Technical Difficulties: Hiring and Keeping IT Employees in...

Technical Difficulties:Hiring and Keeping IT

Employees in StateGovernment



The Council ofThe Council ofThe Council ofThe Council ofThe Council ofState GovernmentsState GovernmentsState GovernmentsState GovernmentsState Governments

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The Council ofThe Council ofThe Council ofThe Council ofThe Council ofState GovernmentsState GovernmentsState GovernmentsState GovernmentsState Governments

by Ed Janairo

ii Hiring and Keeping IT Employees in State Government

The Council of State Governments, a multibranch association of the states and U.S. territories, workswith state leaders across the nation and through its regions to put the best ideas and solutions into

practice. To this end, The Council of State Governments:� Builds leadership skills to improve decision-making;� Advocates multistate problem-solving and partnerships;� Interprets changing national and international conditions to prepare states for the future; and� Promotes the sovereignty of the states and their role in the American federal system.

CSG’s Center for Leadership, Innovation and Policy (CLIP) serves the state government community by promot-ing policy development and leadership training and by recognizing innovative state programs. With CSG’s mem-bership and regional leadership conferences as a foundation, CLIP is uniquely positioned to develop and executecritical state problem-solving initiatives with intergovernmental, philanthropic and corporate partners.

CSG Officers:Chair: Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Tom Ryder, Ill. President: Gov. Paul Patton, Ky.Chair-Elect: Senate President Pro Tempore President-Elect: Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Idaho

Chair-Elect: Manny M. Aragon, N.M. Vice President: Gov. Parris Glendening, Md.Vice Chair: Senate President Pro Tem JohnVice Chair: Chichester, Va.

CSG Offices:

HeadquartersDaniel M. Sprague, Executive Director2760 Research Park DriveP.O. Box 11910Lexington, KY 40578-1910(859) 244-8000Fax: (859) 244-8001E-mail: [email protected]: www.csg.org

EasternAlan V. Sokolow, Director

5 World Trade Center, Suite 9241New York, NY 10048(212) 912-0128Fax: (212) 912-0549E-mail: [email protected]

MidwesternMichael H. McCabe, Director

641 E. Butterfield Road, Suite 401Lombard, IL 60148(630) 810-0210Fax: (630) 810-0145E-mail: [email protected]

The Council of State Governments

SouthernColleen Cousineau, Director3355 Lenox Road, Suite 1050Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 266-1271Fax: (404) 266-1273

E-mail: [email protected]

WesternKent Briggs, Director121 Second Street, 4th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94105

(415) 974-6422Fax: (415) 974-1747E-mail: [email protected], CO: (303) 572-5454Fax (303) 572-5499

WashingtonJim Brown, General Counsel and Director444 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite 401Washington, DC 20001(202) 624-5460Fax: (202) 624-5452E-mail: [email protected]

The Council of State Governments iii

Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ............................................................................................................................ iv

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction: The Shortage of State Information Technology Workers ..................................................... 2

Figure 1: How States Classify Their IT Worker Shortage .......................................................... 2

Figure 2: Job Levels Suffering Shortages................................................................................ 2

Figure 3: Vacancy Rates of IT Positions ................................................................................. 3

Outsourcing Information Technology Functions .................................................................................... 4

Figure 4: Percentage of IT Staff Outsourced by States in FY 1998-99 ........................................ 4

Figure 5: Types of IT Outsourcing Used by States ................................................................... 4

State Government Efforts to Recruit Staff ............................................................................................ 5

Figure 6: Recruiting Methods Used for IT Positions ................................................................. 5

Figure 7: Four Tools for Recruiting for All Industries ................................................................ 6

Figure 8: Average Salary for All IT Positions ........................................................................... 6

Figure 9: Barriers to Recruiting New It Staff ........................................................................... 7

Figure 10: Changes Made to State Compensation/Classification Systemsto Recruit New IT Staff .................................................................................................... 8

State Government Efforts to Retain IT Staff ....................................................................................... 10

Figure 11: Annual Turnover Rate ........................................................................................10

Figure 12: Obstacles to Retaining State IT Personnel ..............................................................11

Figure 13: Job Benefits that Matter Most to IT Workers ..........................................................12

Figure 14: Salary Gains for Job-Hoppers ..............................................................................12

Figure 15: Changes to State Classification/Compensation Systems to RetainCurrent IT Personnel ......................................................................................................13

State Initiatives and Proposals to Address State IT Worker Shortage ...................................................... 14

Appendix A: IPMA/NASPE Findings ................................................................................................ 18

Appendix B: Summary of Survey Results for Each State ...................................................................... 22

Appendix C: The Survey Instrument ................................................................................................. 26

Endnotes ...................................................................................................................................... 30

iv Hiring and Keeping IT Employees in State Government

Acknowledgments

The Council of State Governments (CSG) would like to thank the state officials who kindly responded to thesurveys we sent regarding the recruitment and retention of information technology workers in their states.

Funding for Technical Difficulties: Hiring and Keeping IT Employees in State Government was provideby The Council of State Governments 21st Century Fund. The 21st Century Fund is an internal foundationoperating within the Council’s 501(c)(3) organization. The purpose of the Fund is to strengthen the Council’spolicy and research capacity by supporting innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to product development.

Corporate contributors include:� American Express Company� Arter & Hadden LLP� BP America� DuPont� Eastman Kodak Company� Glaxo Wellcome Inc.� Metabolife International, Inc.� Pfizer Inc.� Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc.� Philip Morris Management Corporation� Southwestern Bell Corporation� The Procter and Gamble Company� 3M Company� United Parcel Service� Volvo North American� Wyeth-Ayerst LaboratoriesThanks goes to the National Association of State Information Resources Executives, National Association of

State Telecommunications Directors, National Association of State Personnel Executives and National Associationof State Chief Administrators for their support in this project.

Thanks also to Connie LaVake of CSG’s production staff for her excellent work on this report.While many individuals and organizations contributed to this report, the contents of this report do not

constitute the official or unofficial position of The Council of State Governments nor any of the above-namedindividuals or organizations. The findings and recommendations in this report, as well as any inaccuracies oromissions, remain the sole responsibility of the author.

The Council of State Governments 1

The purpose of the present study, administered byThe Council of State Governments in conjunction withthe National Association of State Information ResourcesExecutives, the National Association of State PersonnelExecutives, the National Association of State Telecom-munications Directors and the National Association ofState Chief Administrators, is to shed light on the diffi-culty that state governments are having in the recruitmentand retention of information technology staff, and toreport on how some state governments are addressingthis problem. This study is based primarily on a surveyof the top information technology officials of each state,Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Of the 52 agenciesthat received surveys, 49 responded.

According to several recent reports, there is indeeda tight labor market for IT professionals in the UnitedStates, if not an outright shortage of these workers,and employers are competing fiercely for them. Onemajor report sponsored by the Information TechnologyAssociation of America and conducted by Virginia Poly-technical Institute and State University estimates thatnationally there are some 346,000 vacancies in coreinformation technology positions.1 Surveys of the privatesector show that recruiting and retaining informationtechnology professionals remains a difficult task in lightof the increasing demand for employees, an apparentlack of qualified workers and dynamic innovations inhigh-tech industries.

Experts expect the situation only to worsen in thenear future. A recent Department of Commerce reportindicates that from 1996 to 2006, 1,134,000 newinformation technology positions will be created, andan additional 240,000 already existing positions willhave to be filled due to retirements.2

What is a human resources hardship for the privatesector turns out to be even more burdensome for stategovernments. A tight labor market for information tech-nology professionals affects state government moreacutely since, as is widely known, state governmentsdo not have the financial resources of the private sectorto attract and retain quality IT staff. Highlighting theplight of state governments, a recent Computerworldsalary survey shows that in 22 out of 23 job classifica-tions relevant to government IT workers, the averagegovernment worker’s compensation was lower thanthe average for all workers in that classification, at timesas much as 19% lower.3 So, state governments are

Executive Summarynot only faced with a shortage of information technol-ogy workers but also find themselves losing to corpo-rations in the competition to hire these workers.

This report provides a brief overview of the currentstate of the information technology labor market inlight of recent studies and gives greater details of theresults of The Council of State Governments’ 1999survey of state information technology administrators.Tables are provided to summarize responses to thesurvey questions.

Some of the more significant findings of the surveyare listed below.

� All but one state indicate a shortage of technologyworkers.

� Ninety percent of the states responding describethe shortage of information technology workers aseither chronic or regular.

� Two-fifths of the states have an information tech-nology vacancy rate between 6% and 10%. Anothertwo-fifths have a more than 10% vacancy rate.

� Eighty percent of the states indicate that they re-sort to short-term, long-term and project-specificoutsourcing.

� The three most commonly cited obstacles to re-cruiting information technology professionals are: 1)low base salary, 2) lack of qualified applicants, and 3)poor image of civil service.

� Thirty states indicate that they have restructuredtheir classification/compensation system for informa-tion technology staff in order to attract candidates, andan additional nine plan to do so as well.

� Over one-third of the states have an informationtechnology turnover rate greater than 10%, three ofwhich (AZ, FL, TX) report turnover rates greater than20%.

� Twenty-eight states have restructured their classi-fication/compensation system in order to better retaintheir current information technology staff. The mostcommon changes made include salary increases, bonusprograms, flex-time and telecommuting allowances, andincreased opportunities for advancement.

� The most commonly cited obstacles to retaininginformation technology personnel are an inability tocompete with the private sector, low base salary andan insufficient reward system.

2 Hiring and Keeping IT Employees in State Government

Introduction: The Shortage of State InformationTechnology Workers

It is well known that nearly every industry in theUnited States, in both the private and the public sectors,is having great difficulty finding the workers it needs tofill information technology positions. Study after study findsthat there are too few workers with these in-demandskills and that those with such skills can command inor-dinately high compensation.

It should be stated that there has been some contro-versy surrounding the question of whether there is aninformation technology worker “shortage,” and alsowhether or not the federal government should increasethe number of H-1B visas that it allows annually to bringin more foreign information technology workers.4 Pro-ponents of such measures by the federal governmentinsist that the scarcity of information technology work-ers should be classified as a shortage. Opponents tosuch moves suggest that the American workforce isstill under-employed and that there are plenty of work-ers already in the country with the aptitude to fill theinformation technology job vacancies. The industry andthe government, they assert, need only to encourageappropriate training for these workers. Because of the

controversy, some speak of the informationtechnology labor market as being “tight”

rather than as having a “worker shortage.”This report does not engage this debate and offers no opinion whether such a shortage exists

in the general American labor market. The states, how-ever, indicate that for their staffing needs, there is ashortage of qualified information technology workers,and for the purpose of this report, the recruitment andretention difficulties of information technology staff forstate governments are referred to as a shortage. Severalreports speak to the scarcity of information technologyworkers and indicate that the need for additional work-ers is great throughout the country.

