* Survey finds many CIOs are actively involved in staff development
Many CIOs make it their job to help groom future IT leaders, according to the results of a recent survey from Robert Half Technology.
The staffing firm polled 1,400 CIOs from a variety of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees, asking specifically whether these individuals are taking any steps to identify and prepare individuals on their IT staff to move into managerial roles. Exactly half responded in the affirmative.
Those who take active involvement in staff development approach this in several ways. Respondents most commonly cited mentoring programs, which were chosen by 43%. Next is management training, cited by 42%, followed by soft-skills training as chosen by 35%. Another 19% opted for succession-planning programs, while 1% picked another type of training or continuing education.
“Preparing staff for future management roles is critical in fast-growth companies,” says Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Leadership training also can be a form of succession planning for businesses facing the impending retirement of baby boomers or anticipating turnover as a result of low unemployment levels.”
To learn more about ways to go about training your staff, I recommend subscribing to Network World’s IT Careers and Training e-mail newsletter if you don’t already receive it. Written by my colleague Linda Leung, the newsletter examines IT education trends and issues. You can find the sign-up page here.
