Over the past 12 months nearly 62% of IT professionals secured a pay raise – a nice accomplishment. 26% of these increases were greater than 15%, according to the recent 2018 Hiring Trends report released by CultureFit Staffing (based in Deerfield, IL) – an even nicer accomplishment. However, for the first time in 4 years, top talent indicated there’s something more important than compensation – Better Leadership, Culture and Job Flexibility all ranked as “extremely important” vs. compensationwhich was prioritized as “important.” It’s possible that the experienced pros are beginning to leverage the demand for their skills when there’s such a wide shortage of talent to fill nearly 350K* vacancies throughout the greater Chicago area. According to CultureFit’s Founder & Principal Staffing Consultant, Adam Kooperman “This shift in priorities, opens the door for businesses seeking a competitive hiring edge to compete for top talent, using methods which may require a shift in policy changes, and/or how management works with their teams, but these shifts do not have a direct impact to the bottom line.”
CultureFit Technology Staffing recently completed their 4th Hiring & Salary Trends Research Report representing the Greater Chicagoland and Milwaukee areas. This could set the stage for a turbulent staffing market in 2019.
If You’re a Technology Professional – Many of You Aren’t Feeling Appreciated
As businesses across all industries continue to push to increase profitability, IT departments are feeling pressured to increase their workloads over what was deemed their original scope of work. Nearly 60% of the skilled talent have felt significant pressure to take on more work, and over 75% indicated they were not compensated for the increased productivity. This may be an indicator for businesses, that aren’t doing so, to begin running a periodic check to understand how their own tech teams are feeling about the amount of work they’re taking on as well as overall appreciation. Frequently, a raise can be averted by using alternative forms of appreciation such as, an extra day off, or a gift card. It’s worth the time and a little creativity to keep attrition and hiring costs as low as possible.
Despite the Challenges – VCs See Illinois, and Chicago as a Great Investment
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All states are vying for a share of the technology category wallet to support overall economic growth. Venture Capitalists certainly believe Illinois is a state worthy of developing and supporting innovative advancements, ranking 5th in the country according to CompTIA – high wages and job opportunities ensure the skilled talent is available to support the growth. This might be why Illinois is ranked 6th in Innovation and Technology Employment.
This significant trend most likely accounts for why Technology and IT skilled talent see Chicago as a great market to develop and grow their career.
Trends like this don’t happen by accident. For Chicago, it was a commitment made by key community stakeholders who directed time and money into new start-up support communities such as 1861 and the Illinois Technology Association.
CultureFit’s 2018 Hiring Trends report includes additional insights from recently released reports from the Bureau of US Labor and Statistics, CompTIA, and Computer Economics to provide the most comprehensive understanding of hiring trends, for hiring companies, as well as future candidates.
For a complete copy of the report, CLICK HERE.
*Source: CompTIA, 2018 CultureFit Staffing 2018 Hiring & Salary Trends Report
