As the economic uncertainty is growing due to the Covid-19 pandemic and while International Organizations have warned about an economic recession, the markets are also altering. There are going to be some changes in the IT and tech market regarding staffing during 2020 that both employers and workers should keep in mind. As demands for technological solutions to services are growing, so is the demand for tech workers.

But this uncertainty is pushing businesses to look for contract-based employees, fulfilling duties and services for a limited period, rather than employing full-time or permanently. And these are both medium-sized and large enterprises. Despite the situation, businesses should recognize what benefits contract-based hiring brings to the organization and its disadvantages.

A benefit could be getting your service in the given period, thus not having to worry about finances in the long-term if your income depends on market behavior. But it also gives you an opportunity to test the employees for their skills prior to moving into a permanent agreement. However, because the IT and tech markets are so fluctuating, chances are that your interim workers will have a few job offers by the time they are finished with their contract with you. And this might lead to wasting time finding a new candidate for the position or services.

Good news for IT security-related workers: the demand for you guys will be growing as cyberthreats are increasing and more breaches are taking place. Data and system security are turning into one of the main concerns for businesses around the world, and because cyberattacks create costly damages, enterprises are trying to address these issues before happening.

Expect a competitive market in terms of salary and expertise, as the demand for these talents is high. It would be helpful if your company checked with an IT staffing hiring agency to help you find the best suitable candidates for a position. Your company might also want to consider continuous investment in these professionals by providing them training or bootcamps.

Another trend for IT workers that will be continuing throughout 2020 is that the seniority of their positions will depend on their skills and not years of experience. Until two years ago, a developer would need at least 10 years of experience before being considered as a senior developer. Now employers are promoting their IT workers to senior positions even with three years of experience.

That is because an IT professional’s quality of work doesn’t depend merely on her/his years of experience. The essential points, in this case, are the talent for coding and the value these professionals bring to their work, and what positive changes they contribute to the company they work for. As the tech industry is growing progressively, so are the skills of these professionals. Thus, it is important for companies to pay attention to these aspects rather than simply the years on the job.

Another trend that is seen in the market induced by behavior from millennials is the fact that they don’t want to stay on the same job for too long. That is especially prominent in IT professionals. Instead of staying permanently with a company, they will choose to work on a project for a few years, and then move on to another.

This brings both a higher salary and position but also enriches their resume and skills. This is costly for companies though, as they lose talent, but it is also pricey to recruit new candidates and train them. However, there are a few things that enterprises could do if they wanted an employee to stick around.

First, they should discuss salaries and benefits. IT professionals are prioritizing their income and especially a work-life balance. Another aspect to be noted would be investing in the latest technology and providing office commodities to make working more comfortable. Another thing millennials and especially IT workers are considering more is remote working.

Thus, for as long as a company grants more freedom by allowing its workers to code from home a day or two a week and a better salary, then they will become more competitive in the market. This will make employees happy and assure a more qualitative work and a longer-term contract with their employees.