• CIOs play a vital role in employee training and upskilling, said 36% IT managers surveyed by TimesJobs
• The survey was conducted to understand the changes in the CIO role at the workplace, around 46% of respondents said that the core role of new-age CIOs is to align technology with business goals
• 44% survey takers said that leadership and management skills are a vital requirement for future CIOs

New Delhi, October 9, 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 digitalization 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 the 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 organizational 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 organizations 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 organization.

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 modernizing 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, organizations 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 organizations embrace digitalization, the CIOs of tomorrow are expected to lead the ongoing innovations and partner with co-leaders to drive growth, prioritize 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. 

About TimesJobs:- 

TimesJobs is a platform to help competent professionals enhance their career growth. With over 25 million registered jobseekers across the board and more than 60 million page views every month, it is the most preferred career portal among ambitious and talented professionals who want to make smarter career decisions that accelerate their career progression.