Two thirds of tech professionals are happy in their work, but despite this, half expect to change role in the next 12 months, citing pay (59 per cent) and work/life balance (40 per cent).

Harvey Nash surveyed over 2,000 tech professionals globally, finding two areas where tech companies can have a significant influence in improving staff retention:

• Having a social purpose - Only 40 per cent of workers for ‘high social purpose’ organisations expect to move in a year, while for the rest this increases to 56 per cent.

• Skills training – Offering ongoing training to employees not only supports the business, it helps in staff retention, with almost a quarter (23 per cent) of tech professionals stating that they left their last job for greater opportunities for training and personal development elsewhere.

The research revealed that the most common reason cited for leaving a job was because of better career prospects elsewhere (51 per cent), but the second highest reason was an individual’s boss (36 per cent).

Elsewhere, the survey found that over a third of technologists presently working in the sector came from outside. In the case of business analysis this rose to almost half, and even in highly technical roles like software engineering, almost one fifth cross-trained.

At the same time, companies may want to shift the balance of their permanent and flexible labour, as half of respondents reported the biggest growth area in technology jobs will be in flexible, non-employed, work.

Harvey Nash chief executive Beverley White said: “In today’s digital economy, there is fierce competition for tech skills – with retention being as much of an issue for companies as attracting new talent.

“Whilst there is no silver bullet to keeping prized tech staff, our research highlights where companies can make a significant difference.”

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