IT departments should clarify roles to retain top performers

Role conflicts, where incompatible demands are placed upon an employee, are causing staff to leave

Star IT staff leave because of job ambiguity

IT leaders should pay closer attention to defining the roles of their key staff, according to nearly 30 years of research into the causes behind IT staff moves.

In an attempt to understand turnover patterns in the IT function, researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia analysed 72 studies from across the globe carried out between 1980 and 2008, focused on IT turnover.

By analysing common factors across those studies, Amir Hossein Ghapanchi and Aybuke Aurum of UNSW found 70 distinguishable reasons why IT professionals might leave a role.

The chief reasons staff cited for departing an IT team were uncertainties about the role they were expected to fulfil – termed role ambiguity – and role conflict, where incompatible demands are placed on the employee.

As the researchers point out, understanding and overcoming these factors could help retain valued members of the IT team.

The work has just been published in the Journal of Systems and Software.