The New Successful Workforce

If you're going to style your business for the Internet, you're going to need IT talent. And right now, demand outstrips the supply of good technologists by far, making it tougher than ever to retain staff.

That means information technology managers must focus on cultivating top performers and motivating them into staying onboard rather than chasing after bigger paychecks elsewhere. While there are numerous tactics that companies can deploy to keep their best and brightest - from extending inflated counteroffers to chaining them to their workstations - the most effective strategy is keeping employees from wanting to jump ship in the first place.

By all accounts, compensation remains the key to opening the door to a job candidate's commitment. IT professionals know what they're worth and aren't afraid to demand competitive pay.

But keeping the people you recruit from going back out that door involves much more than cold, hard cash. At the companies that qualify as Computerworld's Best Places to Work in IT, consensus-building management styles, commitment to professional training and flexible working arrangements help keep IT staff content and turnover low.

Squeaky Wheels Get the Grease

Bill Meadors wants to learn Spanish. In the next few weeks, Meadors, lead systems analyst at TECO Energy Inc., a public gas and electricity utility in Tampa, Fla., will start a beginning Spanish course at a local community college.

Currently, Meadors doesn't need to speak Spanish at TECO. But he says he's looking ahead to possibly working with TECO's Guatemalan subsidiary, or moving into a business development role that would involve working with Hispanic commercial accounts.

"We don't have to have just technology training," says Meadors. "As long as the company can see the benefit for the business, it's OK. Who's to say two to three years from now I won't be in IT, but in some other part of the business?"

Joseph Wiley, TECO Energy's CIO, says offering training that takes into account the company's needs inside IT - and the employee's long-term plans outside IT - involves risk: The trained employees may update their resumes and bolt.

But Wiley says he believes these types of expanded training opportunities create more motivated employees. He says it helps build company loyalty, even if the employee moves to another department later in his career.

"If someone comes to work in an IT function, then decides they want to be in marketing or in the power plant, there is a semiannual process review and those goals get factored into their work objective," explains Wiley. "We try to focus on work and personal objectives."

Meadors, a 17-year TECO veteran, says that allowing workers to pursue a combination of training courses makes a compelling case for staying put.

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