<br>How much are it companies paying their staff?

More companies are looking to outsource entire projects rather than recruiting individuals on a fixed contract or self-employed basis, according to leading resource and recruitment consultants Preferred International,

Employers see the benefits of having a managed service, and recruitment consultants are going to have to provide a turnkey, outsourced solution,
said director Nick Daniels. The question we now ask a company is what do you want to achieve, not how many people do you want us to provide.

He was speaking at the launch of the Preferred International Index, which identifies the number of staff employed by each of the leading IT companies in the south, the profit generated per member of staff and the average
salary.

In their presentation, the directors of Preferred International comment on pay and how companies need to play fair to reduce staff turnover among IT staff. Nick Daniels warned, Many companies have made 10% - 20% reductions
in their IT contractor rates because of the current climate in the technology sector. People are not massively upset, but if employers continue to make reductions, then when the market picks up, which it will, those will be the first people making their way to the exit when the company
needs them most.

David Clayden, Director, adds, New norms are emerging. There was a time when it was thought that contract and salary rates for IT staff could only go up, but now there's an acceptance that rates can go down as well, a maturity is emerging in IT.

The complete index of pay statistics for leading IT companies in the south, including a comparison with the previous year can be found in the news section of