REASONS FOR PROFESSIONALS TO STAY OR LEAVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS1

RAZÕES DE PERMANÊNCIA E SAÍDA DE PROFISSIONAIS DE ORGANIZAÇÕES DE TECNOLOGIA DA INFORMAÇÃO

ANDREA V. STEIL

Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil

JANINE S. A. BELLO

Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil

ALINE F. FREITAS fr.alinef@gmail.com

Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil

JULYA KRONBAUER

Unyleya, Florianópolis, Brazil

DENISE DE CUFFA

State University of the Midwest, Brazil

Information technology (IT) organizations play a central role in creating and improving technological infrastructure that is transformative in a large portion of social life (Singh & Hess, 2017). They contribute to the development of technological (Bessick & Naicker, 2013) and social innovation (Gupta, Kumar, & Karam, 2020). The knowledge and professional experience within them are paramount resources for the operations of such organizations. When these professionals leave their organizations, they take with them their knowledge and acquired experiences. As such, the retention of professionals is a critical point (Mourmant, Gallivan, & Kalika, 2009) and the biggest challenge to the IT industry (Pant & Venkateswaran, 2019).

In the “Conference Board 2016” report on executives from global companies, the inability to attract and retain professionals was considered the main challenge, ranking above other topics, such as economic growth and competitive level (Keller & Meaney, 2017). This reality is evident in the expectation that in Brazil the demand will be for 70 thousand new IT professionals per year up to 2024 (Associação Brasileira das Empresas de Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação, 2019). Concomitant to the lack of such professionals, evidence shows the impact of the voluntary exit of these professionals on the productivity and financial performance of these organizations (Massingham, 2018).

The technology hub in the state of Santa Catarina is the sixth biggest one in Brazil regarding the number of companies, the fourth in revenue, the second in productivity, and the third in number of employees. In 2019, 3.5 thousand new jobs were created. However, with the impacts of the pandemic, more than a thousand jobs in the technology area were closed in the state in April of 2020; even then, the negative balance (between job exits and entries) was only of 49 professionals (Associação Catarinense de Tecnologia - Acate, 2020). The lack of IT professionals in the workforce drives up the competition between organizations for the knowledge and experience of these professionals, which illustrates the importance of understanding why people choose to remain in an organization and why they would choose to leave voluntarily. Considering this context, this work aims to describe the perception of professionals that work in IT organizations in the state of Santa Catarina, on what their reasons would be to either remain or leave their jobs voluntarily. We aim to verify whether or not these professionals, when asked in an open format, present similar response categories to the ones identified by quantitative studies, detailed in the next section. With knowledge of the perception of these professionals, managers in IT organizations will be able to develop practices and policies for the retention of such professionals and the knowledge they possess.

An analysis of the literature on this topic indicates a rise in the number of studies on determinants of intention and/or behavior of staying or of voluntarily leaving by professionals of technology organizations (Kim, 2012; Korsakienè, Stankevičiene• , Šimelyte• , & Talačkiene• , 2015). Studies are still few in numbers in Brazil, with quantitative delimitation and involving few research groups (Luz, Paula, & Oliveira, 2018; Bello & Steil, 2020; Steil, Cuffa, Iwaya, & Pacheco, 2020).

The determinants of staying or voluntarily leaving from organizations can be classified into different categories: individual, occupational, organizational, and environmental. The individual determinants are sociodemographic characteristics, such as age, sex, marital status, education level, and the career plan developed by the individual. Studies from previous decades present more evidence for sociodemographic characteristics as determinants than recent ones. For example, Fottler (1978) identified that age was correlated with retention, while studies by Harden, Boakye, and Ryan (2018) and Bello and Steil (2020), developed in IT organizations, found that age did not influence a professional’s decision to leave an organization.

In terms of sex, Sheridan (1992) identified a negative relationship between females and retention. On the other hand, studies by Harden et al. (2018) and Bello and Steil (2020) in IT organizations found no association between sex and intention to leave an organization. However, the study by Bello and Steil (2020) identified an association between marriage and having children with the intent to remain in an organization.

