Insights into the IT Labor Market: Reward Trends, Talent Retention, and the Power of the Comptryx Platform

Organized by the Serbian IT Association (SITA) and the global human resources leader, Mercer, an exclusive webinar titled “Serbian Tech Talent Landscape: Demand Dynamics, Reward Trends and Retention Focus” was successfully held.

The event brought together around 50 participants, including HR directors, managers, and leaders from top local and regional IT companies. Attendees had the unique opportunity to explore how global trends and advanced data are shaping talent acquisition and retention strategies in Serbia. The keynote speaker was Guy Marshall, European Commercial Leader – Technology Industry at Mercer. He was joined by Radmila Krunić, Mercer Lead Adria, as well as a special guest speaker, Tetyana Karachevtseva (Global C&B Manager at DataArt), who shared her practical experience using the platform.

The central part of the webinar focused on showcasing the Mercer | Comptryx platform, a specialized tool for high-tech companies that provides precise visibility into compensation, benefits, and workforce metrics on both a global and local level. Featuring a comprehensive database that spans over 819 global tech companies, 5.6 million incumbents, and more than 34,000 benchmark jobs across 123 countries, this platform equips IT leaders with invaluable, data-driven insights based on real market conditions.

Key Insights and Trends for 2026

During the webinar, Guy Marshall presented the latest data from the Global Talent Trends 2026: Technology Industry report. Here are the key takeaways directly impacting the local and European IT markets:

1. Digital Acceleration and the AI Race

• AI Investments: Capital expenditures (CapEx) by leading tech giants (the so-called Hyperscalers, including Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle) in the field of artificial intelligence are set to nearly triple from 2024 to 2026.

• Strategic Priorities: For the global IT industry, digital acceleration (including AI) and talent scarcity stand out as the two single largest strategic drivers this year, overshadowing traditional concerns over inflation and capital.

2. A Sharp Decline in the “Thriving” Index and Work Satisfaction

• Employee Well-being: Data reveals an alarming trend: only 49% of tech sector employees report that they are thriving in their work.

• Plummeting Satisfaction: Work satisfaction is decreasing rapidly. While in 2024, 73% of IT professionals stated they were satisfied and had no plans to leave their organization, by 2026, that figure has dropped to just 39% (with numbers dipping even lower among Gen Z employees).

3. What IT Professionals Truly Want and Why They Stay

The research effectively deconstructs the myth that salary is the only motivator. Companies must pivot from merely competing on pay scales to designing a holistic, competitive employee experience.

Top 3 Drivers for Employee Retention: 1. Positive and respectful work culture (52%) 2. Flexibility over when and where I work (40%) 3. Fair pay (37%)

Remarkably, 63% of tech employees would hypothetically be willing to forfeit 10% of their pay in exchange for opportunities to upskill in critical areas like digital and AI capabilities.

4. Market Specifics in Serbia and Eastern Europe

• Cost Competitiveness: Serbia continues to position itself as a highly cost-competitive market with excellent talent maturity across software and R&D functions.

• New Hire Pay Premium: Pressure on salaries when hiring new talent remains high across Eastern Europe. In Serbia, the New Hire Pay Premium (the wage gap between recent hires and tenured employees in identical roles) within the software function sits at around 8%.

• The Rise of Long-Term Incentives (LTI): Driven by VC and investor interest, start-ups, scale-ups, and multinationals, Serbia is seeing a noticeable acceleration and growth in equity awards and Long-Term Incentives (LTI) as a crucial mechanism to attract and retain top talent.

Looking Ahead: Education and Member Support

This webinar is just one of many initiatives that the Serbian Tech Association is undertaking to grant local tech companies access to world-class tools and cutting-edge methodologies. Partnering with organizations like Mercer ensures our community stays highly competitive on the global stage and is fully prepared to navigate the ongoing AI disruption.

We extend our sincere thanks to the Mercer team for an exceptional presentation, and to all the participants for a highly engaging and dynamic Q&A session!