SIA recently published its fourth annual IT Staffing & Solutions Benchmarking Survey. This survey provides in-depth analysis of US IT staffing trends by occupation, such as revenue growth and recruiting difficulty. It further explores the prominence of VMS, statement-of-work engagements and client vertical market demand.
The results complement other surveys produced by SIA to help clients benchmark their firms’ financial and operational performance relative to competitors. These include the bi-monthly Pulse Survey (currently monthly during the pandemic), the annual Staffing Industry Benchmarking Consortium, and additional annual surveys issued broadly to staffing firms, large buyer organizations, and temporary workers themselves. What makes the IT Staffing & Solutions Benchmarking survey unique is its strict focus on the IT segment.
Twenty US staffing firms participated in the survey conducted in February 2020, just prior to the impact of Covid-19 in the US market. This group represents $2.8 billion in 2019 US IT temporary staffing revenue, or about 9% of the overall sector. The aggregate year-over-year revenue growth of 5.9% for survey participants was above our 4% growth for 2019 temporary IT staffing estimated in our US Staffing Industry Forecast: April 2020 Update report. Comparative outperformance of our survey groups to the sector is typical, as firms that are active in benchmarking their performance tend to be highly competitive in the marketplace.
The effects of supply and demand were on clear display when survey respondents were asked to rate recruiting difficulty for each occupation on a scale of one to five, with five indicating extreme difficulty. Cloud architect, data architect/data scientist/big data/BI and cyber/data security were rated highest for recruiting difficulty by the survey respondents. Meanwhile, help desk/PC support roles were easiest to recruit.
We view the current disruption as an opportunity for firms to recommit focus in areas, such as those where recruiting difficulty is most acute. This grouping of occupations is not only likely to maintain a high level of demand as we cross through to the other side of the pandemic, but is also where execution and access to a supply of premium talent can serve as a sustainable competitive differentiator.
Average recruiting difficulty, 1-5 scale
The results of the IT benchmarking survey will be discussed in greater detail, along with additional commentary on the current IT staffing climate, in our upcoming Staffing Industry Report Webinar on May 12. Corporate members may register for the webinar here.
While the full report of results is available only to firms that completed the survey, corporate members can access the summary report that presents a sampling of the findings. If you would like to receive an invitation for your firm to participate in our next benchmarking survey, please send a request to Shweta Palekar at shweta.palekar@staffingindustry.com. The report’s table of contents is displayed below.
