Survey says - One-Third of IT Employers Plan to Increase Hiring in 2010  |  January 22, 2010  

CareerBuilder conducted their annual hiring forecast and the perspective is that IT organizations are optimistic about their future and plan to begin to invest in the growth in 2010. Their forecast reveals that nearly one-third (32%) of IT employers plan to increase the number of full-time, permanent employees -- the highest among all industries surveyed. The survey was conducted among more than 160 Information Technology employers between November 5 and November 23, 2009.  Only, one-in-ten (12%) plan to make a decrease in the amount of full-time employees.

There are a number of ways organizations are hiring that may differ from the past:

• Replacing Low-Performing Employees - IT employers are taking advantage of the large number of top talent in the current labor pool to strengthen their work force. Forty-two percent of IT employers say they plan to replace lower-performing employees with higher-performers in 2010. When asked to grade their current work force, 33% rated them an "A", 56 percent a "B", 9 percent a "C", and 2 percent a "D." Reminded me of the old saying that "A"s hire "A"s and "B"s hire "C"s.
• More Flexibility - Companies plan to continue providing IT employees with greater flexibility in hopes of maintaining a better work-life balance. Fifty percent of IT employers, the highest among all industries surveyed, said they plan to provide more flexible work arrangements in 2010, compared to 44 percent last year. I started working at home the majority of the time recently, along with a number of other folks that I work with here at HP.
• Recruitment Tools - IT employers will leverage a variety of recruitment tools in 2009 to fill open positions. IT employers plan to spend more money on the following recruitment tools in 2009:
• Green Jobs - IT employers will turn some of their focus to the environment again in 2010. Most organizations focused elsewhere during the financial downturn. 14% of employers say they plan to add "green jobs" this year, the same amount who said they added them in 2009. "Green jobs" are positions that implement environmentally conscious design, policy and technology to improve conservation and sustainability. This seems a bit limited perspective of Green to me.
• Freelance or Contract Hiring - While some IT employers still plan to be cautious regarding the number of full-time employees they add in this year, many will turn to freelance or contract employees to add layer upon layer of flexibility to their workforce. This trend is something we've been talking about for at least 5 years and this downturn will drive it home to more and more organizations.
• Business transformation ; Change management; Organizational relationships; Trends