The concerns certainly are not new, but they are growing in importance, according to the Society for Information Management (SIM). This week the organization revealed that "Attracting, developing and retaining IT professionals" topped its annual list of IT management concerns, ahead of financial woes related to reducing costs and technology-related worries such as security and privacy. SIM reports that IT managers are experiencing staff turnover rates of less than 10% this year, which is far lower than years past, and that attracting talent worries most because of a dwindling resource pool.

"The challenges with attracting talent stems from a pipeline of qualified candidates that isn't as large as the demand companies are seeing for new people, which is a good thing for our discipline," says Jerry Luftman, SIM's vice president of academic affairs. "It's good news that the amount of resources being demanded from IT are on the rise, but it's happening at the same time a large number of workers are leaving the workforce."

As a result, IT managers say they wrestle often with the challenge of hiring people that fit well into their organization in the hopes they won't lose the talent quickly.

"I do worry about getting IT talent in house. Ours, and many other [human resources] departments that are not within a technology company, do not set salaries in relevant ranges," says Michael Nix, assistant director of communications technology for IT Services at the Kansas University Hospital Authority in Kansas City, Kan. "It is often a battle with HR to ensure the position is properly classified and compensated. As the market picks up, there is a greater demand and higher salaries, and we are often behind that power curve."

Adding to the hiring challenge is the fact that fewer computer science, information systems and technology graduates are entering the job market while several veteran workers are planning for retirement.

"There is a concern regarding an aging workforce, and the province expects to lose close to one-third of the IT workforce through retirement over the next few years," says Martin Webb, manager of data network operations, Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services, Province of British Columbia, Canada. "With new housing starts on the rise, there has been a large focus on careers within the trades. This has taken away from the emphasis on IT, and the local colleges have seen a drop in enrollment — which has resulted in a reduction of available new talent."

Debbie Joy, lead solution architect for CSC in Phoenix, reports that with impending talent shortages she also worries about retaining senior employees that seem to be challenged with balancing work and personal life in the face of a demanding job.

"We are having some trouble retaining employees, especially the more senior employees," says Joy, who clarifies she is speaking as a technology manager and non on behalf of CSC's HR department. "A lot of the issues that cause them to leave are the long hours that people are expected to work at my company."

Others report that employee retention would be a challenge even without the inevitable exodus of veteran, or baby boomer, employees. For instance, many IT shops have been charged with providing more services with the same or fewer resources. That does not make for ideal work conditions for ambitious technologists who want to use their troubleshooting, diagnostics and analysis skills for more than mundane, repetitive tasks. Also, with average IT workweeks running about 50 to 60 hours on the low end, network and other professionals are being pushed to the brink.

 "IT has long been expected to do more with less. The problem is, each year, the more gets more, and the less gets less. You can only drive a team so hard before they snap," Nix says. "Overworked, underpaid and underappreciated is a deadly combo, but even if richly appreciated, there still comes a point when they won't go any further."

Because of such issues, IT hiring managers say it takes more time than in the past to fill even entry-level positions, and once in-house, money is not nearly enough of an incentive to keep existing employees happy.

"Most IT professionals are not driven by money. They want to be challenged, and it's important they get a chance to do what they are best at each day, even if it is one small part of everything they do," says Chris Holbert, COO and CIO at LaunchPad Communications in Los Angeles. "Most IT tasks are thankless jobs, so IT professionals need to get their job satisfaction from tackling stuff they love to do, and if they can't, they will leave."

Joy agrees. Finding the right candidates and then working to keep staff happy is critical, she says, because employees leaving not only poses a management challenge but also negatively impacts the business' ability to deliver products and services to its customers.

"We are a knowledge-based company and have invested millions of dollars over the years to develop best practices and processes related to delivering our services," Joy says. "Training our employees in these practices and processes, and keeping them current with technology, is key to our success. And it is expensive if we have to provide this training more often than planned because of attrition."

Holbert, who is currently engulfed in a hiring process he expects to take at least four months, says investing the time during the hiring process pays off with employee retention down the road. While he is looking to fill two entry-level positions, one a database administrator and the other an application developer, Holbert says the lengthy hiring cycle works to ensure potential candidates fit the culture of his company — which means they are more likely to remain on staff for the long term.

"We make the decision to hire with the idea that the candidate will be here at least more than three years, but ideally I don't like to even have an endpoint in mind. I'd rather put my efforts into keeping them happy and making their tenure indefinite," Holbert says.

But that is easier said than done.

Many IT managers turn to formal incentive programs to retain key staff. According to research from staffing specialist Robert Half International, about two-thirds of 1,400 CIOs polled provide training or professional development to keep staff happy. Close to half said they offer flexible schedules, while 41% increase base compensation and 31% offer bonuses.

For his part, Arun DeSouza, director of strategic planning and security, Global Information Systems and Service at Inergy Automotive Systems in Troy, Mich., taps multiple tools such as Myers-Briggs test to match employees with their job duties, and best practices such as periodic reviews and recognitions to keep staff content.

"Training, recognition, remuneration and challenging assignments within a collaborative global milieu set the foundation to help retain top talent," DeSouza says.

CSC's Joy says her company lets employees move into a variety of roles within the company, take overseas assignments and work from home. And for employees considered critical to specific accounts, CSC might include salary increases, promotions and bonuses to keep people on staff — though she reports that option is not very widely used. And new policies are being discussed to further retain staff with the baby boomer exodus on the horizon, she reports.

"Some programs that have been discussed are job sharing, full benefits for employees who work part time, hiring of retirees as contractors and providing benefits," Joy says.

Some appeal to human nature with their efforts to retain staff.

With long hours and little recognition, Nix says the standard operating policies of most IT shops work more to "discourage existing personnel as well as anyone contemplating the field" from staying with their technology-related career choices. To counter negative experiences in the workplace, Nix says he appeals to employees' need to feel useful and valued.