Turnover among information technology professionals costs organization in revenues. According to Computer Economics (2008), the cost of replacing one information technology employee is $50,000. Reports from the United States Department of Commerce and Office of Technology Policy showed that turnover rate in Information Technology has exceeded 20% increase since the year 1997 (Lee, 2000). The purpose of the qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and the lived experience of IT professionals in the Service industry within the District of Columbia in order to understand the precipitating events, or shocks that caused them to leave one organization for another. The data collection process was through one-on-one interviews with 10 IT professionals who work in the Service industry in the District of Columbia. The primary objective of the analysis was the emerging themes in the responses to the interview questions. The indications of dissatisfaction expressed by these respondents related to the characteristics of an organization, such as the work-place environment, the managerial, and leadership issues. Shocking events experienced by the participants in the research prompted them to search for and evaluate possible alternatives before leaving. The current study findings might provide leaders with information that could help them create policies on employee retention. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]