​Every business owner appreciates the importance of assembling a great workforce. Sadly, hiring top candidates will count for very little if they keep leaving. Now more than ever, employee retention should be the priority for every entrepreneur or HR manager - not least when dealing with talented IT professionals.

Why is IT Employee Retention so Important?

We live in a world where virtually all businesses rely heavily on modern tech systems, and the best IT professionals are needed to ensure that safe and smooth operations are maintained. Some of the key reasons why you must focus on retaining key IT employees whether they are permanent or contractors include, but are not limited to;

• The average cost of replacing an employee in the UK is said to be £12,000 and can be significantly higher for IT professionals.
• Losing IT experts can cause disruption to the business. IT downtime costs UK businesses £3.6m annually. You don’t want to be one of the victims.
• IT employees are one of your main lines of defence against cyberattacks, which see one-third of UK businesses lose customers due to data breaches.
• Over 40% of workers feel stress damages their productivity. Tech problems are a key trigger, but familiar IT teams can help.
• Given the very nature of this industry sector, employees will often share knowledge in their teams and update their knowledge through learning on the job.

In short, retaining your top-performing IT employees will protect productivity, business finances, services and employee happiness throughout the business. Conversely, when IT professionals leave the company, all employees will start to question why.

5 Top Tips to Retain IT Employees

Given that IT and Technology professionals boast some of the most sought-after skills in any industry, they are blessed with more opportunities than many other workers. If you want to prevent them from actively seeking new jobs, you must ensure that the right protocols are in place. 

1. Recruit well with the assistance of Claremont Consulting’s Technology specialists: the task of retaining employees is made a lot easier when you start with the right employees. When analysing CVs, employees who have shown longevity in previous job roles should be viewed more positively than those who have a habit of changing roles every few months.
2. Promote positivity in your organisation: low staff morale can kill productivity and lead to increased staff turnover rates. Over half of all UK workers experience workplace loneliness, and IT teams can feel cut away from the rest of the company. Including them, in staff events, while also providing regular praise and feedback can work wonders.
3. Pay well: financial remuneration is ultimately the main incentive for IT workers to turn up for work. IT jobs have an average salary of £47,500, although this can vary from one role to another. Paying your IT professionals fairly will make them want to stay, especially when supported by pension plans and perks like paid travel expenses.
4. Encourage growth: the best IT employees will have ambitions of climbing the career ladder, but there’s no reason why they can’t do it with you. Send them on new IT courses and create a clear road to promotion. In addition to retaining the individual worker, it provides motivation for their colleagues.
5. Communicate: if you have hired IT employees who are experts in their field, it would be foolish to ignore their advice. Let them advise you on what hardware, software, and protocols are needed to help the company thrive. Added responsibilities and feeling valued by their employer will see engagement and happiness soar.

Above all else, you must treat all IT employees with a sense of consistency and fairness. When they are satisfied with their daily surroundings, engaged with the work, and confident about their future prospects, they’ll have no reason to look elsewhere.

The Benefits of Retaining Staff

Even if you create the perfect working environment and work with a competent technology recruitment agency, a small level of staff turnover is to be expected. After all, some IT workers may relocate to another part of the country or decide that they want another challenge. Nonetheless, when you can encourage top talent to stay in your company for longer, it will give you the platform for a stable future.

After the difficulties posed by the pandemic, those benefits are more important than ever.