Career planning, from the perspective of the individual, is not a classical individual determinant. It was identified as a reason for voluntarily leaving the organizations more recently, especially by younger professionals (Gubler, Arnold, & Coombs, 2014). Identifying this variable as a reason for volun tarily leaving the organizations reflects a change in career planning by new generations (Amundson, Borgen, Iaquinta, Butterfield, & Koert, 2010). These new generations tend to plan their careers independently of organizational boundaries and have different assumptions on the meaning of hierarchy and career progression (Arthur, 2008).

The occupational determinants encompass factors related to the work the individual performs in the organization and to their feelings towards these factors. The occupational determinants most prevalent in research on retention are satisfaction, motivation, and salary (Ghapanchi & Aurum, 2011; Steil, Penha, & Bonilla, 2016). However, the most prevalent ones in research on intention to leave are the absence of: satisfaction, commitment, feeling of support, quality of life, well-being, organizational identification and sense of success in their careers; and the existence of a work-family conflict (Steil, Floriani, & Bello, 2019).

Work satisfaction and organizational commitment are associated with both the effective stay and the intention to stay in professionals within technology organizations, while non-satisfaction is associated with the intention to leave (Ghapanchi & Aurum, 2011; Chang, Wang, & Huang, 2013; Brown, Fraser, Wong, Muise, & Cummings, 2013; Steil, Dandolini, Souza, Cuffa, & Costa, 2018; Bello & Steil, 2020). Satisfaction is one of the most researched variables in organizational behavior and represents the attitude of the individual, an evaluative state that expresses content and positive feelings towards work (Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). Commitment can be characterized by at least three factors: “(a) a strong belief in and an acceptance of the organization’s goals and values; (b) a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization; (c) and a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization” (Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 1982, p. 27). As satisfaction and commitment are attitudes, these influence behavioral intentions and behavior, given that attitudes are one of three predictors of volitive behaviors (Ajzen, 1991). The behavioral intentions to stay or leave an organization relates to cognitive processes that entail thinking, planning, and the desire of the individual to stay or leave voluntarily the organization where they work (Cohen, Stake, & Goodman, 2016). However, staying and/or leaving the organization are the actualization of intentions in behaviors.

Other factors associated with retention and intention to stay include a sense of being valued, learning throughout life, professional development (Brown et al., 2013), projects that strengthen the bonds between employee and organization (Bastos & Menezes, 2010), a pleasant and respectful environment, autonomy, a challenging work, and recognition of the work (Carrara, Nunes, & Sarsur, 2014).

In relation to salary, research indicates that it is not sufficient to guarantee a professional’s loyalty to the organization (Taylor & Cosenza, 1998) and their staying; when perceived as inferior to what is expected, it may be a stimulus towards the intent of the individual to leave the organization (DiMattio, Roe-Prior, & Carpenter, 2010; Singh & Loncar, 2010). Studies on professionals from Brazilian IT (Luz et al., 2018) and research and development (Steil et al., 2018) organizations reveal that the lack of salary satisfaction influences the intention to leave the organization in these professionals.

Professional growth, understood as the “intrinsic desire for personal development and preparation for future life” (Park, Park, & Hwang, 2019, p. 4), is also associated with retention (Oliveira, Ckagnazaroff, Silveira, & Moraes, 2013; Ceribeli, Ferreira, & Botelho, 2017). However, the absence of a sense of growth influences the leaving of the professional from the organization (Estryn-Behar, van der Heijden, Fry, & Hasselhom, 2010). Given that the basis for the perception of growth is the development of skills, and IT professionals need to update their knowledge continuously due to technological changes, professional growth is necessary for the maintenance of employability (Adams & Demaiter, 2008). This is also relevant to younger generations, who value opportunities for continuous learning (Lub, Nije Bijvank, Matthijs Bal, Blomme, & Schalk, 2012). A study in Canada reveals how the development of skills occurs for IT professionals, adding relevance to the perception of professional growth in the organization. When asked about how they developed their skills in the area, the Canadian IT professionals responded: via self-teaching activities (86%), informal training in the workplace (72.2%), and previous professional experience (67.8%) (Adams & Demaiter, 2008).

