New Delhi, October 7, 2019: A majority (88%) of Indian IT managers say that the new-age CIOs will be the cultural leaders in the digital age. With rapid digitalisation and transformations taking place, there is an unprecedented collaboration between technology and businesses, thereby changing the role and responsibilities of the modern-day CIOs. These revelations were furnished by TimesJobs survey of 987 IT managers. 

 Chief highlights are:

• Around 91% of surveyed IT managers said that CIO roles have undergone a sea change
• Around 28% responders said that CIOs will aid organisational culture by using Artificial Intelligence to reduce unconscious bias at workplace
• About 15% of surveyed professionals said that developing software to attract diverse culture will be among the core duties of CIOs
• 39% surveyed respondents said that in the future, developing go-to-market strategies and technologies will be CIOs core responsibility

 CIOs leading talent market by attracting and retaining top talent

TimesJobs survey asked about how CIOs are playing a vital role on the talent management front. A majority (34%) of surveyors said that CIOs are playing a pivotal role in training and upskilling of employees. While 20% of respondents said that CIOs are helping organisations in enhancing company culture to attract top talent. Around, 19% of individuals said that aligning technology to improve the hiring process is another integral part of their responsibilities. 

 Aligning technology with business goals: Core responsibility of CIOs today

As per 46% of respondents the core function of a CIO is to align technology with business goals. Whereas, 14% of respondents said the core function of CIOs include building business agility and strategies for the organisation.

Further, 41% of professionals asserted that contributing to strategic roles has now become a top expectation from their role. Whereas, facilitating executive alignment on digital strategy, innovating with emerging technology, and modernising the platform to drive agility are some of the transformational tasks of CIOs as per 32% of respondents.

 CIOs to be appointed as business leaders; ‘leadership’ and ‘management skills’ will be the mandate 

In ‘The Changing role of CIOs’ survey, TimesJobs asked about the expected transformations in the CIO role. Around 54% of professionals said that in the future, organisations will hire CIOs as business leaders. While 31% of surveyors think that companies will hire CIOs as functional leaders.  

The survey also asked about the skills that will be critical to become ‘CIO’ in the coming times. Nearly, 44% surveyed managers said ‘leadership’ and ‘management skills’ will be core skills for CIO roles. Another 24% of respondents said that ‘creativity’ will be an imperative skill for future CIOs. The remaining 16% of respondents said that ‘critical thinking’ followed by ‘emotional intelligence’ will be required by next-gen CIOs. 

“Today’s CIOs wear many hats. Along with addressing technology strategy, they are driving business transformations as well. As organisations embrace digitalisation, the CIOs of tomorrow are expected to lead the ongoing innovations and partner with co-leaders to drive growth, prioritise agility, and scale innovation. The CIOs will have to be the harbinger of change enabling companies to leverage technology to create value for its people and businesses,” said Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig.