The world is in the midst of a “Great Reshuffle” of talent, as job transitions globally are up 28 percent over the last few months in 2021. One area where this shifting of talent is especially high is among tech professionals, with more than nine in ten executives in technology seeing higher-than-usual attrition in their ranks. Turnover of information technology (IT) staff is becoming more common and increasingly devastating to organizations – especially higher ed institutions – as tech needs evolve and expand. As colleges’ dependency on technology grows and recruiting, hiring, training and retaining IT talent gets harder by the day, it’s important to consider the risks of not addressing turnover, as well as solutions for it. In part one of our three-part series exploring IT staff turnover, we’ll explain why IT talent is leaving higher education.

9-in-10
technology executives report seeing higher-than-usual attrition in their ranks.*
*PwC US Pulse Survey

6 Reasons IT Professionals Are Leaving Higher Education

Quality IT staff have never been more important, but colleges and universities are losing them to the for-profit sector. A shortage of qualified tech professionals and an increase in available, high-salary job openings has quickly transitioned the market to an employee-driven one.  

Unsurprisingly, retention and recruitment of IT staff has become an acute problem in higher education for the following reasons: 

1. Lower Salaries

As non-profit organizations, few colleges can match the for-profit sector when it comes to IT salaries, with the average U.S. tech salary in 2021 being $152,000. 

2. Remote Work

The increase in remote jobs means individuals can now work for organizations outside of their immediate geographic areas, expanding the jobs available to them. Notably, the IT sector has seen the most interest in remote jobs over the past two years, according to Glassdoor. Among all applications for remote work in June 2021, about 25% were IT jobs. 

3. Limited Career Development Opportunities

At many colleges and universities, especially those considered small– to medium–sized, there are fewer layers of management within an IT department. Once someone reaches a certain level there is often no remaining advancement opportunity. 

4. Easily Transferable Skillsets

Most institutional IT staff roles, including network administrators, systems administrators and tech support, aren’t unique to higher education. This means college IT professionals can easily transition into other industries that offer higher salaries or more desirable benefits. 

5. Competitive, Employee-driven Job Market

Prior to the massive changes of 2020, tech talent was already hard to come by. Now, the rate of unemployed tech workers is nearing all-time lows as job listings for U.S.-based technology roles hit a two-year high in October 2021. To compete, companies are offering IT professionals better benefits, including remote work, paid time off, flexible schedules, stipends for a remote office and other perks that are hard for higher ed institutions to match.  

6. Staff Stress and Burnout

Historically, college IT teams have relied on a few individuals to wear multiple hats and be “jacks of all trades.” Due to the increasing sophistication of technology being used in higher education, these individuals often don’t have the right training and skillsets to perform the expanding number of functions that are now required to operate a school.  

When talent leaves the school, this only compounds the problem further – adding additional stress to current staff and prompting the school to look for so-called “unicorn” professionals who can perform across multiple skillsets at wages below what they could get in the for-profit sector.  

What Are The Consequences of Higher Ed’s IT Turnover Problem? 

Consistent turnover puts hiring managers in the unenviable position of having to settle for less experienced talent and exacerbates the high costs of hiring. But most consequentially, it can spillover to affect the overall experience for students, faculty and staff.  

Author: Elise Povejsil

Elise Povejsil is a former marketing manager (content and communications) for Collegis Education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Conflict Studies from DePauw University.

Categories

Technology Management

Tags

IT managed services
staff augmentation

Published: 12/8/21

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