IT Staffing Predictions Rise for 2010

After two long years of uncertainty for IT executives and professionals, times are changing for the better. Predicted IT staffing trends are the first clue that the new direction is positive. According to CIOInisght, a recent poll of CIOs conducted by the Society for Information Management (SIM) found that 45% of surveyed CIOs say "they'll have more money to spend on staffers in 2010." That's up more than 10% compared to last year. Only 9% of CIOs say they will be "forced to spend less on salaries and such" in 2010 compared to 19% the year prior.

Along with spending, turnover was also low in recent years. IT workers stayed put during the recession with CIOs reporting turnover at 6.9% in 2009, down from 8.4% in 2008 and 8.1% in 2007. Those turnover numbers may be indicative of a looming talent retention challenge. According to consultancy Foote Partners in ITBusinessEdge, there are "a lot of highly paid but burned-out people" in the market who were asked to take on responsibilities without corresponding increases in pay and benefits.

According to a survey of 1,400 CIOs in Network World, 43% said that "retaining existing workers will be their top staffing priority in 2010" as the outlook for IT services improves.