This article is devoted to an underdeveloped yet relevant topic regarding motivation of IT professionals in Latvia. An online survey that covered 361 respondents was conducted in Latvian universities. The goal of the research is to find out whether young Latvian IT professionals are oriented towards financial stimuli and guarantees (the vital needs) or non-monetary motivators (the need for self-actualisation and professional growth). The research also offers a classification of different types of young Latvian IT professionals and elaborates some recommendations on their motivation. The respondents were divided into 5 groups based on their professional values: «flexible», «future professionals», «money oriented», «not decided yet» and «idealists». The authors give a detailed description of each group and provide recommendations regarding motivation of the professionals of each profile. The study may be of interest to HR managers in terms of their responsibilities related to attracting, motivating and developing young Latvian IT professionals. The recommendations are very specific and based on representative data, so they can be applied to HR practice.

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