Abstract

Present day socioeconomic factors have exacerbated the need for superior organizational retention strategies. The knowledge-based economy, the shortage of skilled labour, and shifting work force demographics have made retention issues particularly significant in the IT industry. This exploratory study examined the application of a best practice retention model in IT organizations. The model consists of the six factors most cited in the literature to affect turnover, namely, orientation, training, career development, motivation, compensation, and feedback/evaluation. Three main aspects of retention were explored. First, the extent of application of the six best practices in IT organizations was examined. Second, the perspective of the HR manager was examined to gain insight into both the types of retention strategies being implemented, and the challenges inherent in implementing the best practices. Third, the perspective of the IT professional was examined to gain information regarding which retention strategies most affected commitment. It was found that orientation, career development, non-financial compensation, and feedback confer competitive advantage to IT organizations in terms of retention, while training, intrinsic motivational strategies, and financial compensation are necessary practices to avoid dissatisfaction, but do not encourage retention. A contingency model is proposed, which takes into account the relevance of labour market conditions, demographic factors, and organizational size, structure, and culture to the design of retention strategies.