CIO careers in 2019
Were there any trends in
terms of skills demands from the employers' perspective you have observed in
2018 that were any different to developments seen in previous years?
2018 was about ‘the customer’. Perhaps in recognition
that an ‘all or nothing’ enterprise wide digital strategy is proving hard to
achieve, organisations are increasingly focusing their digital attention on the
customer, and turning
to the Technology Leader, whatever their title, to understand the customer and
provide solutions that meet customer needs. It’s about taking the lead from the
outside and responding, not taking internal technology, processes, etc. and
expecting the customer to adapt.
In
some cases the customer, or future-focused, side of the Technology Leadership
role is splitting away from the operational side of tech completely.
The
Technology Leader has to learn to say ‘Yes’ more often than ‘No’ – today the
business and customers can find workarounds without the technology team
involved. It means technology leaders need to stay one step ahead of their
non-tech peer group who are often tech-savvy and well-connected. They
must be there first to identify new technologies and assess their application
to the business – Blockchain, IoT, AI, VR, etc. Our advice: Be aware and
be ahead.
Clients
are also looking for people who can bring ideas in from outside of sector and
build a variety of partnerships including: large tech giants, small
entrepreneurial tech start-ups, universities and more. This ‘eco-system’
is designed to feed technology ideas into the businesses.
There’s
increasing investment in tech pilots, followed by failing or scaling
these. People with great contacts, an externally facing approach, and the
ability to see concepts through to delivery quickly are sought after.
2018 was also the year that ‘automation’
came of age. The Harvey Nash / KPMG CIO Survey 2018 revealed that over
two-thirds of IT leaders were using it at least to some extent to remove the
need for headcount in their team, and that many CIOs were using these lessons
to help other areas of the business. Automation has drawn the attention of the
Board as it ticks many boxes: it saves money, increases agility and – in some
instances – can improve innovation. The success rate of automation projects is
appealing high. Many CIOs are carefully looking at this area and many of our
clients are beginning to ask what skills CIOs have.
2. How do you see these
trends evolving into 2019?
More of the same.
From a technical skills perspective, IT
leaders will be increasingly asked to be the architects of a wide, disparate
and cloud-based estate of digital assets – not all of which are under their
direct control. We are seeing a new breed of ‘architects’ – not the ones of
old, but ones that bring together the technology and most importantly the
relationships to make the IT estate work together.
We also expect to see increasing demand for
skills in the rapidly expanding areas of Artificial Intelligence and blockchain.
Whilst adoption of both are very low at the moment - blockchain for instance is
currently limited to particular sectors like Financial Services and Supply
Chain - there is a sense that both have the potential for expansive growth, and
many of the CEOs we recruit CIOs for are interested in how an IT leader can
help their organisation realise the potential from these.
We
may see Technology Leaders increasingly having to make the binary choice
between back-office IT (systems and infrastructure running and secure, etc) or
future-technology. Two very different careers.
3. Looking back at the
recruitment processes you have handled in 2018, what were the main difficulties
you have observed senior IT leaders have faced when competing for vacancies
regarding skills?
It’s
a competitive landscape. Those who build relationships with recruitment
partners will be able to demonstrate their softer, non-technical, skills more
effectively. Many of our placed candidates are people we’ve got to know
well through coffees grabbed in cafes, meetings over Skype or catch-ups at
events. Likewise, people who are well connected with prior colleagues,
who can bring them in to new organisations, will do well.
Major
skills being sought are: evidence of bringing in innovation that’s had a direct
impact on a business, evidence of handling a complex stakeholder base often
spanning geographical boundaries and multiple brands, commerciality which
increases ability to talk business to the Board.
We’ve seen a rise in the importance of the CISO, with security reporting at
higher and higher levels within an organisation.
4. Have you noticed any
differences regarding how senior a CIO/CTO?IT Director needs to be, considering
all the new technology skills that are required at companies today? How will
that continue to change (if at all) in the coming year?
The technology leader role is in a state of
positive flux, perhaps more than any other senior role within an organisation.
