Why feelings matter in the quest for Aussie tech talent

In the final quarter of 2021, research by industry analyst firm Gartner suggested close to a third of IT workers in Australia were actively seeking new jobs. This proportion was substantially above that of the broader market, which stood at 23.4% just the previous quarter.

Moreover, additional research by Gartner indicated that the rate of IT workers in Australia during the same period with a high intent to remain with their current employer was 19.6%, well below the global figure (29.1%).

By comparison, in the quarter just prior, 40.5% of Australian employees across all industries reported a high intent to stay with their current employer.

These figures highlight a tech sector that appears to be struggling to hold onto its IT talent. This trend, along with the broader ongoing tech talent shortage—made worse by pandemic-prompted border restrictions—have put many businesses in a tight spot in terms of tech resources.

Priorities among Australian IT workers are shifting

As a result, local IT leaders are finding new and creative ways to attract and hold onto IT workers with the skills they need. And as the rate of digital transformation continues to accelerate across the market in the wake of the pandemic, such skills are at a premium.

Many organisations are struggling to meet their tech talent needs, which has led to a slowdown in new hires, with the time to fill roles increasing says Neha Kumar, a senior executive advisor at Gartner. This, in turn, has the potential to slow down the overall delivery of digital work in organisations.