An article from The Wall Street Journal illustrates a major disadvantage that employers face: The demand for IT professionals is greater than the supply of qualified people. Today, more Chief Information Officers are not sticking around.
The article cited a survey that found 58% of CIOs at surveyed firms are planning to leave their current position in 3 years or less. Only 48% said there was a clear succession plan to replace them if they were to leave. Just a fraction of them said an internal “ready-now” successor had already been identified.
The danger for banks is that this position, which is critical for a bank’s success, may become vacant without warning, perhaps for many months, with no one who can immediately take over, and no one who can train a successor in the job’s specific responsibilities. Meanwhile, the tasks involved in this position will not be carried out by anyone, and the bank may be vulnerable to a variety of information security risks.
Companies that pull back funding for large digital projects or that become complacent about using technology to compete are at an even higher risk of losing CIOs, according to a technology recruiting executive. Persons holding this position want to work on projects that are interesting and well-funded. Another company that is using technology in innovative ways will always seem more attractive to a CIO.
Banks have a huge need for qualified technical and security skills, but typically are not able to offer the compensation, perks or excitement that qualified technical persons can find at tech firms. Persons in an IT leadership position such as CIO want to lead change and disruption. Many banks simply do not have the resources or appetite for that.
Banks located in more rural areas have even more difficulty in attracting IT personnel and in getting them to stay there.
Banks need a dependable source of quality IT services, not vulnerable to unexpected resignations by key personnel — and at a predictable, affordable cost. BankOnIT provides outsourced IT services that have been specifically designed to eliminate the recruitment, compensation and security challenges that banks otherwise face.
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SOURCE
The Wall Street Journal – Increasingly, the “C” in CIO Stands for ‘C’Ya Later’