It’s a common belief that the best strategy for employee retention is to pay your employees more than any other company would. However, according to this article out of CIO, this is not as much the case as it used to be. According to Computerworld’s 2014 IT Salary Survey, the softer factors of workplace life are playing a larger role than before. This includes things such as recognition for a job well done, the feeling that one’s opinions are appreciated and taken into consideration, and commuting distance. Pay is still the most important factor when choosing a job, but its lead has decreased significantly over the last five years. This shift has likely occurred because IT professionals are finding a steady level of job security due to the burgeoning market of IT jobs within the country.

For a deeper discussion about this topic, check out this article: http://www.cio.com/article/2377313/staff-management/what-do-it-workers-want-.html

CIOs, IT Hiring Managers Optimistic, But Challenges Remain

It’s a great period of time to be an IT professional, according to multiple reports regarding the 2nd half of 2014. According to reports from both Robert Half and Dice.com, 90% of CIOs plan on hiring new IT workers in 2014, but are somewhat worried about acquiring the employees that they need. While 89% of CIOs are optimistic about their company’s prospects for growth, 61% indicate that it may indeed be difficult for them to find the right workers to fill these positions. Two big challenges these companies face are salary pressures and high levels of turnover. Since IT professionals know that they have the upper hand in these negotiations, they are searching for the biggest and brightest jobs that they possibly can.

The full link for this article can be found here: http://www.cio.com/article/2449634/careers-staffing/cios-it-hiring-managers-optimistic-but-challenges-remain.html

White, Asian men rule the roost at Twitter

Twitter recently released their demographic information to the public after being pressured to do so for some time. It appears that they did not want this information to become public, as they may be under some fire in the near future. In the report, Twitter stated that 90% of the employees in the U.S. are either White or Asian. Additionally, men made up 70% of all employees at Twitter, and 90% of all technology jobs. This information does not sit very well because it appears to show a lack of diversity at what is thought to be a very progressive organization and field. However, it would appear that this is somewhat of a trend in the industry, as Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and Google released relatively similar numbers. Whether these are just the demographics of the industry or a sign of some kind of prejudice in the industry remain to be seen.
Check out the USA Today’s full discussion of this issue at this link: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/07/23/twitter-diversity-hiring/13060901/