For its recent labor market review , management consultancy Robert Half surveyed 200 CIOs in Germany. Of those surveyed, 43% stated that their turnover in IT specialists has increased over the past three years. Increasingly attractive job openings are the reason for this, believe 44% – and in fact, according to digital association Bitkom , there were 55,000 job vacancies for IT specialists in 2017, or 5,000 more than in 2016. Almost as many CIOs, though, also believe that these sought-after employees prefer positions that offer them a broad range of professional experience in different sectors and companies. Stagnating career development opportunities within their company was seen as the reason for the high turnover rate by 27%.

This fits in with the findings of careers portal get-in-it.de , which asked students, graduates, and young professionals what they in particular look for when setting out in their working life. A thorough induction, an experienced mentor, and the opportunity to try out things for themselves topped the list here. Christian Umbs, Managing Director at Robert Half, therefore advises companies to cater to the individual needs of IT specialists. Forward planning when it comes to the personnel budget is also essential, so as to be prepared for unanticipated employment contract terminations. The length of the recruitment process also seems to be a decisive factor for many applicants: Delays don’t go down well.