool, companies are required to offer competitive salaries in order to successfully attract, recruit and retain the most skilled and talented candidates.
“To be effective at attracting and retaining top talent, remuneration should be part of a wider, ongoing dialogue between employer and employee as the most appealing remuneration packages are those that are tailored and designed with individual employees in mind,” Morris adds. “Through open communication channels, employers can establish and implement incentives that appeal to individual motivations. This is especially true for millennial-aged workers who tend to favour professional development opportunities over a higher salary, and workers with children who may value increased annual leave and flexible hours more highly.”