The existence of state-of-the-art IT infrastructure, especially in IT organizations, is associated with retention (Bossert & Laartz, 2018; Samuel & Chipunza, 2009) and increase in professional reputation (Dumont, 2017). This variable adds to the set of organizational actions to guarantee adequate working conditions. As a “set of circumstances in which labor activities are developed and influence significantly the experience of labor and the dynamics of work relations” (Blanch, 2003, p. 229), working conditions influence the attitudes and feelings of the professional in relation to their job.

Variables related to professional valorization are also associated with retention. For the individual, the perception that they’re being valued professionally entails subjective factors, such as “respect and trust, favorable institutional environment, pride in doing something important for themselves and for society, and pleasure in facing and conquering challenges” (Gabriele, 2001, p. 1). There is evidence pointing that the following variables, related to the perception of professional valorization, are associated with retention: the existence of variable pay and performance bonus (Samuel & Chipunza, 2009), work enrichment (Hlanganipai & Mazanai, 2014), and a career in the organization.

Organizational and environmental determinants are less researched. Nevertheless, the main body of evidence follows. The organizational deter minants are the characteristics and practices of the internal environment in an organization (such as organizational culture and practices and policies on human resources). Within the organizational determinants, the ones most prevalent in relation to retention are: training, organizational culture with values focused on relations, promotions, and benefits (Steil et al., 2016). Appropriate management practices may also influence the retention of these professionals (Glaister, Karacay, Demirbag, & Tatoglu, 2018). However, when they do not meet expectations, these professionals are more likely to leave the organizations (Naim & Lenka, 2018).

Finally, the environmental determinants are the stimuli and phenomena external to the organization, which can influence the functioning and the retention of the individual within it (such as the existence of alternative employment opportunities, economic crisis, and administration changes in the government) (Ghapanchi & Aurum, 2011; Burakova, Ducourneau, Gana, & Dany, 2014). The following environmental variables were associated with retention in prior studies: recession periods, a high rate of unemployment, and government administration changes (Oliveira et al., 2012; Huang, Lin, & Chuang, 2006).

Data came from open-ended questions from a survey study on the retention of professionals in technology-based organizations in the state of Santa Catarina. Participants were approached by contacting owners, human resources managers, and/or professionals within IT organizations. The link for the questionnaire was made available through e-mail, WhatsApp (an instant messaging application popular in Brazil), or Facebook. We utilized a term of free and informed consent, in accordance with Resolution CNS n. 510/2016 , informing the participants of the objectives, implications of participating in the research, guarantees of secrecy of responses, and request for consent.

The non-probabilistic sample comprised 440 professionals that work in IT organizations in the state of Santa Catarina. The collection of data happened during the second semester of 2016. The participants answered the following open-ended questions: “What are the reasons that maintain you working at this company?” and “For what reasons would you leave this company in the future?”.

The analysis and interpretation of data were based on the method of codification and categorization compiled by Saldaña (2009): pre-analysis of responses, the establishment of initial codes, definition of final codes, definition of categories, and analysis of results. Each code is a word or short phrase which summarizes and highlights outstanding elements of the participant’s response, intending to capture the essence of the data. As highlighted by Richards and Morse (2007, p. 137, as cited in Saldaña, 2013), “the coding is not merely to attach a ‘label’”, but to make a link: “the coding takes us from the data to the idea, and from the idea to all data belonging to that idea”.

The category consists of a representative synthesis of the codes that capture meanings, which have characteristics of mutual exclusion, homogeneity, relevance, objectivity, fidelity, and productivity (Saldaña, 2009). This process is inductive and subjective, as it is informed by the data, without “trying to fit into a preexisting coding frame” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 10), opening the possibility for the achievement of new insights about the meaning of the empirical data contributed by the participants of the research.

