'Dot-com-style' perks and bonuses woo top IT talent

Employers need to reintroduce dot-com-style perks and benefits to stop their top IT staff being poached by competitors or lured into contracting, according to recruitment experts.

Around a quarter of all UK IT workers are now contractors - up five per cent from a year ago - and unemployment among techies is well below the national average of 5.2 per cent at just 2.7 per cent.

ReThink Recruitment says that while remuneration remains the single most important factor for IT staff, organisations also need to look at reintroducing the kind of perks used six years ago before the post-dot-com crash.

Jon Butterfield, MD at ReThink Recruitment, said in a statement: "A lot of employers have become complacent about staff retention in their IT departments and are now paying the price as mission critical projects lose key staff."

Butterfield said he has dealt with one candidate who doubled his £60,000 salary at the same organisation in the space of a year as a result of the number of job offers he received from other companies.

But despite money still being the biggest motivator, Butterfield said IT directors also need to be more creative about how to reward and incentivise their IT staff.

Some of the suggested perks and benefits include share options, time-serve bonuses, secondments, flexible and remote working, fast-track programmes for high-achievers, training and skills development, and social activities and recreational facilities.