By John McCormick, Baseline
When it comes to hiring and retaining IT staffs, the future doesn't look so bright. The Baby Boomers are getting ready to retire, the number of college students entering computer science has dropped 50 percent in the last five years, according to the Computer Research Association, and the need for corporate IT people is growing. In a survey of its members released last month, the Society of Information Management (SIM), an organization of CIOs, found that nearly 40 percent of the nation's information chiefs are looking to increase their staffs, while another 33 percent said they are looking to maintain their current staffing levels—which means they'll have to find people to fill the spots left by workers moving on to new jobs or retirement. It's no wonder, then, that the same SIM survey found that attracting, developing and retaining information technology talent is now the No. 2 concern of CIO’s—right after IT and business alignment. So what steps can CIOs take now to ensure they have the people they'll need in the days ahead? CIO Insight sent question by e-mail to three leading IT staffing experts. Here is the advice they sent back:
Paul J. Groce
Partner
Christian & Timbers, executive search firm
Paul Groce leads the firm's Chief Information Officer (CIO) Functional Practice, which specializes in the areas of Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Application Development, IT Operations and other information technology human capital needs. In addition to IT assignments, Paul has search/consulting experience in operations, information security, quality, business process outsourcing and inclusion/diversity focused teambuilding. He also served on sabbatical in the Office of White House Personnel in
TIPS FOR ATTRACTING IT TALENT
- Organizations must recruit for the "CIO 2010." Many of today's older CIO’s came out of the "wiring closet," so to speak. They are savvy technologists. Tomorrow's CIO’s—CIO’s 2010—will be different. They will be tech-savvy business leaders. Current early-career IT professionals have much stronger business backgrounds than yesterday's CIO’s. Organizations must understand this shift, and put in place career opportunities and professional development plans that meet the needs of the CIO 2010. Then these organizations must clearly communicate in recruitment materials and other collateral that the organization is on the leading edge of the CIO 2010 career path development.
- Turn your IT team into evangelists. Any CIO knows that the IT team is connected to the larger tech community. Word of mouth about the organization, management and the state of IT projects is highly influential, perhaps even more so than anything HR can say. If the IT organization is functioning well and engaged in interesting projects, the most visible and satisfied among the team should be encouraged to spread the word. Incentives, such as bonuses, should be developed to support the IT evangelists. Hesitation about encouraging IT team members to talk about the opportunities and organizations signals bigger internal issues, which must be addressed.
TIPS FOR RETAINING IT TALENT
- To keep the best and brightest, the CIO should develop and mentor his or her own replacement. Unfortunately, CIO’s often find this extremely challenging. Some are afraid that by developing the next generation of leadership, they may be pushed out of the leadership limelight and actually watch these individuals leapfrog ahead of them and win the next stellar career opportunity. However, CIO’s who let fear rule and do not mentor and develop the "next-in-line" talent risk losing team leaders to organizations that will fill these individuals' career development needs.
- Create cross-functional career development plans. You might be familiar with the saying "once a dishwasher, always a dishwasher." Today, we might change that to "once a tech geek, always a tech geek." And that's the mold that many early- and mid-career technology professionals are trying to break. The old IT stereotypes—that IT professionals are unable to communicate effectively with the business side or that they innovate for innovation's sake—are dying too slow a death. One way to hasten these clichés' demise is to create cross-functional career development plans. IT professionals—even those who crave to stay on the hardcore tech side—can benefit from cross-functional training and assignments. They will have a chance to see how the other half lives, create new relationships and enhance their business acumen.
- Review your IT team member resumes annually. This is a counterintuitive approach to retention, but one that fosters trust. An effective performance review technique is to have your employees brush up their resumes every year. The employee with nothing new to add is one you need to be concerned about. The simple act of discussing resumes and sharing in an open conversation creates a level of trust that too often does not exist between managers and employees. Put the employee's career first...discuss successes and failures and areas of need. At the end of the day, if the employee is not happy or not right, help that person find something else. This technique is a proven win-win approach.
Katherine Spencer Lee
Executive Director
Robert Half Technology staffing firm
Katherine Spencer Lee has been with the company since 1995 and has more than 15 years of experience in information technology consulting services. She is a frequent public speaker and guest hosted several live events on Web sites such as Monster.com, Techtarget.com and CareerPath.com. In addition, she is currently providing career insight and advice through columns in Computerworld, CIOUpdate.com, Optimize and Certification Magazine.
