An Insight on IT Support Salaries, Retention Struggles, and How AI Can Help Combat High Attrition
- Sophie Cook
- Mar 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 24
Employee retention in the IT industry remains a significant challenge, particularly in the IT support and service desk sector, where high turnover rates create major concerns for businesses. However, with the rise of AI-powered solutions like ServiceHive, companies now have an opportunity to mitigate the impact of frequent staff changes while enhancing service efficiency. This blog explores salary benchmarks, attrition trends, and how AI is reshaping the IT support landscape.
Check out the research presentation below 👇
Market Salaries for 1st Line Helpdesk Roles
We have analysed the latest salary trends in the UK IT support sector, specifically for 1st Line Service Desk Engineers, compiling key insights sourced from top recruitment platforms such as Totaljobs, Indeed, and CW Jobs. The 2025 salary ranges are:
Junior: £20,000 - £30,000
Mid-Level: £30,000 - £40,000
Senior: £40,000 - £45,000
Lead: £45,000 - £50,000
Management: £50,000 - £80,000+
These salary figures, bench-marked by Connexa IT Recruitment in their 2024 annual review, provide valuable insight for employers looking to remain competitive in attracting and retaining top talent. But with salaries continuing to rise, businesses are seeking more innovative ways to optimise IT support without compromising service quality. ServiceHive offers a cost-effective solution at just £5 per user per month. This enables organisations to enhance efficiency, reduce operational overheads, and free up IT teams to focus on more strategic tasks, whilst ServiceHive performs all the repetitive and mundane tasks that can be automated.
Understanding Attrition Rates in the UK
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), The UK’s overall staff turnover rate in 2024 was 16%, with the tech industry in particular continuing to experience above-average turnover rates.
Employee Turnover in the Tech Industry
Employee turnover in the tech sector is among the highest across all industries. Research shows:
The general tech industry turnover rate is estimated at 13.2%, with some reports suggesting this figures has reached as high as 18.3%.
The technical service and IT support industry faces an even greater challenge, with an average annual turnover rate nearing 40%.
Using AI as a Knowledge Retention Tool
While high turnover rates in IT support might seem like a challenge, ServiceHive helps to reduce and even mitigate the impact of staff departures. With continuous learning, the knowledgebase ensures that critical expertise is retained and easily accessible at all times. Instead of valuable knowledge leaving with employees. ServiceHive's Knowledgebase preserves critical knowledge, reducing reliance on human agents. By automating first-contact incidents, requests, and queries, it minimises the burden on IT teams and reduces training overhead. Additionlly, the knowledgebase uses AI to continuously learn and adapt, ensuring seamless service while capturing and retaining company-specific knowledge. This makes it a powerful tool for businesses that struggle with staff retention, as it eliminates disruptions caused by lost expertise and maintains operational efficiency around the clock, 24x7x365.
With AI acting as a supportive backup rather than a replacement for human employees, businesses can maintain continuity and efficiency even with frequent team changes. This allows IT service desks to remain agile, adaptable, and focused on improving customer experience rather than struggling with knowledge gaps.
How AI Can Support your IT Team
AI is enhancing service desk agent's roles by handling repetitive and time-consuming tasks. By automating routine enquiries, password resets, and basic troubleshooting, AI frees up IT support professionals to focus on more complex, high-value issues that require critical thinking and human expertise. This shift not only improves efficiency but also enhances job satisfaction, as employees can dedicate their time to strategic problem-solving and career growth.
By leveraging AI-driven knowledge management alongside employee retention strategies, companies can create a more resilient, efficient, and adaptive service desk environment. Rather than being a disruption, staff changes become manageable transitions. Instead of viewing AI as a threat, organisations should embrace it as a powerful tool that supports and elevates their workforce.
Find out how ServiceHive can complement your IT Team, book a demo here.
