Results of a recent survey (The Technology Industry Survey 20112) found that one in five IT employees are likely to leave their current employer next year for more interesting projects and/or career opportunities.  80% believe a job change is necessary to progress their career according to the survey findings.

In addition, about 40% of the 650 IT professionals who responded stated that they are planning on having a new job within the next 12 months. For those in technical roles, the number hoping to have a new job rises to almost two-thirds.

Here are some startling findings from the survey:

• 100% of database administrators are looking to leave their current roles.
• More than 90% of CIOs and CTOs, testers, architects and designers believe they have to move to companies to further their careers.
• Over 80% of respondents want more interesting projects to work on.
• 71% want open, honest and consistent communications from the IT organization (especially around offshoring).

As an employer, what are you doing now to ensure your top IT professionals are satisfied with their current roles and projects, and confident that they have the opportunity to grow within your company? Considering time to hire top talent has increased quite significantly in the past two quarters of 2011 (Agile will be releasing its Q3 Market Pulse report later next week with more details regarding days to fill IT job openings), and workers with high-demand skills are increasingly scarce, companies must find new and innovative approaches to retain their IT staff. Agile has blogged extensively on ways employers can retain top talent, and we invite you to review past blogs including this one.

You can also read our free white paper “Four Winning Talent Strategies for the New IT” that includes effective and realistic approaches to not only hiring top talent, but retaining those employees as well.

Are you an experienced, highly-skillled IT professional looking for  a new and exciting career opportunity?  If so, you need to consider partnering with Agile during your job search.  We understand there are many IT staffing agencies to choose from, but none offer the advantages that Agile provides.

Below are 10 reasons why top IT talent should work with Agile as they explore new career opportunities.

1. We are a one of the fastest growing IT staffing companies based in Atlanta, and we have exclusive relationships with many of the leading IT companies in the Southeast – relationships that start at the C-Level.
2. Our recruiters are the best in the business.  Our recruiters average 12 years of industry experience and have established networks with many of the region’s top IT professionals.
3. We only do IT.  We have five core areas that we concentrate and excel in: Project Management, Application Architecture & Delivery, Enterprise Operations, Information Lifecycle Management and CIO Advisory Services.
4. We understand our candidates.  Since we form personal relationships with the talent we work with, we know what they want and we match them with the right client/opportunity.
5. We are a trusted advisor to job seekers. Over 60% of our candidates are people we have worked with in the past or come from trusted sources!
6. Candidates never feel like a number. Our personalized service will make you feel like you are our only candidate for the job.
7. Our recruiters serve as career consultants. We find out your needs; gauge your interest; and only then will we discuss an opportunity that may be right for you.
8. We work well with “passive” candidates. We have a knack for working with top IT professionals who are not actively searching, but have an interest in exploring new career opportunities.
9. You control your job search. We never present your resume without permission. We’ll only submit you to a client after we’ve personally discussed an opportunity, and you agree that it’s a good fit.
10. We know communication is key to your success. That’s why we communicate with you during the entire process. We’ll keep you informed so you know what’s going on each step of the way.

Whether you’re looking for a new IT job now or later on, we hope you choose Agile as your career partner.  Check out our current job opportunities or feel free to submit your resume for future consideration.

We talk a lot about top talent – how these workers make up just 20% of the IT talent pool, how they are more productive (200% more than average workers) and innovative, and how difficult they can be to find – especially those professionals with high-demand skills.

It would be great if we could identify all top talent, put them in a “one size fits all” box and assign them to companies as required. But it’s not that easy. Top talent means different things to different organizations. Company culture plays a large part in defining what top talent actually looks like. For example, a hiring manager may be excited about a candidate who has strong technical skills,  but once the interview is over, the manager realizes that the candidate would not fit in to the company’s culture. Next!  

And therein lies the challenge – finding the right IT professional who possesses the necessary skills to do the job successfully, while also being a good fit with the company’s culture.

Culture can be characterized by attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and values of an entire organization.  The attributes of an organization’s culture can be tangible, such as dress code, or intangible, such as shared values. In order to find your “top talent” it is important to think through all the attributes of your organization’s culture before launching a job search. Ask yourself and other members involved in the hiring process these questions:

• What are the values of the company? How do you know?
• How important is it that employees are highly committed to the organization’s mission? How do individual members contribute to the advancement of our mission?
• Is leadership a core value of the organization? How are decisions made and problems solved?
• What does the organization chart look like? Is your organization hierarchical or flat?
• What is the physical work environment like? Do you have offices, cubicles, or open workspaces? Are there common areas such as reception, a kitchen, or a lunch room?
• Is diversity of backgrounds, experiences, or beliefs important to your organization?
• How does the organization acknowledge personal successes and other milestones?
• What’s the work/life balance for staff?

Based on your answers to the above, determine the following:

• How do you define top talent? What does the perfect employee look like, and why do you believe this?
• How will you know when you’ve found top talent? What areas of that definition are subjective, and what does this tell you about the values and beliefs of the organization?
• How does the hiring process reinforce the behaviors of your values?
• How will you measure the success of recruiting top talent in the short-term and in the long-term?

Now that you know what top talent means in your organization, be sure to communicate your culture throughout the hiring process so that you will always attract and recruit the RIGHT people. A good way to start communicating company culture is in the actual job posting (this will also help recruiters reinforce the information to candidates during the qualification and selection process):

• Include your full mission statement within the posting.
• Offer an explicit description of the organization’s culture and values, such as “We work in a collaborative, team-based environment.”
• When listing job requirements, use language that mirrors specific values, such as “Collaborate with …” or “Produce results on. …”
• When listing candidate qualifications, include specific values such as “entrepreneurial” or “team player.”
• If diversity is an attribute of your culture, make sure to include this information. At the very least, include your organization’s “equal opportunity employer” statement.

What does top talent look like in your organization? What are some successful ways you’ve been able to attract and recruit top talent? If you need help finding top talent, contact a reputable IT staffing firm like Agile – we’ll be happy to speed your time to top talent!