Just 9 percent of information technology leaders report that their employers have formal, well-defined processes in place to deal with their current work force planning strategies, with only 8 percent having a system for focusing on future strategies, finds a recent quarterly study from TEKsystems and the Inavero Institute.

Of the study's respondents, 59 percent are planning the workforce for the next year, less than 20 percent are planning for the next two years, and only 6 percent are planning for the next five years.

"IT departments are constantly assembling teams to tackle emerging trends and stay ahead in a changing marketplace," says Rachel Russell, director of TEKsystems. "Proactive workforce planning is an essential and competitive capability for high performance IT organizations as it ensures they have the skills required to meet project milestones and handle the ebbs and flows of workloads as projects evolve. Our finding that 34 percent of IT leaders say that their companies have only a 'somewhat defined process' to plan for their human capital needs shows the value of a provider that can help address workforce planning risks and drive successful project outcomes."