The data were coded independently by the researchers and later discussed. The analysis of the 440 answers from the professionals to the question “What are the reasons that maintain you working at this company?” generated 475 codes, with 733 occurrences. The analysis of the answers from the professionals to the question “For what reasons would you leave this company in the future?” generated 407 codes, with 813 occurrences. A single answer can generate multiple codes, as coding by sentence or by line was used (Saldaña, 2009).

Figure 3.1 exemplifies the attribution of multiple codes to a single answer and presents the final descriptive codes. Adjustments were necessary when different codes were assigned for the same base text by the researchers. In such cases, a consensus was achieved on which final code was most representative of the essence of the data. After consensus was achieved, the codes were organized and grouped into categories.

Figure 3.1
EXAMPLE OF THE PROCESS OF ANALYSIS AND CODING OF ANSWERS

In accordance with the principles of science (such as dependence on evidence, models, and parsimonious explanations of reality) and rationality (such as logic) (Gauch Jr., 2003), we added deductive reasoning to the process of categorization. The deductive strategy was utilized to aggregate the meanings of the codes based on the accumulated scientific knowledge on the categories used to comprehend organizational behavior. Thus, the codes were organized into the following categories of reasons to stay or leave the organization: individual, occupational, organizational, and environmental. The details of these categories are presented in the next section.

It is well recognized that there exists a deficit of professionals in the IT sector in the state of Santa Catarina and that the sector competes for the most qualified professionals. In light of that reality, this study described the reasons for professionals to stay or potentially voluntarily leave IT organizations, given by the perceived reality of these professionals.

The results show that both staying and potentially leaving an organization are linked mainly to occupational and organizational reasons, followed by environmental and individual reasons. These results agree with the results of previous studies about the relevance of satisfaction (specifically for this study, salary satisfaction) and commitment in the formation of the intention of both staying and voluntarily leaving an organization. Creating conditions to promote satisfaction and commitment is still a challenge, in such a way that continued research on these themes contributes to an improved understanding on why some individuals are more satisfied with and/or committed to the organization than others in the same work context.

Codes related to the lack of an evaluation process for performance and efficient feedback, lack of innovation, training, and possibility of flexible schedules and remote work were the management practices most cited by the participants on why they could potentially leave their organization. On the other hand, codes related to the care of organizations for clients and collaborators, support for studies and professional growth, an incentive for creativity/innovation, and the possibility of flexible schedules and remote work were the management practices most cited by the participants on why they stay in their organization. The prevalence of younger professionals in this study contributed to these results, as the profile and expectations of this generation influence their perception of adaptation to the organization and its practices (Twenge, 2010).

Research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the average time workers stay in a company is 4.4 years (Keller & Meaney, 2017). In this study, most prevalent were the professionals with up to four years of work in their current company. The IT organizations’ job market is alluring for young people and, at the same time, this is the age range that presents higher turnover. Data about turnover in the services sector, which encompasses IT organizations, reveal that 47% of the exits in 2014 were by professionals from 18 to 29 years of age (Dieese, 2014). This illustrates the importance of managers knowing which reasons lead their professionals to stay, and which lead them to leave the organization where they work.

Given our results, we recommend the development of further research about the matters of interest identified in this study. For example, we suggest an analysis of the relation between the identified reasons to stay and the effective time of retention of the technology professionals (Kyndt, Dochy, Michielsen, & Moeyaert, 2009). It becomes then pertinent to statistically verify, in the context of IT organizations, whether or not different generations, as well as professionals from different areas, present different perceptions about the reasons that lead them to consider staying in their organization or leaving it in the future. In view of its representativity in our results, future research should inquire about the contribution of satisfaction about salary on retention and voluntary leaving for these professionals.

Finally, it should be noted that here we analyzed the perception of professionals on their reasoning for staying in and voluntarily leaving private technology organizations. Thus, these are estimates on the research matter. Furthermore, these results are specific to the researched context and, as such, are not generalizable. Due to the characteristics of this research, it is relevant to inquire if the reasons identified in this study are also seen in the reality of professionals from other areas.