CIOs: We Need IT Help—Now

• 04/05/2000

Companies’ continued and expanding focus on e-business will keep high-tech employees in high demand through the second quarter of 2000, a recent survey from RHI Consulting finds.

“As companies continue to pursue e-business initiatives, demand for technology professionals who can develop and support Internet-based systems is intensifying,” says Greg Scileppi, executive director of RHI Consulting. “Nationwide, firms are actively recruiting Web developers, e-commerce specialists and systems integrators to align traditional brick and mortar operations with successful e-commerce models.”

According to the firm’s quarterly survey, Information Technology Hiring Index, 26 percent of the 1,400 CIOs polled said they plan to hire additional IT personnel in the next three months. The survey shows a two-percent increase in projected hiring activity over the first quarter of this year.

In addition to high demand for technology professionals, RHI’s study also finds the competitive labor market continues to require that employers offer more attractive hiring packages to prospective new hires.

“A growing number of employers are providing benefits such as flexible work environments and job sharing opportunities to help employees achieve a better work/life balance,” Scileppi says. “Businesses are also boosting long-term retention rates by investing in career development programs for employees, including customized training and staff mentoring.”

RHI projects hiring practices will be most active in the business services industry sector, with more than half of the CIOs surveyed saying they had plans to hire new IT employees in the upcoming quarter. Regionally, the strongest hiring activity is expected to be in the South Atlantic region—which includes states from Delaware to Florida—where approximately 34 percent of respondents said they plan to add IT personnel in the next three months.

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