One report claims that there is at least a 10% va-cancy rate of core IT positions (programmers, ana-lysts, scientists), and that in the next few years3,222,000 IT job vacancies for all skill levels will haveto be filled.5 This figure not only includes high-skilledcore IT job positions, but also “employees who usecomputer-based information systems in any way.”6

Another estimate by the U.S. Department of Com-merce suggests that for the 10 years between 1996and 2006, the United States will have 1.3 million “high-skilled” job openings.7

CSG SurveyIn 1999, The Council of State Governments, along

with National Association of State Information Re-

Figure 1: How StatesClassify Their ITWorker Shortage

Figure 2: Job Levels SufferingShortages

Num

ber o

f St

ates

Job Level

Entry Intermediate Advanced(including managerial)

None of theAbove

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

3937

24

0

Source: 1999 CSG survey of state IT administrators

No shortageOccasionalRegular

ChronicNo survey submitted



sources Executives, the National Association of StatePersonnel Executives, the National Association of StateTelecommunications Directors and the National Associa-tion of State Chief Administrators, conducted a surveyof the information technology agencies of each state.The survey went to the primary contact for the NationalAssociation of State Information Resources Executivesin each state. This survey was designed to shed lighton the IT staffing problems that state agencies face,and asked the respondents to indicate the difficultiesthe states have in recruiting and retaining IT workers.The survey instrument is appended to the end of thisreport.

In The Council of State Governments InformationTechnology Personnel Survey, a nearly unanimous 48states responded affirmatively to the question ofwhether there is a shortage of information technologyworkers in their state administrations. When asked toclassify the severity of the shortage as either rare, occa-sional, regular or chronic, the overwhelming majority(44 of 49 respondents) indicated that the shortage iseither regular or chronic. No one responded that theshortage was rare. Only Kansas, New Jersey, New Yorkand Washington reported shortages of an “occasional”nature (see Figure 1).

The survey participants were also asked to indicatethe position levels at which the shortage is felt. Notsurprisingly, the greatest need is for technical workerswith advanced training and with managerial skills.However, the shortage is also felt strongly for interme-diate positions, and perhaps most notably, in entry-level positions as well. Nearly half of the respondents(24 states) report that even positions requiring basictechnical skills are difficult to fill. Presumably there wouldbe the greatest number of candidates for these entry-level positions. Figure 2 shows the relative severity ofthe shortage according to job level.

Vacancy RatesIt is well known that many information technology

jobs throughout all industries are now vacant. According

to the recent ITAA/Virginia Tech report, an estimated10% of all information technology jobs in the nationare unfilled. The CSG survey reveals that the state gov-ernments are faring just as, or more, poorly in tryingto fill their own information technology positions. Fig-ure 3 shows how states responded when asked thepercentage of unfilled information technology positions.Although almost half of the respondents indicate that10% or fewer of their positions are currently vacant, asignificant number — 14 states — report that theyhave vacancy rates in excess of 15%. These states in-clude Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa,Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico,Puerto Rico and Rhode Island. Three states —Indiana, Georgia and North Carolina —report over a 20% vacancy rate.

Figure 3: VacancyRates of IT Positions

Less than 5%6% to 10%11% to 15%16% to 20%

More than 20%No survey submittedNo response regarding vacancy rates



Outsourcing Information Technology FunctionsOne way to compensate for high vacancies of infor-

mation technology staff, or for small information tech-nology staffs in general, is to outsource certain informationtechnology functions. Outsourcing is the practice ofcontracting with outside parties to perform informationtechnology functions for an organization or agencywhich lacks the staff to fulfill adequately these functions.

Outsourcing, however, is a mixed blessing. Amongthe advantages of outsourcing is often (but not always)the ability to cut costs by removing menial and time-consuming tasks from intermediate and senior levelstaff. Also, by outsourcing, a state may avoid the needfor a permanent staff member for only occasional andproject-specific tasks.

An obvious disadvantage is that states could losecontrol over that function without oversight mechanisms,and this may lead to not only poor quality of work butalso higher costs. Moreover, not only menial functionsare outsourced, but often also functions that requirehigh levels of technical expertise, and a state may reacha point at which the cost of having a highly skilledworker on staff is less than the cost of outsourcing.

But when a state cannot attract adequate staff andafford to hire permanently a more highly skilled informa-tion technology worker, it must outsource to usuallyvery expensive consultants. Hourly fees for outsourcedindependent consultants can be exorbitant, easily ex-ceeding $100. More and more workers are leaving

regular employment and are turning to more lu-crative consulting. Of course, this only exac-

erbates the problems of outsourcing. Ofthe states responding to the survey, only

Delaware reports that it does not outsource. Figures 4and 5 indicate the extent of state outsourcing.

Short-term outsourcing and project-specific outsourc-ing are more prevalent conditions for contracting thirdparty labor. Often, programmers are needed for specificand limited projects such as the establishment of anintranet Web site or a database, for example. However,39 states report that long-term outsourcing is used,suggesting that third-party consultants may be perform-ing information technology functions that permanentin-house staff could do if the state were able to recruitand retain qualified staff. Such long-term outsourcingis used, for example, for the maintenance and adminis-tration of networks and databases. Also striking is that21 states outsource over 10% of their IT staff, and 12states (Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky,Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Puerto Rico,Rhode Island and Wyoming) outsource 16% or moreof their IT staff. The types of IT functions that are mostcommonly outsourced are programming, followed bysystems analyst functions, with well over one-half ofthe states reporting these types of outsourcing. Nearlyhalf of the states outsource database management func-tions and Web page work and Internet administration.

Figure 5: Types of ITOutsourcing Used by States

Num

ber o

f St

ates

Out

sour

cing

Outsourcing Type

Short Term(< 6 months)

50

40

30

20

10

0

41


Long Term(>6 months)

ProjectSpecific

39 40


Figure 4: Percentage ofIT Staff Outsourced byStates in FY 1998-99

No. ofStates

Less than 5% ..................................................................... 76% to 10% ........................................................................ 911% to 15% .................................................................... 1116% to 20% ...................................................................... 4More than 20%................................................................ 6


State Government Efforts to Recruit IT StaffMarketing and Recruiting Efforts

Recruiting state information technology staff is difficultfor a variety of reasons. Restrictive merit systems, non-competitive salaries, and an often less-than-favorableperception of public service hamper recruiting efforts.Therefore, states must become — and many are becoming— more vigorous in their job advertising and recruiting.

In the past, states might have simply posted job open-ings on an in-house bulletin board or placed an ad inthe local paper. Though these traditional forms of jobannouncement are still widely used, many states arebecoming more innovative, often taking their cue fromthe private sector.

Some form of Internet advertising is embraced bynearly all states now, particularly in the use of the stateWeb sites. Further, nearly half of the states have turnedto commercial on-line information technology job Websites that have gained much attention recently throughnational advertising campaigns. Arguably, such Web sitesare a main resource for information technology work-ers seeking new jobs. Also of note, six states (Arizona,Michigan, Montana, Texas, Washington and Wiscon-sin) have turned to commercial headhunting firms,which themselves have become notoriously aggressive

in their recruitment of information technology workers.This is often a very costly method of recruiting and is asure indication of the high level of competition thatexists for information technology workers.

Other types of recruiting reported by the states in-clude the following: Washington participates in profes-sional and association activities for recruitment, andMichigan reports that it also relies on personal referrals.Of especial note, Wisconsin and Oregon report thatthey each have a high-tech recruiter on staff. Thesestates devote a full-time staff member, knowledgeableabout both information technology and human re-sources, to marketing information technology positionsand recruiting job candidates. This is perhaps one ofthe more important innovations in state recruitmentefforts. Figure 6 summarizes how frequently certainrecruiting methods are used.

Changes in states’ recruitment methods, particularlyin using the Internet and staffing a full-time recruiter,may be steps in the right direction. In addition, a recentsurvey of public sector organizations conducted by theNational Association for State Personnel Executivesand the International Personnel Management Associa-tion suggests that two methods of recruiting haveproven especially effective: hiring outside the civil ser-

Figure 6: Recruiting Methods Used for IT Positions


50

40

30

20

10

0

Num

ber o

f St

ates

In-HousePostings

Newspaper Internet —Commercial Sites

Internet —State Sites

Professional/AssociationPublications

IT JobFairs

Recruiting/ExecutiveSearch Firms

CampusRecruiting

Other

Method of Recruitment

4644

23

42

21

30

6

32

6


vice test and hiring above the minimum salary rate.8

The survey also notes that the least effective methodsof hiring new information technology staff are recruit-ment through information technology job fairs andcampus recruiting. This is an interesting result, especiallyin light of a recent Computerworld survey of recruitingmethods for all industries. This Computerworld surveyindicates that the top four recruiting tools are, in orderof effectiveness: 1) employee referrals, 2) recruitingevents (job fairs, campus recruiting, etc.), and tied forthird, search agencies and internet recruiting services.9

Anecdotal evidence suggests that attendees are moredrawn to private sector display booths than to publicsector booths. So whereas job fairs may in fact be boun-tiful sources for IT job candidates, as the Computerworldsurvey indicates, public sector organizations must findways of drawing these job fair attendees to their booths.The state recruiters must then seize this opportunity ofdirect contact with potential candidates to present gov-ernment work as an attractive alternative to privatesector work.

Of the five states that report an IT job vacancy rateof less than 5% (Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvaniaand South Dakota), four use job fairs and campus re-cruiting, four use a state Web site to advertise positions,and two advertise on commercial Web sites. None ofthese states use private recruiting or executive searchfirms.

Obstacles to RecruitmentLow Salaries. Despite stepping up their marketing

and recruiting efforts, states are still at a disadvantage.The robust economy and unusually low unemploymentrate have made the general labor market tight to beginwith, but as several recent reports testify, informationtechnology workers are even more scarce and the pri-

vate sector is paying unprecedentedly highamounts for these skilled workers.

Without the resources that the privatesector has to attract information tech-

nology workers, the states especially are faced withobstacles to recruiting IT staff. Not surprisingly, themost commonly cited barrier is the lower base salarytypically offered by state government. Forty-three statesindicate that this is the greatest obstacle. According toa recent Computerworld magazine salary survey, inall but one of the 23 information technology job classifi-cations relevant to government employment, the salaryfor government workers was lower than the averagefor workers in all sectors, and at times nearly 20%lower than the average for all workers of a givenclassification.10

For example, the average national compensation fora database manager in all sectors is $68,168. The aver-age compensation in a private financial organization,that is, in one of the highest-paying industries, is nearly$100,000. The average government salary for a data-base manager, on the other hand, is $55,288, 19%less than the across-the-board average, and 45% lessthan what financial organizations pay. Not coinciden-tally, database management is frequently outsourcedby state governments, according to the CSG survey.Database management is an ongoing function (as op-posed to short-term and project-specific) and, if out-sourced, typically is costly. If state governments can-not attract database managers to their permanent staffs,then they will be forced to outsource the work to ex-pensive database consultants.

