A majority of information technology leaders would leave their current companies for better compensation or for a promotion, according to the findings of the recent TEKsystems IT outlook study, released Tuesday.

Seventy percent of IT leaders said they would leave their current role for an increase in compensation, while 53 percent indicate they would leave for an immediate or near-term promotion.

The findings correlate with the leaders’ responses to what are the worst aspects of their current role. The top two were career path (49 percent) and compensation (29 percent).

Survey respondents also indicate they and their best staff will be leaving their company within two years (34 percent and 29 percent, respectively), while 50 percent expect to see their worst-performing staff to leave the company within a year.

“The large number of IT leaders who would be willing to leave their current role for a promotion underscores the volatility of the IT labor market, especially for IT skill sets in high demand,” said TEKsystems Director Rachel Russell. “To keep important IT leaders on staff and motivated, we counsel organizations to frequently monitor the effectiveness of their workforce management strategies. Fair compensation practices and formal career path discussions are keys to morale and retention.”

TEKsystems partners with the Inavero Institute to conduct a quarterly survey of more than 1,000 IT leaders in the U.S. and Canada.