Data Center Strategies for the CIO
LAS VEGAS–David Cappuccio, VP and Chief of Research at Gartner, said that data center managers are on the precipice of a staffing crisis, and it isn’t because of an issue that many suspect.
“The problem isn’t an aging workforce,” Cappuccio said at the 2010 Gartner Data Center Conference. The challenge, he pointed out, is how to keep young workers and their skill sets onboard with companies for longer periods of time.
Cappuccio cited a Department of Labor statistic that the U.S. employee will work, on average, a whopping 10-14 jobs by the age of 38. According to Cappuccio, top talent is often recruited away for higher-salary positions.
But many in the industry aren’t seeing younger IT employees job-hopping -- yet.
“We’re not seeing a lot of turnover. I think it’s the economy. They feel like it’s a good bet to stay. The company isn’t going to go under,” said Keith Adicoff, a data center manager with Williams-Sonoma Inc.
Paul Prachyl, manager of software development at Texas Legislative Council, said that his government organization isn’t seeing any turnover, but it’s something to look at down the line when the economy improves. At that time, keeping young IT workers put will start with being honest and setting realistic boundaries at the gate.
“If someone wants a dot-com or upstart environment, I’ll tell them up front that it’s not like that,” Prachyl said of his organization.
Some of the tactics
Requires Free Membership to View
When you register, you’ll also receive targeted alerts from my team of editorial writers and independent industry experts with the latest news, tips, and advice to help you do your job more efficiently and effectively. Our goal is to keep you informed on the hottest topics and biggest challenges faced by IT professionals today working with data center technologies.
Margie Semilof, Editorial Director
Cappuccio mentioned to keep junior employees engaged are adding new job
responsibilities and technical challenges, rewarding learning, cross-pollinating skill sets and
breaking down organizational silos.
This is a strategy some data center managers are using.
“We like to take people out of their comfort zones,” said John Toner, Jr., Associate Director of IT, Data Center Site Operations at Verizon Wireless, regarding his company’s multiple and constantly shifting IT job roles. “The people that I’ve seen progress are the ones that are willing to take on new encounters.”
Ryan Arsenault is the Assistant Editor of SearchDataCenter.com.
Alex Barrett, News Director, also contributed to this report.
Join the conversationComment
Share
Comments
Results
Contribute to the conversation