Another example is the systems analyst position. Asindicated in the CSG survey, this work is also com-monly outsourced. The nature of this position lendsitself to longer-term tasks such as ongoing maintenance,Source: “Computerworld,” January 11, 2000

Figure 7: Top Four Toolsfor Recruiting for AllIndustries (Percentage ofEmployees Hired by Each Method)

Employee Referrals ................................................... 25%Job Fairs ........................................................................ 10%Search Agencies ........................................................... 8%Internet Recruitment Services .................................. 8%

Figure 8: Average Salary forAll IT Positions

Sala

ry

Industry

Government

$100,000

$80,000

$60,000

$40,000

$20,000

$0

$51,129

Source: “Computerworld,” September 6, 1999

AllIndustries

Highest PaidIndustries

$56,682

$86,159


administration and analysis of systems and processes(as opposed to project-specific programming functions).Given the high cost of outsourcing highly skilled work,it may also be more cost-effective to have systems ana-lysts as part of a state’s permanent staff.

But it is unlikely that government salaries could lurethe systems analyst away from consulting or privatesector work. According to the Computerworld salarysurvey, government systems analysts earn nearly 10%less than the average salary for all sectors and nearly20% less than the same worker in a financial organiza-tion. Though prima facie the government sector wouldbenefit from hiring more systems analysts, clearly lowersalaries will be an obstacle to recruiting them. Tradition-ally restrictive state merit and compensation systemswill make recruitment even more difficult.

In order to give a snapshot of the salary disparitythat government IT workers may face, Figure 8 showsthe average salary for all information technology work-ers in government agencies. This figure is based on arecent annual Computerworld salary survey. Figure 8represents the average salary for the 23 job categoriesrelevant to government workers (as indicated in thesurvey responses).11

This chart also reveals the average salary for all in-formation technology workers in all industries in thosesame 23 job categories. The survey lists 27 distinctindustries. The highest-paying industry differed for each

job category. The final figure in this chart is the averagesalary for all IT positions based on the highest payingindustry for a given job category. This shows what theaverage IT worker may consider as a salary in the field.In other words, the so-called average IT worker, earning$56,682 a year sees his or her highest paid counter-part earning $86,159, 52% more. The disparity is evengreater, of course, for the government worker. Theaverage highest paid IT worker earns 68% more thanaverage government IT worker.

Lack of Qualified Workers. The second mostcommonly cited barrier is the shortage of qualified candi-dates. Despite the widespread shortage of IT workers,many recruiters and IT managers report that there areoften many candidates for a given position, but thesecandidates may not have adequate experience or skills.Staffing information technology positions is more diffi-cult than with many other types of positions becausethe pace of technological change is especially dynamic.Technological innovation and revolution are common-place, and as hardware and software become obsoletequickly, so do the skills of many IT workers.

Image of Government Work. Interestingly, thethird most commonly cited barrier to recruiting newstaff is the poor image of civil service in the minds ofprospective IT candidates. Further, many potential jobcandidates assume that the technology level employedby state government lags far behind that of the private

Figure 9: Barriers to Recruiting New IT Staff


50

40

30

20

10

0

Num

ber o

f St

ates

Base SalaryToo Low

The Barriers

43

InsufficientBenefits Package

No Opportunityfor Advancement

Poor Image ofCivil Service

Merit SystemDiscourages Candidates

Lack of QualifiedCandidates

Other

9

13

24

18

31

12


sector and therefore lacks appeal. The assumption ap-pears to be based on the sometimes mistaken notionthat government agencies do not have the financialresources to implement the most recent technology. Itmay be assumed that government agencies are morelikely to have a mainframe environment, for example,rather than a server/client network.

Of course, states, like the private sector, are often in-volved with “cutting-edge” projects, such as ERP (EnterpriseResource Planning) implementation and Internet-basede-commerce. Nonetheless, candidates are often influencedby old stereotypes of “government work” and do not rec-ognize a dynamism in state IT departments similar tothat of the private sector. As discussed above, this un-fortunate bias against government work may very wellbe reflected in the ineffectiveness of recruiting at jobfairs.

State IT work may be the victim of a double prejudice.According to a recent Department of Commerce re-port, it is not only government work that suffers froma poor public perception, but also technology work ingeneral and because of this, young people are not at-tracted to IT work.12 The report recommends a con-certed effort by business, educators and policy-makersto market a new image of technology work. A similarpublic relations face-lift for government technologyagencies is recommended by some states in their re-sponses to the CSG survey.

Other Barriers. Twelve states indicated other bar-riers to recruiting IT staff. Delaware cites the need for

an “enterprise-wide recruiting process.” Geor-gia cites as an obstacle the inability to offer

bonuses, tuition reimbursement and otherincentives. Also, Georgia and Oregon

indicate that bureaucratic processes, virtually absent inthe private sector, slow down the hiring process, therebydiscouraging candidates. Michigan cites the civil servicepay structure and pay caps as an obstacle. Washington,D.C., cites its residency requirement for employmentas a barrier. Figure 9 shows the frequency that statescite various obstacles to recruiting IT staff.

Responses to RecruitmentBarriers

The CSG survey asks whether states have madechanges to the IT job classification and compensationsystem in order to better recruit candidates. Thirty-twostates (65% of the respondents) replied affirmatively.

States most commonly cited an increase in the basepay for information technology workers. Twenty-onestates report having made this change. Forty-threestates, however, reported that low base salary is a ma-jor obstacle to recruiting, and though many states areaddressing this problem now, the fact that only halfreport having raised base salaries indicates many can-not do so.

For states, in addition to the low base salary, a com-pensation system that tries to treat government work-ers in a uniform manner is problematic. The secondmost cited reform, made by 16 states, is creating aunique pay structure for IT workers.

Some states have tried to capitalize on perks of gov-ernment work that private sector companies find diffi-cult to offer. Undoubtedly, the private sector offers highwages, bonuses and even at times expensive automo-biles. However, the private sector has become increas-ingly demanding of the IT worker’s time. Weekendwork, 60-plus hour work-weeks and being on-call 24hours are not unheard of.

Some state governments tout the flexibility of gov-ernment work schedules. Twelve states report that theyhave instituted a telecommuting option in order toattract IT workers. Eleven states have implemented al-ternative work scheduling or flex-time. The flexibility of astate work schedule also complements well anotherinitiative made by some states to attract IT workers,namely, the reimbursement for a worker’s continuingeducation. In many cases, the flexibility of a worker’sschedule allows for additional training or schoolingoutside of the workplace. Eleven states have imple-mented programs to help pay for further education.Figure 10 summarizes the kinds of changes that stateshave made for the purpose of improving recruitmentefforts.

Other Changes. Some states report additionalchanges to the state compensation system in an effortto recruit IT staff. Arizona simplified the IT job classifi-cation structure. Hawaii created a “shortage pay” cate-Source: 1999 CSG survey of state IT administrators

Figure 10: Changes Madeto State Compensation/Classification Systemsto Recruit New IT Staff

Changes No. ofMade StatesIncreased Base Pay ........................................................ 21Enhanced Benefits Package .......................................... 2Alternate Schedule/Flex-Time................................... 11Telecommuting ............................................................... 12Education Reimbursement .......................................... 11Unique Pay Structure for IT ........................................ 16Other ................................................................................. 12


gory. Iowa, Michigan and South Carolina implementedbonus programs. Kansas trains existing staff who havean aptitude for IT work. Louisiana has flexible maximumhire rates. North Dakota implemented quarterly salaryreviews. In Pennsylvania, all information technologyworkers were elevated one full pay range as part of apay restructuring program. South Carolina has allowedtuition reimbursement, flexible work schedules, awardsand recognition programs, and a casual dress code.Washington state combined job classes, lowered mini-mum qualifications, simplified IT civil service exams,banded IT exam scores, and matrixed skill sets to betteralign skills with job needs. Wisconsin developed new

IT classifications and Discretionary CompensationAdjustments used for retention, equity, change in re-sponsibility and increase in competency.

Of the five states that report having a vacancy rateof 5% or less, four report that they have restructuredthe classification/compensation system to attract newcandidates. Of these states (New York, Ohio, Pennsyl-vania and South Dakota), two have increased the basepay, two have implemented alternate scheduling orflex-time, one has allowed for telecommuting, one hasinstituted a program for education cost reimbursement,and three have created a unique pay structure for ITpositions.


The Problem of TurnoverHiring IT staff initially is a difficult enough task for

the states. Unfortunately, keeping them is a task justas difficult, if not more so. According to the CSG survey,18 states estimate that they have a turnover rate ofgreater than 11% among their IT staff, with Arizona,Florida and Texas reporting a turnover rate greaterthan 20%, and with Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota,Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia and Wisconsin report-ing a turnover rate between 16% and 20%. Seventeenstates report a turnover rate of 6% to 10%, and 12states report a turnover rate of less than 5%. The statesreporting the lowest turnover rate include Connecticut,Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hamp-shire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania,Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. Figure 11 illus-trates the turnover rates for the states. These turnoverrates are especially troubling considering that accord-ing to one recent study, the average turnover rate forall state employees is around 9%.13

The CSG survey asked the states what they perceiveas the barriers to retaining IT staff. Not surprisingly,many of the barriers to recruiting IT staff also exist in

their attempt to retain them.The greatest obstacle that state IT managersface, the respondents suggest, is competi-

tion with the private sector. In addition

to much higher salaries, private sector companiesemploy unusually aggressive headhunters. Thirty-eightstates, or 78% of the respondents, experience this asa barrier. Moreover, 35 states report low base salary tobe a major obstacle to holding on to their IT staff. Thesalary disparity between government workers and ITstaff in other industries has been discussed above.

Another commonly cited barrier to successful reten-tion is an insufficient system of performance rewards,whether through bonuses or other forms of recognition.In the rigid structure of state compensation systems, ITmanagers do not have the freedom to single out extra-ordinary IT staff and reward them accordingly.

Aside from monetary reward, however, it is interest-ing to note that the states also recognize as a problemthe insufficient non-monetary rewards, such as publicrecognition or more challenging job assignments.Thirty-one states report this as a barrier. Also, manystates (17) write that the lack of advancement opportu-nities encourages workers to leave, again speaking tothe inability of states to reward better workers. In addi-tion, five states report that the lack of high-profileprojects presents an obstacle to retaining staff.

