By Joe
McKenna, Global CIO, Syntax
Right now,
companies are making major decisions that will impact the future of work. For
example, Google
announced they won't be back until next summer and REI
is selling its corporate headquarters
outright. As more companies follow suit and test innovative workforce
solutions, chief information officers (CIOs) will have a greater influence in
decision-making processes.
Prior to the
global pandemic, just 24% of CIOs were heavily involved in business strategy
preparation. A third considered themselves pure technology implementers. With
an increasingly dispersed global workforce, CIOs have quickly taken leadership
roles to address decisions about how employees work virtually, how to manage
office space, and other issues that arose from COVID-19. As some businesses
look to transition back to the workplace soon, it remains to be seen whether
changes to the CIO's role will stick.
Part of the
problem is that employers are used to having employees on-site at their offices
and often make decisions based on a legacy, physical, and "brick-and-mortar"
mindset. CIOs must help company leaders shift their view on how to empower
employees to work from home as company's make a longer-term transition away
from physical offices.
The key
question: How can companies rethink traditional workplace spend and become more
innovative?
To make the
business case, company leaders need to demonstrate that employees are as
productive working from home as they were when they went into the office. And
that means employers must look at employee access to technologies and work
experience in a whole new way - a way that enables collaboration and access to
the necessary IT systems to enhance their work experience, via cloud access and
tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
CIOs will
continue to play an important role in strategy
Due to
COVID-19, 57%
of respondents to a
recent survey report they plan to use the cloud more than in the past,
requiring a leader to drive and monitor these changes. Knowing companies can
reap big rewards by sowing the seeds of innovation, CIOs must do more to
establish themselves as pioneers in the next decade of company leadership.
In other
words, to retain a seat at the decision-making table, CIOs need to recognize
that we
can't go backward when
we begin the return to the office. Instead, CIOs must ensure leadership drives
company progress forward.
4 great
ways to position yourself as an IT leader
As CIO,
there are many ways to position yourself as an effective leader so you can
continue to exercise your voice in company decision-making:
1. Set
goals. Set goals
related to your company's bottom line rather than setting goals for your
own advancement. For example, instead of making your goal a promotion, set
a goal for digital transformation initiatives. Goal-setting prevents
competition between members of the C-suite and helps keep you focused on
common goals. Does it improve user experience (UX) or efficiency? Will it
cut costs? Remember, it's about the company's goals, not the title.
2. Help
your company plan for change. Change
is the only constant in a CIO's role, especially while working through
COVID-19. Planning for change means you should be flexible when a project
doesn't go as planned, and quickly pivot to a new solution. It also requires
close collaboration with other team members to establish concrete next steps,
gain buy-in from key people, and the ability to remain agile in today's
environment.
3. Reconsider
capital spending. Companies
must look at areas in which they spend money where it's no longer necessary.
For example, does your company still have 250 office phones plugged in and
ready to use? Finding ways to reduce brick-and-mortar spending frees up money
for spending on innovation and digital capabilities. Organizations with large
real estate holdings should look at how they can reallocate their dollars
toward hiring or other initiatives. Of course, be careful when cutting budgets
- you don't want to reduce the budget for something that's critical to
productivity or that you'll quickly need to purchase back.
4. Collect
data on employee experience. Employee
experience is, in my opinion, a CIO's bottom line. While some workers have
transitioned smoothly to working from home, others are experiencing high levels
of stress that CIOs must work to alleviate. Maybe that means investing in
equipment that makes a work-from-home environment better, or a new piece of
collaboration software. Collect data through surveys and interviews to
determine what's working, what's not, and how you can help. The data will then
show you what's providing value and what still needs work.
Enable
positive customer and employee experiences
Though my job falls in the realm of IT, the
focus is on finding new ways to innovate the customer and employees
experiences. By making this your key areas of focus, smart decisions around
technology will follow. Likewise, by making employees happy, you can create
better experiences for your customers - and that makes enabling employees with
powerful innovative solutions the best way to achieve your business goals.
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About the Author
Joe Mckenna, Global CIO, Syntax
Joe McKenna is the global CIO of Syntax, a
managed IT services provider with more than 400 customers in over 20 industries
around the world. McKenna has more than 30 years of experience in
infrastructure, design, implementation and deployment. He took on the role of
global CIO earlier this year, having previously been senior director of
engineering, and now manages several cross-functional teams at Syntax.