TIPS FOR ATTRACTING IT TALENT
- Offer competitive salaries and comp plans. Let's face it, money still talks. Check in with recent hires or those completing their first year and see if they feel their salaries are still competitive. Evaluate them frequently.
- Play to your company's strengths. IT workers, like all of us, can be ego driven. If your company has an outstanding reputation for cutting-edge technology, industrial design, hip culture or an ability to draw top tech talent, play that up in the interview process. People love to know that they are going to a place that everyone else is dying to get into. But keep your sales pitch relevant: A database administrator may not be too dazzled by the fact that you have a first-rate creative team.
- Highlight cool projects they will work on or may someday aspire to work on. If you're about to release an anticipated new application or technology, people may take less money for the opportunity to work on a true resume-builder. But be careful to keep them interested after the product/service is completed, or they'll just jump ship.
- Emphasize the pedigree or reputation of people they will get to work with or under. Got rock stars? Then let potential employees know.
- Look internally to your employees for referrals—good people know good people. IT is a small world and networking with your current staff and even enticing them with a referral bonus can lead to great talent.
TIPS FOR RETAINING IT TALENT
- Re-evaluate your compensation plans annually or even twice per year and ensure they are up to date. Our 2007 Salary Guide for IT Professionals will be released in early October and will include salary ranges for more than 60 IT positions, regional and national employment trends, management strategies and more. How do you stack up?
- Provide professional development opportunities to retain your best people. We conducted a survey earlier this year of 1,400 CIO’s nationwide and found that 63 percent of these technology leaders were offering these types of opportunities. Firms recognize that technology workers, in particular, value ongoing educational opportunities that will enable them to keep their skills current and continue learning on the job.
- Offer flexible schedules. Our survey found that 47 percent of the CIO’s we polled were willing to provide flexible schedules. Effective retention programs also address work-life balance and salary issues. Offering flexible schedules or telecommuting options is a cost-effective way to improve overall job satisfaction, show appreciation and build loyalty. Competitive compensation packages are equally important and demonstrate to employees that their contributions are valued.
Rick Davidson, SVP, Global CIO
Manpower employment-services Company
Rick Davidson is responsible for worldwide IT strategy and operations at Manpower. He joined the company in January 2003. Before signing on with Manpower, he worked at the Feld Group—an IT consulting company that placed temporary CIO’s—and, prior to that, he was the senior vice president and CIO at CNH Global and the vice president of global information services at Haworth Inc.
TIPS ON ATTRACTING AND RETAINING IT TALENT
Manpower has developed and refined strategies for companies to attract engage and retain quality employees, including IT professionals. The world's most populous country is faced with a talent paradox.
The five strategies of Manpower's Workforce Optimization Model to improve employee attraction, engagement and retention are:
- Create a learning organization.
- Appoint competent leaders.
- Establish an appropriate organization and culture.
- Provide competitive compensation and benefits packages.
- Select the right people.
It is vital that organizations view the five areas as a holistic, integrated solution; neglecting even one of the areas will weaken the solution considerably.
1. Create a learning organization. Fast learning for high-potential employees can be facilitated through the following channels:
- Give employees projects that go beyond their current job's responsibilities.
- Participate in global tasks to learn Western culture and business management, and broaden employees' views.
- Invite employees to present at next-level local and global management meetings
2. Appoint competent leaders.
- Appoint hands-on leaders and provide role models.
- Improve leaders' communication skills.
- Explain company strategy and link personal goals to business objectives.
3. Establish an appropriate organization and culture.
- Create a simple and "flat" management structure.
- Demonstrate the organization's values.
- Repeatedly communicate the organization's values.
4. Provide competitive compensation and benefits packages.
- Review salaries frequently.
- Expect to give bigger salary increases than in developed countries.
- Develop comprehensive packages with multiple benefits.
5. Select the right people.
- Be open and honest to candidates in interviews.
- Look for soft skills such as flexibility and adaptability.
- Find candidates who have the capacity to grow quickly.
‘All highlighting mine’- Vinod Chand
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