Other barriers cited by the states include the follow-ing. Alabama cites slow new technology adoption ratesdue to insufficient funding and staffing levels. Georgiacites the inability to offer tuition reimbursement, in-houseamenities and in-house training. Nevada cites old tech-nology as an obstacle. Washington, D.C., cites the poorimage of civil service that many people may hold.Wyoming, as a predominantly rural state, cites isola-tion. Figure 12 shows the barriers cited by the states.

What IT Workers WantHow might a state address this challenge of reten-

tion? Given that low salaries may discourage workersfrom staying with state government, it seems obviousthat a state should ensure that their salaries are satis-factory. Increasingly, however, employers in the publicand private sectors recognize that most IT workersappear to be unlike many other types of workers.Though monetary compensation ranks high in impor-tance for them, they tend to seek other rewards aswell. State managers recognize this when they reportthat current reward levels, both monetary and non-monetary, may be insufficient. Anecdotal evidencesuggests that IT workers generally seek out greaterintellectual stimulation in their jobs and, when theircurrent job becomes lackluster, they search for morechallenging opportunities. This contributes to the well-known trend of job-hopping. It may therefore requirenot only monetary, but non-monetary incentives as wellto keep IT workers.

State Government Efforts to Retain IT Staff

Figure 11: AnnualTurnover Rate

More than 20%Less than 5%6% to 10%11% to 15%16% to 20%

No survey submittedNo response regarding vacancy rates



Further, job-hopping itself has become standard prac-tice. An InformationWeek survey indicates that ITmanagers stay with an employer for an average of fiveyears, and IT staff stay an average of only four years.14

Many of these job-hopping workers report that theystay with an employer only as long as the work is excit-ing to them, and if an employer does not keep up withthe latest trends of quickly changing technology, theirturnover rate may indeed be high.

In addition, the InformationWeek survey indicatesthat 70% of employed managers and staff have beencontacted by headhunting agencies — known for theirtenacity — which further increases high turnover rates.So employers are beginning to see that the notion ofbuilding a decades-long career with a single employeris alien to IT workers today and getting them to staywith an organization is increasingly a challenge.

What does a manager do to retain workers? Beforeexamining the states’ responses to the CSG surveyregarding this question, it would be worthwhile to lookat a more specific indication of what IT workers desirefrom their employers. The InformationWeek surveysheds a great deal of light on what IT workers value intheir job and what makes them want to stay with anemployer.15 In the survey, IT managers and staff wereasked what elements of a job would be highly impor-

tant to them. They were given a list of such elementsand allowed to choose more than one as that which“matters most.” Certainly monetary rewards are im-portant to IT workers, but significantly, these workersalso highly value less tangible benefits of their jobs.According to the survey, most important is the level ofchallenge and responsibility that the job has, followedclosely by atmosphere of the workplace, base pay, un-derstanding one’s place in the company’s mission,employee benefits and job stability. Figure 13 summa-rizes the results of this survey.

Knowing that the typical IT worker might want avariety of these elements in a job may stave off higherturnover without constant salary increases. Unfortunately,emphasizing the challenge of one’s job and the atmo-sphere of the state agency may have its limits. As variedand complex as the desiderata of IT workers may be,these workers will nonetheless be drawn to higherwages, and the desire for higher wages will affect turn-over rates. A recent study by InfoWorld Magazine in-dicates that many IT workers have the impression thatthey can increase their salary if they change jobs.16

And indeed the survey shows that job-hopping workersdo find higher wages. Some of the findings of this re-port are summarized in the following chart (Figure 14).

Although the data in the Infoworld survey shows

Figure 12: Obstacles to Retaining State IT Personnel


Num

ber o

f St

ates

The Obstacles

Unable to Competewith Private Sector

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0Few High

Profile ProjectsLack of Advancement

OpportunitiesBase Salary

Too LowInsufficient

Reward System

38

17

5

35

31

9

Other


Figure 13: Job Benefits that Matter Most to IT Workers

Source: “InformationWeek,” April 26, 1999

Percentage of Respondents

40200 8060 100

Challenge of Job, Responsibility

Job Atmosphere

Base Pay

Seeing Role within Company’s Goals

Benefits

Job Stability

Financial Stability of the Company

Immediate Supervisor’s Effectiveness

Understanding Company’s Business Strategy

Potential for Promotion

Corporate Culture

Bonus Opportunities

Educational Opportunities

Flexible Work Schedule

StaffManagement

that job-hopping allows for greater salary increases,the report cautions that some of those large increasesmay be going to people who were underpaid to beginwith. Someone whose salary is at the market rate wouldnot necessarily see a larger increase, if at all, by job-hopping. But given that non-monetary benefits rankhighly on the IT worker’s wish list, there may be lessexpensive ways to enhance retention efforts.

States’ Changes to theCompensation System

The states, all too aware of the competition to retaintheir information technology workers, have tried toaddress the problem of high turnover. They have notonly tried to raise salaries, but also have tried to re-spond to the kinds of desires that are reflected in thesurvey results above. Twenty-eight states report thatthey have changed their job classification and compen-sation systems in order to retain their IT personnel,according to the CSG survey.

The most common change has been a raise insalaries, with 22 states reporting increased IT staff basepay. The second most frequently cited change is theimplementation of telecommuting, that is, allowing theworker to perform some, most or even all, job func-tions from home. Given the current state of technol-ogy and fast and secure Internet connections, this hasbecome a viable option for state governments. Four-teen states report having implemented some form oftelecommuting as a way to addess turnover problems.

The third most frequently reported change to infor-mation technology workers’ compensation is the useof bonus programs. State governments recognize thatmany IT workers have come to expect such bonusesand have implemented some form of bonus programto remain competitive with private sector employers.

Figure 14: Salary Gains for Job-Hoppers

Source: “InfoWorld,” December 11, 1999

Merit Increase atCurrent Job

Lateral Move withinSame Company

Promoted to a Higher-LevelJob in Same Company

Moved to a Similar Positionat a Different Company

Moved to a Higher-Level Positionat a Different Company

10%5%0% 20%15% 25% 30%

Sr. Management Mid-Management Staff

35%


Bonuses have increasingly become a major part of anIT worker’s compensation in the private sector, par-ticularly as a reward for the timely completion of majorprojects. Bonuses are also becoming common as areward for the acquisition of in-demand IT skills. Twelvestates report having instituted such programs: California,Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Min-nesota, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.For example, Maine provides a bonus for the comple-tion of training programs. Also, Michigan has allowedfor special pay for the completion of projects.

As suggested in the InformationWeek survey resultsabove, information technology staff place a good dealof importance on educational and training opportunitiesoffered or funded by the employer. Ongoing trainingis, of course, essential for work in a field whose tech-nology is ever changing. Many states, recognizing thedesire for — and the importance of — ongoing train-ing, have either implemented employee developmentprograms, enhanced IT training program or providedsupport for formal continuing education. Seventeenstates have made such changes, including Arizona,Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, NewJersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginiaand Wisconsin. The number of states making thesespecific changes, and making other changes, is indi-cated in Figure 15.

Six states made other changes to the classification/compensation system in an effort to retain IT personnel.For example, Missouri instituted a special merit systemfor technical workers, and Utah reclassified IT posi-tions to permit more flexible pay ranges.

Of the 12 states that report a turnover rate of lessthan 5%, four (Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi andOregon) indicate that they have restructured their classi-fication/compensation system to retain current IT staff.Changes to their systems include salary increases, bonusprograms, employee development programs, telecom-muting, enhanced IT training and increased opportunityfor advancement.

In order to remedy this drain of skilled staff, it isuseful to consider to where these workers are going.When asked where their exiting staff are going, statesmost commonly cite the private sector. But the privatesector is not the only cause of turnover in state govern-ment. Interestingly, and just as troubling, 20 states alsoindicate that many of their departing staff go to otherstate agencies.

State agencies raiding other state agencies for infor-mation technology workers will, of course, only exacer-bate the IT worker shortage that states face. For one

Figure 15: Changes toState Classification/Compensation Systems toRetain Current IT Personnel

Changes No. ofMade StatesSalary Increases .............................................................. 22Unclassifying Positions to Allow Contracting ......... 4Bonus Programs .............................................................. 11Enhanced Benefits Programs ....................................... 2Employee Development Programs .......................... 10Alternate Schedules/Flex Time ................................. 11Higher Profile Projects .................................................... 3Telecommuting ............................................................... 14Enhanced IT Training Programs ................................. 10Support for Higher Education ...................................... 9Increased Opportunity for Advancement .............. 1Other ................................................................................... 4


agency to take another’s IT worker is in all likelihoodonly a temporary fix for that raiding agency. Most likely,the reasons an IT worker may have for leaving onestate agency for another will lead the worker to leavethis second agency as well. Finally, 12 states reportthat many of their leaving staff are retiring.

In facing the challenge of retention, states must lookcarefully at the phenomenon of IT workers leaving onestate agency for another. As described in the sec-tion below, which details some state programs,creating a multi-agency commission wouldbe one possible avenue to address the

problem of the state’s IT worker shortage. With such amulti-agency body, greater uniformity could be createdin the recruitment and compensation of IT workersthroughout the state. With greater uniformity amongagencies there would be less incentive to job-hop fromone agency to another. Also, a benefit of such a part-nership would be the greater ability to pool resourcesfor recruitment and study. For examples of such multi-body agencies, see the sections on Oregon (page 16)and Wisconsin (page 21).


State Initiatives and Proposals to AddressState IT Worker Shortage

The CSG survey asked the states what innovationsaddress the recruitment and retention difficulties. Belowis a summary of some of the more detailed responsesby the states, followed by an appendix with some ofthe findings of a recent IPMA/NASPE survey conductedin 1998. These particular findings pertain to “best prac-tices” by several states as determined by the survey,and are relevant to current IT staffing problems.

CaliforniaThe Information Technology Classification Task Force

was created to redefine the service wide informationtechnology classifications. The process summary of thistask force is outlined below.

� Identification of Functional Areas — The ini-tial steps involved the identification and definition ofgeneral categories (functional areas) of IT work. Twenty-six categories were identified and defined. The function-al areas were distributed to the IT community for reviewand comment. A few months after the first review, twoadditional categories had emerged, and were definedand included in the list of 28.

� Work Components — The work componentsthat make up each of the functional areas were de-fined. There were 523 original work components.

� Classification Assessment — An assessmenttool was developed to determine which of the existingclassifications is used to perform the work in the areasof evolving technology. As much as 40% of the workdefined is not included in the existing classifications.The objective of this assessment was to determine howthe existing classification plan is used.

� Identify Work Clusters — Based on the classi-fication assessment, the 523 original work componentsmost critical to the success of the participating depart-ments were linked to create clusters, simplifying theremainder of the analysis process.

