Workforce retention: what do IT employees really want?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to present and test an integrated model of turnover intentions that addresses the unique nature of the IT profession. We identified a multidimensional set of HR practices likely to increase retention among IT employees and considered citizenship behaviors as well as two distinct types of organizational commitment as key antecedents of turnover intentions. A questionnaire was developed and sent to the Quebec members of the Canadian Information Processing Society. Data from 394 respondents were used to validate the measures and test the research hypotheses. We present and discuss the results and make a series of recommendations for IT and HR executives.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

General Terms:
Documentation, Management

Keywords:
HR practices, IT personnel attitudes, IT turnover