Panel: Dimensions of Mobility in The IT. Profession Examining 'Turnover Culture' and 'Staying Behavior'

摘要

This panel is designed to examine various dimensions of mobility among IT professionals. Turnover rates for IT professionals have risen from the traditional 6-10% to approximately 20% industry-wide (Maddern, 2000) and 25-35% in Fortune 500 companies (Agarwal & Ferratt, 1999). Fortune magazine recently noted that quitting in the technology profession has become literally an annual event, as the average job tenure in IT has shrunk to about 13 months (Daniels & Vinzant, 2000). Quite simply, this has to hurt. Corporate efforts to utilize technology to strategic advantage are often hampered in firms experiencing such high turnover. When IT professionals leave their employers, specialized skills, tacit knowledge, and understanding of specific business operations and systems often depart too. This can be a punch to the gut of an organization -- sometimes a single powerful punch when a key "franchise player" is lost, or a constant pummeling inflicted by a steady exodus of IT professionals.