� Identify Related Competencies — Competencies(soft and hard skills) essential for successful performanceof the information technology work were identified byfunctional area, and redundancy was omitted to producea universal competency list consisting of 30 soft skills,75 IT knowledge areas and 38 IT abilities.

� Assess Essential Competencies — The workingteam developed a tool to link the essential competenciesto the 78 work clusters. This process captured informa-tion on relevance, proficiency and source of competency.The competency linkage was completed by approxi-mately 200 exemplary employees; three-fifths repre-sented staff and two-fifths supervisors and managers.

� Competency Clusters — Through analysis ofthe information captured in the competency linkage,the 30 soft skills were reduced to four clusters, the 75IT knowledge areas to four clusters and 38 abilities tofive clusters. Further analysis of the competency clus-ters provides the basis for IT class distinctions of thefuture.

� Competency-Based Work Clusters — Analysisof the competency clusters and how they are used pro-vided the basis for identification of 10 work clusterscomprising all information technology work in stateservice. The competency-based clusters are the basisfor the new classification concepts.

DelawareDelaware reports that its IT-21 Planning Team is

conducting a recruitment and retention study. Accord-ing to the state’s recent budget documents, the IT-21Planning Team is attempting to implement strategiesthat will enhance the recruitment and retention of ITstaff in state government.17 In the CSG survey, Delawarereports an IT job vacancy rate between 11% and 15%,and a turnover rate between 11% and 15%. The objec-tives of the IT-21 Planning Team include the following:

� Development of “career tracks” based on competen-cies, certifications, training and on-the-job application;

� Development of a funded cooperative programand/or apprenticeship program through local/regionaluniversities or private organizations;

� Development of a training curriculum for the main-tenance and acquisition of existing and new skillcompetencies;

� Development of job rotation and job retention poli-cies; and

� Development of a long-term recruitment plan.

MississippiMississippi reports that the state has developed sev-

eral solutions to the IT worker shortage. A partnershipbetween the Mississippi Department for InformationTechnology Services and the State Personnel Boardimplemented changes in the IT worker compensationand classification system. In the CSG survey, Missis-sippi reports an IT job vacancy rate between 16% and20%. The IT turnover rate, however, is reported to beless than 5%. The programs described below were firstimplemented in 1997. The work of the partnershipthus far has resulted in the following:

� An updated job classification/career model system


for information technology positions;� Higher IT salary ranges based on market survey

data;� A special compensation plan that defined career

and salary advancement for IT professionals in stategovernment; and

� The formation of the Information Technology Pro-fessional Development Committee, consisting of ITprofessionals from multiple state agencies.

According to the recent Strategic Master Plan forInformation Technology produced by the MississippiDepartment for Information Technology Services, manybenefits have accrued from the initiatives thus far.18

This document says that the primary benefits beingrealized are

1) The increased ability to recruit new graduates fromMississippi colleges and universities;

2) Decreased attrition to the private sector becauseof more competitive salaries;

3) Less movement from agency to agency as IT jobshave become more standardized among agencies; and

4) A more skilled and effective workforce due to in-creased emphasis on technical training and more de-liberate definition of job requirements.

MissouriMissouri reports in the CSG survey that the state

has recently implemented a student loan-forgivenessprogram for Missouri college students who study in aspecified high-demand field and go on to work in Mis-souri. Although the program does not directly funnelIT workers into the IT ranks of the Missouri state gov-ernment, the state agencies will feel a positive impactas Missouri’s labor market becomes richer with moreIT professionals. Also in the CSG survey, Missouri re-ports an IT vacancy rate between 6% and 10%, and aturnover rate between 11% and 15%.

The program, the Advantage Missouri Program, wasdetailed in a recent press release.19 The Missouri Gen-eral Assembly created the program in 1998 to encour-age students to pursue education and training leadingto employment in high-demand occupational areas inMissouri. Missouri’s Coordinating Board for HigherEducation approved 74 institutions and more than 600academic programs for the Advantage Missouri Program.The institutions include vocational technical schools,private career schools, community colleges, and publicand independent four-year institutions throughout Mis-souri. To be eligible to participate, institutions must meetcertain statutory provisions related to participation inexisting state aid programs, accreditation, extent ofoperation in Missouri, and level of program(s) offered,among other things. The coordinating board designatedthe list of academic programs (ranging from certificate

to four-year degree programs) in which students mustenroll to qualify for the loan forgiveness program. Eachprogram must directly lead to employment in one ofthree designated high-demand occupational areas.These areas were advanced manufacturing, biomedical/biotechnology and computer technology as the high-demand occupational areas for the first year of theprogram. Upon completion of an academic programrelated to one of the three occupational areas, studentswill have one year of loans forgiven for each year ofemployment in the high-demand area in Missouri, eitherin the public or the private sector. The coordinatingboard must review the occupational areas and relatedacademic programs each year.

New MexicoThe Information Technology Management Office in

conjunction with the New Mexico State Personnel Officehas instituted a “Senior IT Professional” classificationthat may be created and maintained for a period oftwo years or less, allowing agencies to compensatekey individuals at a rate significantly greater than thatallowed under the classification service.

The State IT Strategic Plan outlines the goals ofthe IT Human Resources Issues Project. This projectwas initiated by the state’s chief information officer,the state personnel officer, and representatives of stategovernment entities. The goals of the project are toestablish and maintain:

� A program to attract IT applicants with appropri-ate skill sets;

� A program to retain high-quality performers;� A program for continuous improvement of skill

sets;� Innovative programs for senior State IT person-

nel; and� Accurate statistics on workforce recruitment, reten-

tion and related characteristics.

NevadaNevada’s survey response indicated several recom-

mendations made by the Department of InformationTechnology in order to address the difficulties they havein recruiting and retaining IT professionals. These rec-ommendations are similar to those considered by thestate of Kansas. The following summarizes the recom-mendations.

� Premium Pay Incentive Plan — Five optionsare considered for pay premiums:

Signing Bonuses — Prospective IT employeeswho possess identified skills may be eligible for up toa $3,000 bonus.

Recruitment Bonus — A lump sum of up to $500


could be paid to existing state employees who suc-cessfully recruit IT employees.

Mission-Critical Skills Bonus — Up to 10% ofannual base pay initially, with up to 13% of annualbase pay after the third year, may be paid to IT em-ployees whose skills are needed in mission-criticalareas.

Skills Acquisition Bonus — An IT employee whoacquires key skills on an approved list and demon-strates successful application of those skills on thejob may be eligible for a bonus of up to 10% ofannual base pay.

Mission-Critical Project Bonus — IT employeeswho are assigned to specified, pre-approved projectsand are employed at the time of successful comple-tion of the project may be eligible for a bonus of upto 10% of annual base pay.� Salary Compensation and Benefits — In order

to make the state more competitive with the privatesector and other government entities, it is suggestedthat an across-the-board increase be given to all IT andIT-related classifications.

� Training — A minimum of five days of appropri-ate formal training should be provided annually to eachinformation technology professional. The state shouldalso establish a voluntary re-skilling program that wouldenable staff to learn new technologies on their owntime, qualifying them for priority consideration for spe-cial projects and advancement.

� Accelerated Degree Program — The stateshould establish an accelerated degree program forcurrent and new employees in conjunction with theuniversity and community college system.

� Public Service Intern Program — The stateshould establish an intern program within the univer-sity and community college system to provide workexperience for students interested in the IT field andqualifying them for a special preference category fornew hires.

� Technical Career Paths — The state shouldcreate a new Master Technical Career Path series com-parable to management level positions within the statepersonnel classification structure.

� Environment — The state should pursue con-struction of a new building addition to the Departmentof Information Technology computing facility to pro-vide consolidation of staff from over five different geo-graphical locations into one to enhance communica-tion, team building and full department integration.

OregonA way to address the shortage of information technol-

ogy workers is not only to tenaciously recruit alreadytrained, yet expensive, professionals, but also to provide

intensive training for the workforce a state already has.An especially aggressive program that accomplishesboth of the these tasks has been implemented by Ore-gon, which reports a vacancy rate in IT staff between11% and 15%, and a low turnover rate of less than5%.

Initially, four departments from state agencies cametogether to create a high-tech training and recruitingcooperative which pools their resources and profession-al knowledge to better identify and implement strategiesthat will help in maintaining well trained and well staffedIT divisions. The nine member departments includethe Department of Administrative Services, the Depart-ment of Consumer and Business Services, the Depart-ment of Corrections, the Employment Department, theDepartment of Human Services, the Oregon JudicialDepartment, the Department of Revenue, State Parksand the Department of Transportation.

The Information Systems Cooperative instituted vari-ous programs including concentrated training programs,investigation of state recruitment systems and policies,and comprehensive outreach and marketing programs.For example, the cooperative implemented an intenseCOBOL programming training program to address lastyear’s Y2K issues. As those projects have come to anend, training has shifted focus to such things as sys-tems analysis, DB2, CICS and project management.

The cooperative also investigates and addresses sys-tems and issues within state government that adverselyaffect the recruiting and the retention of IT workers. Itassessed the compensation programs, career and per-sonal development and culture of state agencies. Somestated goals of these self-examinations by the coopera-tive include enhancing worker loyalty, bringing a greatersense of harmony in the workplace and achieving asense of family.

In addition, the cooperative has brought togetherthe resources of this multi-departmental initiative tostrenuously recruit new information technology workers.An important part of their recruiting efforts is the crea-tion of a full-time high-tech recruiter. Oregon recognizesthe increasing importance of melding some of the func-tions of human resources with those of the informationtechnology departments. This high-tech recruiter isconstantly marketing state IT positions and persistentlyrecruiting only IT workers for the state.

The Information Systems Cooperative reports thatit has especially achieved success by attending high-tech specific career fairs, which appears to be consis-tent with the findings of the InformationWeek surveythat reports that after employee references, job fairsare the most productive recruitment venues. The co-operative also provides job candidates with a single ITjob information resource for state positions with its Website, www.OregonITjobs.org.


PennsylvaniaPennsylvania reports that it is in active discussion

with a consultant to develop a comprehensive market-ing strategy and materials and techniques to positionthe state to compete with the private sector. The statehas hired a management training specialist to coordinaterecruiting efforts with colleges, universities and job fairs.This specialist will also implement ongoing “corporate-like” recruiting efforts with universities that will go onyear round.

The state is providing computer-based training to30,000 state employees and will allow IT employeesto take part in specialized computer-based training ona 24-hour basis via the Internet at home and at work.

The state is developing a skills assessment tool topermit non-IT employees to determine their suitabilityand readiness to transition to existing IT job classifica-tions. The assessment tool will include a program foracquiring the skills needed to pass existing civil serviceexams. The mechanics of how these employees receivethe education (i.e., funding) is yet to be determined.

