Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Business Administration

Advisor

Patricia Fusch

Abstract

In the 21st century, retaining information technology (IT) professionals is critical to a company's productivity and overall success. Senior IT leaders need effective strategies to retain skilled IT professionals. Guided by the general systems theory and the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the retention strategies used by 2 senior IT leaders in Atlanta, Georgia to retain IT professionals. Semistructured interviews were employed to elicit detailed narratives from these IT leaders on their experiences in retaining IT professionals. A review of company documents, as well as member-checking of initial interview transcripts, helped to bolster the trustworthiness of final interpretations. Those final interpretations included 4 main themes: (a) job-related benefits and compensation; (b) people-related approaches such as promotion, rewards, and recognition; (c) management, organizational, and leadership essentials that include recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees; and (d) barriers, critical factors, and ineffective strategies affecting the retention of IT professionals. By implementing supportive management practice and encouraging employees to embrace the organization culture, company leaders can succeed in retaining key IT staff. These findings may influence social change by uncovering strategies to retain IT professionals within the company and help IT professionals understand leaders' retention strategies.

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