IT and business demands seem to be becoming faster and more alike. Is your IT team loaded with the best staff to meet the demands of today’s technology? Cloud computing, social media, business app development and the integration of business processes with IT practices are all emerging areas that demand expertise, not guesswork.
Once upon a time, CIOs could count on hiring employees strictly based on their technical knowledge. Now, CIOs should be looking at candidates that bring something more to the table. The hybridization of IT and business requires tech-savvy workers that offer a strong business background and management expertise. Thinking that those skills bundled into one worker come cheap would also be a mistake: new hires like these usually command six-figure salaries to start.
If bringing in new hires of this caliber seems a lengthy and expensive process, CIOs may take comfort in exploring how they can repurpose mid-level and senior employees within the organization that have business knowledge and different programming expertise. Take a good look at your talent pool. What business and technology needs can be filled with in-house expertise? Contractors can provide stop-gaps as needed for strategic areas.
CIOs should also consider looking outside their own IT departments to foster technological knowledge among employees in all facets of the company. This practice makes business departments more competitive in today’s world, considering that social media is a marketing strategy, cloud computing is a cost savings business process and app development can improve productivity and generate revenue.
Putting on an HR hat wouldn’t be a bad idea either: a true evaluation of the talent that has retired from your company’s IT department and the existing team’s current expertise gives CIOs a clearer picture of the necessary skill sets that must be filled. Additionally, the results of this overview may not only show which knowledge must be transferred amongst team members, but point existing employees to emerging jobs such as vendor managers and social media development.
It may be necessary to recruit some IT superstars into your organization, but if you look at your existing team holistically, some amazing skills may emerge to help your team exceed today’s technological and business expectations.