UtahUtah reports that several options have been under

consideration to address the problem of high turnoverin their IT positions. Utah reports a turnover rate be-tween 11% and 15%, and a vacancy rate in their ITstaffing of 6% to 10%. Utah’s Department of HumanResources Management developed the following op-tions that were part of this state’s response to the CSGsurvey.

� Award a state block grant to be used for structuredand discretionary increases. Three potential forms suchan increase may take are outlined below.

1. A one-step salary increase for every person inan IT position. The cost of this option would be ap-proximately $865,000. Also, an additional 4% wouldbe used for discretionary increases to the betteremployees.

2. A two-step increase for IT employees who arebelow mid-point and a one-step increase for thosewho are above mid-point. This option would costnearly $1.5 million. An additional 4% would be usedfor discretionary increases.

3. A block grant of either the cost of the first orsecond option above allowing the executive direc-tors to use it for discretionary increases for the areaswhere they see the most need.� Change the manner by which the state gauges the

IT worker salary market. Utah IT workers are assignedto one of three benchmark positions: Systems Program-mer Analyst II, Applications Programmer Analyst III andComputer Operator II. The Utah Department of HumanResources Management typically surveys small, mediumand large companies in the state in order to gain marketsalary information. The smaller companies drive themarket average downward. This option recommendsthat salary information for the state be obtained fromanother survey (in this case, by the Radford Group),which surveys only the 60-70 largest companies in thestate. This would drive the salary averages upwards.

� Offer bonuses or incentive awards of up to $4,000.These bonuses would be used, for example, to rewardthe completion of specific projects. It would also beused for employees on the maximum salary step orwho are on longevity and would not be eligible forsome of the other options.

� A finder’s fee of up to $500 could be given as anincentive to refer a prospective employee for an ITposition.


Appendix A: IPMA/NASPE FindingsThe following summaries of state practices are taken

from the 1998 IPMA/NASPE Human Resources Bench-marking survey regarding public sector IT workers.The following states were identified by the survey asconducting “best practices” to address the IT workershortage. Some of these results were submitted by thestate for the CSG survey. These summaries are in-cluded here for their relevance to the present report.

KansasIn the CSG survey, Kansas reports a vacancy rate

among their IT positions between 6% and 10%. Kan-sas also reports a turnover rate between 6% and10%. These are relatively low rates, but they havenot always been so low. The following is the IPMA/NASPE summary of Kansas’ best practice.

Starting in early 1997, a committee of IT managersand HR managers met to identify ways to address theIT turnover crisis. Key findings of that effort included:

� Overall turnover in IT positions was high, but notas high as the general turnover rate for all of stategovernment;

� The starting pay rate for entry level programmerswas competitive with other employers while high leveland more experienced programmer/analyst pay rateswere low compared to other employers;

� Other employers were paying bonuses to certaintechnical staff with critical skills;

� The number of qualified applicants for IT vacan-cies was not enough to fill the available vacancies; and

� Nearly half of the turnover in IT positions resultedfrom promotions and transfers between agencies withinstate government;

To meet these challenges, Kansas developed threeprograms to ensure the availability of IT staff for manyof its Y2K and other IT projects. These programs include:

1. Bonus program,2. Employee contracting, and3. Training of non-IT staff.The Bonus Program offers:� A skills bonus for current employees who possess

and use mission-critical IT skills at a satisfactory level;� A skills acquisition bonus of up to 10% of the em-

ployee’s base salary for the acquisition of mission criticalIT skills (employees must reimburse the state up to 50%of the cost of the training if they choose to leave stateemployment within one year of the training); and

� A project bonus of up to 10% of the employee’sbase salary upon successful completion of a qualifyingproject.

IT employees may qualify for more than one of theseprograms at the same time. Only skills bonuses and

project bonuses may be earned simultaneously.The Employee Contracting Program is offered by man-

agement to some classified employees who have criti-cal IT skills. Under this program, the employee signs athree-year contract during which his/her status ischanged to unclassified (not covered by civil serviceemployment rules). In exchange for this, the employeereceives a salary increase (typically 10% to 15%) andthe promise that they will receive additional training tokeep their skills current with changing technology. Ifthe employee chooses to leave before the contractexpires, he/she must pay back the state 50% of thesalary increase amount.

How long these practices have been in opera-tion: All three programs have been in effect since thefall of 1997.

Why these practices work: The bonus programand the contracting program have reduced the rate ofturnover of IT staff members overall. These programshave been especially effective in stabilizing staff mem-bers assigned to projects.

By allowing contract employees to voluntarily changetheir status from classified to unclassified, agencies canincrease their salaries without going through civil ser-vice procedures.

Transferability: Agencies operating in a heavilyunionized environment may have difficulty implement-ing some of these programs since they involve alterna-tives to established compensation procedures.

Cost could be a barrier. In Kansas, individual agencieswere responsible for funding these programs out oftheir own budgets. The estimated cost to date is over$1.4 million.

MinnesotaIn the CSG survey, Minnesota reports a vacancy

rate in IT position between 6% and 10%. Minnesotaalso reports in the CSG survey a turnover rate between16% and 20%. The following is the IPMA/NASPEsummary of the efforts made in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Skill Search Pilot Project uses a skill-based resume software program (Resumix) to recruitand select for specific IT positions. This software match-es the skills of job applicants with the skills needed toperform the duties of vacant positions. Hiring managersfrom six large state agencies have network access tothis information. Managers in these agencies can per-form their own searches and generate their own lists.Applicants also complete a standard application formwhich is available online. They mail this to the Depart-ment of Employee Relations along with their resume.This system is used to fill both competitive and promo-


tional appointments. Scanned resumes are maintainedin the active database for 12 months and can be up-dated by job candidates.

� “ResumeBuilder” (an online resume developmentprogram) is available on the DOER’s job page. An on-line resume can then be submitted electronically.

� Minnesota subscribes to two commercial Internet-based IT recruiting services (Jobkeys.com and MinnesotaJobs). Through Jobkeys, applicants may apply onlinefor open IT positions by attaching their resume to ane-mail that is sent directly to the DOER. The DOERreceives about 30 resumes per day in this manner, andthey are then added to the database. The MinnesotaJobs site, which receives about 20,000 hits per week,is hyper-linked to the Department of Employee Re-lation’s Job Page.

� In the past year, Minnesota has begun to use sign-ing and referral bonuses for new hires. Although notwidely used to date, the signing bonus can be up to$5,000 and the referral bonus up to $500. Managersare also able to bring in new hires at any point in thesalary range. Previously IT employees were eligible toreceive a raise every two years after reaching the title’smidpoint. The frequency has been increased to everyyear.

� Minnesota clarified its IT classification structure tomake it easier to explain and understand.

� Applications for IT vacancies are accepted con-tinuously and re-announced every month. The DOERalso works with supervisors who are seeking “on-the-spot” hiring.

How long these practices have been in operation:� Resumix for applicant management — three years;� IT classification study completed two years ago;� Hiring and referral bonuses — nine months;� Jobkeys — 18 months;� Minnesota Jobs site — 12 months.Why these practices work: Minnesota has at-

tempted to link the recruitment and selection processesinto one seamless process while reducing cycle times.

� Additional effort has been spent to make processesas easy as possible for the applicants and managerswhile retaining merit system principles and meetinglegal requirements.

� IT managers are actively involved in the processand have been trained on how to use Resumix.

� Clarification of the classification structure was verybeneficial to the process.

Transferability: Minnesota has signed a “Memoran-dum of Understanding” with the unions. This allowsthem to develop special compensation programs torecruit and retain IT staff.

� It’s important for management to buy into the pro-cess since additional personnel may be required to de-vote time to related activities such as scanning resumes,

answering questions from applicants and assisting ITmanagers with the screening and hiring process.

� Technology and a good understanding of how bestto use the technology is important.

OregonIn the CSG survey, Oregon reports a vacancy rate

in IT positions between 11% and 15%. Oregon re-ports a turnover rate of less than 5%. In its responseto the CSG survey, Oregon detailed the workings ofthe IS Cooperative, discussed above. Here is theIPMA/NASPE summary of the details and successesof the initiatives by the Oregon IS cooperative.

Oregon was experiencing a shortage of COBOL pro-grammers and system analysts for their mainframe sys-tems in a number of their largest state agencies. Insteadof competing for the same resources, these agenciesbanded together to form the IS Cooperative which wasresponsible for developing ways to meet this shortfall.The group decided to focus their efforts in four keyareas:

1. Systems (current policy and practice that mayadversely impact recruiting and retaining quality ITpersonnel);

2. Marketing the state as an employer of choice;3. Recruiting strategies; and4. Training (i.e., growing their own talent).The cooperative created an in-house training pro-

gram designed to identify and develop existing talent.Some highlights of this program are outlined below.

� In-house staff design and deliver an intensive CO-BOL programming course.

� The course is equivalent to a two-year college pro-gram. Twenty-four employees at a time are admitted.Training runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for six months.

� The course consists of both classroom and hands-on training with assigned mentors.

� Ninety percent of the class is composed of em-ployees from the IS Cooperative agencies. The other10% are state program clients (e.g., Welfare to Work).To be admitted, candidates must have outstanding per-formance and attendance records, write an essay abouttheir career plans and why they should be admitted,appear before an interview panel, and pass an apti-tude test to determine if they have the right aptitudefor IT work.

� To date, 70 employees, including six Welfare toWork participants, have completed the training andare now working as programmers.

� The dropout rate, originally expected to be 20%to 25%, has been less than 3%.

� While attending the course, employees continueto receive their regular pay. After successfully com-pleting the training, employees are immediately hired


into programmer positions (most of them the next day).How long these practices have been in opera-

tion: The IS Cooperative was formed in March 1997.The first training class began in October 1997.

Why these practices work: In order to attend thetraining, employees must agree to remain employedwith the state for at least two years after they completethe program or pay back part or all of the cost of thetraining (approximately $4,200).

Many of the employees in the training program arealready end users of various mainframe programs sothey have some knowledge of how the programs shouldoperate. In addition, these employees are already apart of the state government system (many being vested)and chances are that they want to remain with thestate after they become programmers.

Employees participating in the training program aregiven guarantees that they will be returned to their oldjobs if they don’t pass the training.

Because of the intensity and duration of the trainingprogram, participants develop a strong sense of groupidentity. This leads to class members helping and en-couraging other members throughout the process.These may account for the very low drop out rate.

A local community college assists with the programby reviewing course curricula and administering a finalexam.

Transferability: Organizations considering whetherto implement a similar training program may want todo a cost/benefit analysis. Program costs may includetrainees’ time away from their regular jobs, trainingstaff, facilities, PCs, etc. Agencies may first want toexplore if a similar program is available in local colleges.