It has long been the case that the role has become more business and customer
focused, but what we have experienced in the last few years is a transformation
of the role, in some cases taking it beyond traditional job titles like CIO or
IT director.
If in the past CEOs and boards were looking
for IT leaders to manage and control, now they are increasingly looking for
them to influence and persuade. The Harvey Nash / KPMG CIO survey has shown
that shadow IT has increased around 10% a year for the last five years, and is
set to continue. Boards are increasingly becoming supportive of ‘shadow IT’ as
they are seeing it lead to greater innovation and agility, and they are
actively looking for the CIO to lead the charge in finding new technology and
helping the business directly realise value from it. But alongside this, they
are also asking for them to put in place architecture that brings it all
together and a governance framework to ensure their organisation stays secure
and maintains the trust of customers.
Tech
Leaders can’t possibly constantly keep ahead of every technology advancements
so they need to build open relationships with their teams and partners.
Innovation hubs are mainstream now, whether formal or informal, and are a great
funnel for ideas. Tech Leaders must create an environment that stimulates
and delivers innovation, while also ensuring this isn’t at the expense of
the existing technology landscape.
Promoting both innovation and governance
requires quite a unique combination of skills. No-one said the job of the CIO
was easy!
5. How can senior IT leaders
prepare to be able to remain attractive candidates for companies needing
leadership for digital transformation initiatives in 2019?
Technology
Leaders won’t be compelling for clients with transformation programmes unless
they have evidence of delivering these already, or playing a major role in the
delivery of these. The delivery of multi-channel solutions that are
intuitive, automate and streamline processes, and make effective use of data,
are key. Both employee customers and external customers expect
this.
The
implementation and adoption of digital collaboration tools is sought
after. Further, IoT based solutions that provide meaningful information
and deliver real benefits to the business, or customer are sought after
too. Think about data being used in devices in the home to improve
citizen health for example…
But above all it’s not about the technology, nor the
job title, nor the budgets. The key skill an IT leader needs to display is
influence. If they can work with a varied set of stakeholders and an even more
varied base of digital assets and bring them together into single view that
drives the business, then their skillset is going to be highly valued.
IT leaders are increasingly becoming like
shepherds.
That said,
in all of the talk of IT leaders are becoming ‘business leaders’ there
is risk they leave their technology expertise behind. This would be a failing,
as it is technology where their USP lies. If an IT leader can’t show a deep
understanding of how, say, blockchain works or the principals of AI, then they
may struggle to differentiate themselves from a CMO, CDO or COO who may also
have their eyes set on leading transformation!
6. Diversity is often cited as
a key ingredient of successful transformation plans - how has that situation
improved at senior level in 2018 and how will that develop in 2019?
In
the 2018 CIO Survey female respondents had grown from 9% to 12% which is a good
step forward, but there’s still a way to go.
Clients
expect diverse shortlists and
recruiters are striving to build relationships with a diverse group of
people. Harvey Nash have completed a Diversity & Inclusion series
this year under the banner of ‘Inclusion 360’ resulting in thought leadership
on positive ways to ensure inclusive attraction of candidates. We share
these publications with our clients and contacts. We’ve also run
round-table focused on Diversity & inclusion with senior women in
tech.
Communicating
about diversity has led to female candidates becoming bolder by applying to
roles even if they don’t tick every box, and promoting themselves more in
interviews.
Recruiters
and hirers alike are truly thinking about their about their processes – is
gender neutral language being used in adverts and assignment briefs, is there a
diverse panel, etc..
7. Continued education is
also often mentioned as a must for any senior IT leader worth its salt - what
are the courses employers like to see in candidates' CVs and what do you
recommend as a strategy for those out in the market?
Although
education does matter, I think employees are concerned far less about degrees,
MBAs and certifications and are more interested in evidential experience.
The sector moves so fast it is hard for formal qualifications to stay relevant.
That said continual learning is a must. It is so important that the technology
leader stays ahead of trends, as well as works closely with peers in different
sectors to uncover new ideas and innovations. A successful innovator is usually
the person who accepts the next ‘big idea’ will be come from outside his or her
own head.
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