Advice from a CIO on skills that breed success in IT (FT)

Advice from a CIO on skills that breed success in IT
By Sam Coursen, VP and CIO of Freescale Semiconductor

Published: November 24 2008 18:41 | Last updated: November 24 2008 18:41

In the current climate, all departments, including IT, are being affected by labour cuts and the job market is becoming an increasingly aggressive place. Possessing the right job skills has never been more important.

So what does a CIO look for when hiring?

When I am searching for employees for the infrastructure side of Freescale, I look for people well-versed in technologies such as end user productivity services (eg e-mail), voice and data networking, data centre processing and storage, and remote monitoring/management.

Additionally, they need to be able to recognise not only how technology is changing, but how the company can easily adopt it. If I were delivering these services directly, I would require deep skills in these areas. However, we have outsourced these infrastructure services, like many companies, to take advantage of economies of scale and lower costs of services providers. In this case only, a general knowledge of these skills is important (in order to develop and drive strategies with the outsource partner).

On the application side, the most critical skill I look for in IT is the ability not only to understand the technology well but also recognise the extent to which it can affect business processes. People who can translate how a technology or infrastructure change will impact a business function are an invaluable asset not only to IT, but to the overall business. Their role becomes that of an IT business analyst, one who can then work with business executives to create solutions that will benefit the business for both the short term and the long term.

A good example of this is someone who can look at a business function, such as human resources, and visualise how technology can be applied to improve this function, eg automate a process that was previously handled manually. Although this will increase work for the IT department in the short term, it reduces the business’s overall expense in HR.

It is easier to find a person who has an abundance of IT knowledge or business knowledge, but it is more difficult to find someone who possesses a balance of both skills. CIOs will first look internally within both IT and business departments for likely candidates. In my experience, these people will usually grow from either the IT side and learn the business operations or they will start on the business side and learn the IT functions. If a likely candidate does not emerge internally, management consulting companies, such as Accenture and Bearing Point, are another good resource for this type of candidate. These companies produce some of the best candidates for internal IT positions.

On the reverse side, the ability to focus concurrently on making sure IT is running as efficiently as possible while simultaneously driving solutions for other business processes within the company has been the single most critical skill in bringing success to my own career. In the 10-plus years that I’ve served as a CIO, I’ve learned that adopting both of these as the overall IT objective escalates the value of the company’s IT programme to the business operations.

Technology is changing at an increasingly fast pace. New technology is being developed every day and new ways to deploy existing technology is continually being expanded. The growing sophistication of the internet makes it easier for people to keep track of what’s going on with technology. It puts the world of information at your fingertips, but there is no substitute for finding the next position as soon as possible to keep your experience and your skills fresh. With sites such as Monster.com and social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, the internet makes establishing your own network and finding a job much easier.

In summary, IT departments are feeling the pressure to reduce costs. With the outlook on the economy uncertain, it’s critical to continue to recognise what’s important for the company you are currently working for, or if you are looking for a job, recognise the skills that prospective companies deem important.

Remember that IT is a function that enables all other parts of the company, so there are opportunities for it to help lower costs by automating processes, eliminating redundancies and reducing mistakes. IT professionals should always be thinking about how they can optimise costs and drive solutions for other processes in the company, thereby adding value not only to the larger business strategy, but ultimately to the bottom line.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008