Program graduates were immediately put onto hir-ing lists which required a slight modification to the title’sminimum requirements to include “or successfulcompletion of the IS Cooperative Training Program.”

VirginiaThe State of Virginia reports in the CSG survey

that it has a vacancy rate in its IT positions between11% and 15%. Virginia also reports a turnover rateof between 16% and 20%. The initiatives imple-mented by Virginia to help stave off IT recruitmentand retention difficulties have been identified by theIPMA/NASPE study as a best practice and are sum-marized in their study as follows:

Virginia has created a number of incentives to addressIT staff retention issues. Many of these were developedspecifically to address Y2K objectives. Agencies areresponsible for funding the options they choose, butthey may receive special authorized funds from theCentury Date Change Initiative Project Office. Underthis proposal, agencies may select from the followingoptions.

� Bonus program — Agencies may offer a bonusof up to $10,000 to employees who agree to con-tinue employment with their agency through June 30,2000.

� Competitive offers — Agencies may negotiatesalaries with employees who receive legitimate outsidejob offers even if the job offers exceed current salaryranges.

� Premium pay — Premium pay options includeshift differentials, on-call pay and call-back pay.

� Compensatory leave — Past policy has been modi-fied to permit agencies to extend indefinitely the timeemployees have to use compensatory leave earnedthrough June 20, 2000. Agencies may also pay offany compensatory leave balances to employees ratherthan have such balances accrue.

� Annual leave — The leave policy that sets a limiton the maximum amount of accrued leave an employeecan carry over to the next calendar year has beenmodified to permit agencies to pay off any amount ofaccrued annual leave time for employees who are un-able to take this leave because of work associated withyear 2000 compliance.

� Hours of work — Agencies may implement alter-nate work schedules different from the standard workweek if the agency determines that such schedules pro-mote efficient agency operations.

� Telecommuting — Agencies may permit employ-ees to perform work at home.

� Training — Agencies may develop programswhich guarantee training to employees or give thempriority access to “catch up” training following thecompletion of year 2000 compliance activities.

Once an agency selects the options its wishes toimplement, the agency develops a plan for implemen-tation and submits the plan to the cabinet secretary forapproval.

How long these practices have been in opera-tion: These options were first offered to agencies inJune 1998.

Why these practices work: Agencies may chooseoptions that they believe will work best for them andtheir employees.

Transferability:� Additional funding is required to offer most of these

incentives. The Century Date Change Initiative ProjectOffice was established by the governor a few yearsago as a part of the Commonwealth’s budget bill.Through this bill, additional funding was provided inorder to reach year 2000 compliance.

� The Commonwealth does not recognize organizedunions, thus formal negotiations regarding thesechanges were not necessary.

� Specific rule changes were made under the author-ity of the Personnel Agency Director and with the ap-proval of the Secretary of Administration.


� Active communication was required to bring man-agement on board with the idea of offering these in-centives to only a limited group of people.

WisconsinWisconsin describes the shortage of IT workers in

its state agencies as regular, that is, with lasting short-ages. Wisconsin also reports in the CSG survey thatit has a turnover rate between 16% and 20%.

In 1997, the Wisconsin Department of EmploymentRelations created an Information Technology AdvisoryBoard of 10 state agencies to help address IT recruitmentand retention issues. The board meets monthly to dis-cuss and develop new approaches to hire and retain ITprofessionals. In cooperation with the board, the depart-ment has developed a series of new IT hiring/retentionprograms.

In the past, IT job classifications were spread acrossseven salary ranges. As part of a recent pilot program,senior and advanced IT classes were broadbanded toincrease the “spread” of these pay ranges and also toprovide agencies with far more flexibility in setting start-ing salaries.

Agencies were also given the flexibility to adjust com-pensation levels for senior and advanced IT profession-als through the use of Discretionary CompensationAdjustments. These adjustments are equal to about 3%of an employee’s salary and can be base-building orlump sum. An employee may qualify for up to fouradjustments (equal to about a 12% pay increase) peryear within the same job. An agency can award anadjustment for new job responsibilities, increased com-petencies (usually gained through training), internal payequity or retention. Some agencies have used theseadjustments as hiring bonuses for new employees hiredat senior or advanced levels.

To recruit at the entry- and intermediate- levels, Wis-consin has developed a Web-based application andcertification system. Using the Internet, applicants an-swer a series of questions on their IT education, train-ing and work experience. These responses are linkedto the candidate’s general application information andstored on a database for three months. Hiring manag-ers can then obtain lists of qualified candidates, through

the Internet, by entering specific IT skill sets they areseeking. The manager receives the names and contactinformation of the candidates who meet the skill re-quirements. There are over 1,000 candidates in thedatabase.

At senior and advanced levels, applications are of-ten accepted continuously, exams can be checklists orpass-fail screens, and all qualified applicants can beinterviewed.

The department also hired a full-time IT recruiterwith private sector experience. The cost of this posi-tion (salary and benefits, plus costs of attending high-tech job fairs, Internet advertising, newspaper and jour-nal advertising, etc.) is funded by the IT Advisory Boardagencies.

How long these practices have been in opera-tion: These programs are relatively new, but indica-tions are that they are helping to recruit IT staff.

� The broadbanding pilot went into effect in June1998.

� The Internet application and certification systemwent online October 1998.

� The IT recruiter was hired in December 1998.Why these practices work: The broadbanding

system has given agencies much greater pay flexibilityand discretion.

The online application and certification system hasreduced hiring time and made the process more ac-cessible for applicants and hiring managers. Since thesystem is Web-based, it is available to users seven daysa week, 24 hours a day.

Transferability:� The broadband pay system had to be negotiated

with the union. This process proved to be a challengethat other jurisdictions operating in unionized environ-ments may face.

� Civil service hiring rules were amended to elimi-nate restrictions on the number of applicants manag-ers can interview before making a hiring decision. Thisrule change allows managers the flexibility of generat-ing their own hiring lists through use of the automatedsystem.

� Residency requirements and in-state recruiting re-strictions were recently repealed. This has given thedepartment greater recruiting scope and flexibility.


1. Does your state have a shortage of IT workers?

Yes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY,ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, NY,OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY

No LA

2. If yes, how would you classify your state’s shortage of IT workers?

Chronic AK, AZ, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, MD, MA, MN, NH, NM, PA, RI, TN, TX,UT, VA

Regular AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, HI, ID, IA, KY, ME, MI, MS, MO, MT, NV, NC,ND, OH, OR, PR, SC, SD, DC, WV, WI, WY

Occasional KS, NJ, NY, WA

Rare

3. At which levels is your state experiencing shortages of IT staff?

Entry level AL, CA, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, LA, MI, MS, MO, NH, NJ, NM, PA,RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI

Intermediate level AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, MA,MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, ND, OH, PA, PR, RI, SD, TN,TX, UT, VA, WA, WI

Advanced level, incl. managerial AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CT, DE, FL, ID, IN, IA, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN,MO, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA,DC, WV, WI, WY

None of the above

5. Estimate the percentage of IT positions currently open in your state:

Less than 5% IL, NY, OH, PA, SD,

6% to 10% AK, CA, CT, HI, ID, KS, KY, ME, MD, MN, MO, NV, NH, NJ, ND, UT,WA, WV, WY

11% to 15% DE, FL, OR, SC, TN, VA

16% to 20% AL, AZ, AR, CO, IA, MA, MS, MT, MN, PR, RI

More than 20% GA, IN, NC

None are open at this time DC

6. What types of outsourcing does your state use for IT personnel?

Short-term (less than 6 months) AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, ME, MA,MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI,SC, TN TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI

Long-term (longer than 6 months) AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN,MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, SD,TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI

Appendix B: Summary of Survey Results forEach State


Project specific (length determined AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI,by project schedule/needs) MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN,

TX, UT, VA, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY

7. Estimate the total percentage of IT staff outsourced during Fiscal Year 1998/99:

Less than 5% HI, KS, ME, NH, PA, SC, DC

6% to 10% AK, AR, CT, MS, NM, ND, SD, WA, WV

11% to 15% CO, ID, IL, MA, MN, MT, NJ, NC, TN, UT, VA

16% to 20% KY, NY, RI

More than 20% AL, AZ, GA, IN, MI, MO, NV, PR, WY

Does not outsource IT personnel DE

8. Which IT functions are outsourced?

Programming AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY,ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND,OH, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI

Systems analyst AL, AK, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MI, MN,MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, PA, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA,WV, WI

Database administration CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, ID, IN, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NH,NM, NY, PA, PR, RI, TN, TX, VA, WI

Web page/Internet administration AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, ID, IN, ME, MD, MI, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY,ND, PA, PR, TN, TX, UT, VA

None LA, DC

9. Which recruiting methods does your state use to advertise open IT positions?

In-house job postings AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME,MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MY, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR,PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY

Newspaper advertisements AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME,MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MY, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OR,PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Internet advertising — AL, AZ, AR, FL, GA, ID, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, OH,commercial websites OR, SC, SD, TX, WA, DC, WI

Internet advertising — AK, AR, CA, CO, CT, E, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MA, MI,state websites MN, MS, MO, MY, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, PR,

SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY

Professional/association AZ, FL, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MI, MS, MO, MT, NH, NM, OH, SC, SD,publications TX, UT, VA, WA, WI

IT job fairs AZ, AR, CA, CT, DE, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MS, MO, MT, NV,NH, NY, NC, OH, OR, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WY

Recruiting/executive search firms AR, MI, MT, TX, WA, WI

Campus recruiting AZ, AR, CA, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT,NV, NJ, NY, PA, PR, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY


11. In your opinion, which are barriers to recruiting new IT staff in your state?

Base salary too low AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA,ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OR, PA, RI,SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Insufficient benefits package CA, CO, FL, IN, MA, NC, UT, DC, WI

No opportunity for advancement AZ, AR, DE, FL, ID, IN, KY, MA, MT, OH, RI, TX, VA

Poor image of civil service AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, IN, IA, KY, MN, MT, NV, NJ, NM, OH, PA, PR, RI,SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, DC, WI

Merit system discourages AL, AZ, AR, ID, IN, KY, MS, MO, MT, NH, NJ, PA, RI, SD, TN, UT,candidates WA, WI

Lack of qualified candidates AL, AK, AR, CO, DE, FL, HI, ID, IN, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MN, MO,in area NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, PR, RI, SD, UT, WA, DC, WV, WY

12. Has your state restructured the classification/compensation system to attract newcandidates?

Yes AR, FL, HI, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NJ, NM,NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, PR, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

No AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, ID, IL, IA, ME, MD, NH, RI, SC, DC

13. If yes, what changes have been made?

Increased base pay FL, IN, KS, KY, MN, MS, MT, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PR,TN, WA, WV, WI, WY

