A key requirement for every organization is achieving the optimum balance between having the appropriate trained and skilled IT people available and minimizing recruitment, training, insurance and pension costs.
One key challenge is dealing with the ongoing variations in the supply and demand for IT staff. On the demand side, you have the ad hoc nature of many IT transformation projects, including roll outs, as well as seasonality of business requirements which can create peak technical staffing issues. On the supply side, you have to contend with staff leaving the organization or being absent through long-term sickness and maternity leave. Equally, there may be additional organizational constraints such as freezes on the permanent head count to contend with.