The rapid development of the information technology industry has resulted in significant skill shortages in many AMEs. In Australia, the ability to develop and retain key IT staff is a major human resource management issue. The alternative for many organisations is the loss of key staff, intellectual capital, and market share. This case study examines human resources policies and practices developed around strategies of innovative work organisation and job design to first retain and second aitract key IT staff.

TechCo is a leading supplier of networking IT, providing support applications for the development of e-business and employing over 200 staff in offices in all Australia's major cities. TechCo identified the issue of attracting and retaining its IT staff as a major problem. Whereas the average turnover was high in this sector - at around 10 per cent - TechCo was experiencing a turnover of over 15 per cent. After surveying their staff, the major finding linked to developing and retaining the company's key talent was the understanding that employees required a challenging and stimulating work environment in which to develop their skills.
A clear division emerged from a survey of the requirements of TechCo's IT staff. They were looking to develop their skills as either (internal) project managers or (external) self-employed contractors. The key challenge for TechCo was that, as a small to medium-sized company, it was not able to provide a continuous range of project management roles in-house and could not afford to lose employees who wanted to move into contracting. The key paradigm shift for TechCo to address the critical issue was to see itself as part of a network with its customers and suppliers. In doing so, it increased its opportunities to provide its workforce with a variety of work desigr opportunities.
In response to the project management problem, TechCo developed a partnering programme with its network of distributors and customers. This approach had the dual effect of providing partners with the appropriately skilled staff to project-manage on-site, at the same time providing these staff with on-going (higher order) career and skill development. From an organisational perspective, it also allowed for the growth and retention of knowledge on the part of these core knowledge workers, while enhancing the skills and ability of this critical human resource.
For those employees wanting to become independent contractors, TechCo embraced this by helping them set up autonomously as contractors and then contracting their services back to the organisation. The employee is thus guaranteed work, and TechCo enables these employees to remain working for the organisation without the on-costs associated with full-time employees. As noted above, the organisation restructured its approach to the organisation of work in order to facilitate the development of these new work patterns and practices. The success of these work design strategies is reflected in the turnover of IT staff - down from 15 per cent to around 5 per cent.
The achievements of this programme have resulted in the organisation including it as a strategy in its recruitment and selection process. Specifically, TechCo identifies people with the appropriate skills in business and management who are looking for knowledge and skill development to enhance their careers. In particular, TechCo has identified a series of high-performance competencies that can deliver success at entry-level positions. These include customer service, problem-solving, communication skills, teamworking, and project management. In terms of the developmental side of this approach, TechCo has initiated management learning and development programmes that provide more senior IT staff with the skills to advance their career paths into middle- and senior-level management. As one manager noted:
IT professionals need to have business, communication and leadership skills in order to fully understand their clients' mission statements and the role technology plays in meeting corporate goals and objectives. As an industry, we need to do a better job of teaching our people these skills because they are the fundamental building blocks for successful organisations. Those who ignore them are likely to fail.
Questions
1 Identify the key job and work design features of this case.
2 What are the seemingly paradoxical issues associated with this job and work design when management received the feedback for the workforce?
3 Why did this approach become so successful?