Enhanced benefits package MI, NV

Alternate schedules/flex-time FL, KS, MO, NM, NY, NC, OH, TX, VA, WI, WY

Telecommuting FL, KS, KY, MO, NY, OR, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY

Education reimbursement FL, KS, MO, NJ, NM, OH, PR, TN, TX, WI, WY

Unique pay structure AZ, AR, KS, KY, MA, MI, MN, MS, MT, NV, NY, NC, OH, SD, VA, WI

14. Does your state have a high degree of annual turnover for current IT staff?

Yes AK, AZ, AR, CO, DE, FL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NM,NC, PA, PR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI

No AL, CA, CT, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MA, MS, NH, NJ, NY, ND,OH, OR, RI, SD, DC, WY

15. Estimate the annual turnover rate:

Less than 5% CT, IL, ME, MA, MS, NH, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, DC

6% to 10% AL, AR, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, MI, NC, ND, OH, PR, SD, TN, WA

11% to 15% AK, DE, MO, MT, SC, UT, WV, WY

16% to 20% CO, LA, MN, NV, NM, VA, WI

More than 20% AZ, FL, TX


16. Has your state restructured the classification/compensation system to retain current ITpersonnel?

Yes AR, CA, FL, HI, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV,NC, ND, OH, OR, SD, TN, TX, WA, WV, WI, WY

No AL, AK, AZ, CO, CT, DE, GA, ID, IL, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, PA, PR, RI,SC, VA, DC


Salary increases AR, FL, IN, KY, MA, MI, MN, MS, NV, NJ, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, SD,TN, TX, WA, WV, WI, WY

Unclassifying positions to allow AZ, KS, MI, NJstate contracting opportunities

Bonus programs CA, FL, KS, MA, MI, MN, NV, OH, TX, VA, WI

Enhanced benefits programs MI, WA

Employee development programs AZ, FL, KS, MN, NJ, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX

Alternate schedules/flex-time AZ, FL, KS, KY, MN, MO, NC, TX, VA, WA, WI

Higher profile projects AZ, FL, KS

Telecommuting AZ, AR, FL, KS, KY, MN, MO, OR, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY

Enhanced IT training programs AZ, FL, KS, NV, NJ, ND, OR, TN, WV, WI

Support for continuing education AZ, FL, KS, MN, MO, NJ, NC, TN, VA

Increased opportunity for AZ, FL, KS, MI, MS, NJ, NC, ND, OR, TX, WYadvancement

18. In your opinion, which are obstacles in your state to retaining trained IT personnel?

Unable to compete with AZ, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI,private sector MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OR, PR, SC, SD, TN,

TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

Not enough high profile projects AZ, CO, MN, NV, OH, RI, TXto keep staff interested

Lack of advancement opportunities AZ, AR, DE, IL, IN, IA, KY, MN, MT, NJ, NM, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX, VA

Base salary too low AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IA, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI,MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NC, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA,WA, WV, WI, WY

Insufficient reward system AK, AK, AR, CO, CT, DE, GA, HI, IL, KY, LA, ME, MA, MN, MS, MO,MT, NV, NH, NM, ND, OH, OR, PA, SD, TN, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

19. In your opinion, where do the majority or many of agency IT staff go once they’ve leftyour employment?

Private sector companies AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME,MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OR,PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY

Start up own company FL, MS, WV

Other state agencies CO, CT, DE, FL, IL, KY, LA, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, UT,VA, WA, WI

Retirement AL, DE, HI, KS, KY, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, WY

Not known AK


Section 1 – General1. Does your state have a shortage of information technology workers? (If no, skip to 4)

� Yes

� No

2. If yes, how would you classify your state’s shortage of IT workers?

� Chronic (near-permanent shortage)

� Regular (lasting shortages)

� Occasional (temporary shortage)

� Rare (periodic shortages)

3. At which levels is your state experiencing shortages of IT staff? (Please check all that apply)

� Entry level

� Intermediate level

� Advanced level, including managerial positions

� None of the above

4. How many IT positions exist in your state? ________

5. Estimate the percentage of IT positions currently open in your state:

� Less than 5 percent

� 6 percent -10 percent

� 11 percent -15 percent

� 16 percent - 20 percent

� More than 20 percent

� None are open at this time

6. What types of outsourcing does your state use for IT personnel? (check all that apply)

� Short-term (less than 6 months)Description: _______________________________________________________________________________

� Long-term (longer than 6 months)Description: _______________________________________________________________________________

� Project specific (Length determined by project schedule/needs)Description: _______________________________________________________________________________

7. Estimate the total percentage of IT staff outsourced during Fiscal Year 1998/99:


� 6 percent –10 percent


� 16 percent – 20 percent

� More than 20 percent

� Our state does not outsource IT personnel services

Appendix C: The Survey Instrument


8. Which IT functions are outsourced? (Please check all that apply)

� Programming

� Systems analyst

� Database administration

� Web page/Internet administration

� None

� Other __________________________________________________________________________________

Section 2 – Recruitment9. Which recruiting methods does your state use to advertise open IT positions? (Please checkall that apply)

� In-house job postings

� Newspaper advertisements

� Internet advertising on commercial job listings (i.e., Monsterboard)

� Internet advertising on state web page

� Ads in professional/association publications

� IT job fairs

� Recruiting/executive search firms

� Campus Recruiting

� Other __________________________________________________________________________________

10. Which type of recruitment does your state use for IT positions?

� Continuous recruitment

� Scheduled recruitment period

11. In your opinion, which are barriers to recruiting new IT staff in your state? (Please check allthat apply)

� Base salary too low

� Insufficient benefits package

� No opportunity for advancement

� Poor image of civil service

� Merit system discourages candidates

� Lack of qualified candidates in recruiting area

� Other __________________________________________________________________________________

12. Has your state restructured the classification/compensation system for IT staff positionsto attract new candidates?

� Yes� No� Planning future action: (please describe) ______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________


13. If yes, what changes have been made? (Please check all that apply)

� Increased base pay

� Enhanced benefits packages

� Alternate schedules/flex-time

� Telecommuting

� Education reimbursement

� Unique pay structure for IT positions

� Other __________________________________________________________________________________

Section 3 – Retention14. Does your state have a high degree of annual turnover for current IT staff?

� Yes

� No

15. Estimate the annual turnover rate:





� more than 20 percent

16. Has your state restructured the classification/compensation system to retain current ITpersonnel?

� Yes

� No

� Planning future action: (please describe) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


� Salary increases

� Unclassifying positions to allow contracting opportunities with state IT workers

� Bonus programs

� Enhanced benefits programs

� Employee development programs

� Alternate schedules/flextime

� Higher profile projects

� Telecommuting

� Enhanced IT training programs

� Support for continuing education

� Increased opportunity for advancement

� Other__________________________________________________________


18. In your opinion, which are obstacles in your state to retaining trained IT personnel? (checkall that apply)

� Unable to compete with private sector� Not enough high profile projects to keep staff interested� Lack of advancement opportunities� Base salary too low� Insufficient reward system� Other __________________________________________________________________________________

19. In your opinion, where do the majority of agency IT staff go once they’ve left youremployment?

� Private sector competitors

� Start up own company

� Move to non-IT positions in state government

� Other state agencies

� Retirement

� Not known

Section 4 — Additional Comments20. Please provide any comments or suggestions you have regarding ways states can addressrecruitment and retention of skilled IT employees.

21. Do you know of any innovative programs that are either being proposed or have beenimplemented in your state? Please include the names and phone numbers for the programadministrators to get additional information relative to the program. Please attach any materialdescribing the programs.


1 Help Wanted 1998: A Call for Collaborative Actionfor the New Millennium, Information Technology As-sociation of America and Virginia Polytechnic Instituteand State University (March 1998). This report is afollow-up of an earlier ITAA report, Help Wanted: TheIT Workforce Gap at the Dawn of the New Century(1997). (In the ITAA report, “core IT positions” in-clude the following three categories: programmers,systems analysts, computer scientists/engineers).

2 The Digital Work Force: Building Infotech Skillsat the Speed of Innovation, United States Departmentof Commerce, Office of Technology Policy (June 1999).

3 “Computerworld’s 13th Annual Salary Survey: Returnto Sanity,” Computerworld, September 6, 1999,(http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/990906BFA6).

4 For a thorough discussion, see The Supply of Infor-mation Technology Workers in the United States,Computing Research Association, pp. 15-24, 1999(http://cra.org/reports/wits/cra.wits.html). Also, see“High Tech Worker Shortage: Reality or Rhetoric?” inthe online magazine, High Technology Careers Maga-zine (http://www.hightechcareers.com/doc1999/ethics199.html).

5 Help Wanted 1998: A Call for CollaborativeAction for the New Millennium, Information Tech-nology Association of America and Virginia PolytechnicInstitute and State University (March 1998), pp. 10-13.

6 Defined in the ITAA/VPI instrument survey, seeHelp Wanted 1998, p. 46.

7 The Digital Work Force: Building Infotech Skillsat the Speed of Innovation, U.S. Department of Com-merce, Technology Administration, Office of Technol-ogy Policy, June 1999, p. 25.

8 International Personnel Management Association’s/

National Association of State Personnel Executives’Benchmarking Survey Analysis, (http://www.ipma-hr.org/tests/IT_RPT.html).

9 “So When Do I Start?,” Computerworld, January11, 2000, (http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000110DABA).

10 “Computerworld’s 13th Annual Salary Survey: Re-turn to Sanity,” Computerworld, September 6, 1999,(http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/990906BFA6).

11 Ibid.12 America’s New Deficit: The Shortage of Informa-

tion Technology Workers, U.S. Department of Com-merce, pp. ix-x, 1997 (http://www.ta.doc.gov/reports/itsw/itsw.pdf).

13 1998 IPMA-NASPE Human Resources Bench-marking Project (http://www.ipma-hr.org/private/bench/sh/turnover.html).

14 “1999 National IT Salary Survey: Pay Up,”InformationWeek Online, April 26, 1999. (http://www.informationweek.com/731/salsurvey.htm).

15 Ibid.16 “Moving for Money,” InfoWorld.Com online

magazine, December 11, 1999 (http://www.infoworld.com/articles/ca/xml/99/12/13/991213caraise.xml).

17 See budget document for Executive 10-00-00(http://www.state.de.us/budget/fy2001/opervol1/fy2001-vol1-dept10.pdf).

18 See the Strategic Master Plan for InformationTechnology, December 31, 1999 (http://www.its.state.ms.us/news/pdf/master00.pdf).

19 See “New Advantage Missouri Loan ForgivenessProgram Nearing Implementation,” February 11, 1999(http://www.mocbhe.gov/links/advmo.htm).

Endnotes

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