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CIO - Job Description - Salary - IT - News

The making of an effective CIO

CIOs need to position themselves with their enterprises in order to be successful. They need to not only know where their clients want them to go but also to communicate how they are achieving those objectives. The objectives they need to meet and the metrics that can be used are:

· Understand requirements and objectives Frequency and number of requirements and objectives discussed with multiple people at customer organization.

· Establish company credibility and interest - Company viewed as a leader with known corporate, technical and project management teams in addition to solid past performance and experience.

· Preview preliminary solution with customer - Well-developed solution with features linked to objectives and approach vetted with customer to get buy-in and solution validation.

· Achieve acceptance of win strategy (technical, management, past performance, teaming, price) accepted by customer - Win strategy well established, previewed and accepted by customer.

· Influence the request for proposals - Procurement strategy, proposal instructions, and evaluation criteria favorable.

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IT layoffs continue

As part of a large downsizing effort of its labor force in 2010, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly is cutting 340 information technology jobs, according to an internal announcement.

Eli Lilly--which manufactures and markets drugs that fight cancer, diabetes, fibromyalgia and erectile dysfunction, among others--announced last year it was planning to cut costs of $1 billion in 2010, and the elimination of 5,500 workers is part of that cost reduction effort.

Eli Lilly has already seen about 140 layoffs, retirements and resignations in IT in 2010, according to the The Indianapolis Star. John Russell, a reporter for IndyStar.com, wrote the following on the latest round of layoffs:

"But it means 200 more information technology workers will lose their jobs this year. The company said 115 of those cuts will take place this month. Workers who are affected--or 'reallocated,' in Lilly parlance--are given several months to look for another position within the company. But openings for reallocated workers typically are extremely limited" Eli Lilly reported $5.486 billion revenue growth in the first quarter of 2010 -- a 9 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009. The company expects to see large costs associated with health care reform legislation that passed Congress and signed by the president earlier this year.

"Lilly delivered strong operational performance in the first quarter, even as we experienced continued weakness in the U.S. dollar versus prior periods and began to account for the impact from recently enacted U.S. health care reform," said the CEO in the quarterly earnings statement "Our volume-driven revenue growth remains solid and we are making the investments necessary to accelerate the flow of potential new medicines through our pipeline."

Eli Lilly announced on July 2 that it entered a definitive merger agreement to acquire Cambridge, Mass., biotechnology firm Alnara Pharmaceuticals, which has been developing a drug to help combat pancreatic deficiencies and those affected by cystic fibrosis.

Layoffs at Eli Lilly have not been isolated to IT; scientists, marketers, public relations representatives, sales professionals and others have all been let go from the company this year. Eli Lilly has roughly 40,000 employees globally and claims to be the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

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Department of Labor mis-classifies IT PRofessionals

The Department of Labor does not specifically identify millions of IT professionals working in business lines, corporate departments, and in various enterprise strategic and operational functions. These jobs require skills well beyond technology; for instance, precise industry, customer, product, and solution knowledge and expertise. The fact is, the IT profession has undergone radical changes over the past several years, blending seamlessly into the enterprise.

20 million U.S. IT pros? Of course there are far more than 4 million people who use extensive IT skills to do their job, people who would not classify themselves as anything like a software engineer or computer scientist. But consider that there are about 51 million total managerial, professional, and related workers in the U.S. Up to half of them are IT pros?

When will the DOL get this right ?

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Tech is on the comeback

Job demand and salaries are up in California's capital city, according to the Sacramento Bee. Not known as a technology hub for jobs, it is a sign that about smaller cities like Sacramento see an uptick in demand for technology talent.

At more than 500 open information technology positions for Sacramento, the numbers are up by half from the same time last year. The tech job market in Sacramento has improved significantly. There is solid demand for engineers, project managers and programmers.

Officials at SARTA, the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance, seeing an uptick hiring. Other areas of the country like Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina are also seeing technology job demand increases. Austin and Raleigh are known for being smaller tech hubs due to the proximity to universities and colleges. Companies in these cities are vying for talent as hiring heats up in Silicon Valley, New York and other large metropolitan areas. Job opening postings rose even more dramatically in traditional tech centers such as Washington, D.C., New York and Silicon Valley, where job postings increased 68 percent from the same time last year. The three metro areas represent nearly a third of the website's available tech jobs.

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IT Professionals are satisfied in their jobs but are looking

The vast majority of IT professionals are satisfied at work with 40 percent are satisfied with their jobs. Indeed, Janco finds that there is a direct correlation between job satisfaction and the salary. Since more money equals greater job satisfaction, one could infer that for some, money does buy happiness.

However, more than 60% of IT Professionals feel they should be making more money.
Though the majority of IT professionals seem to be satisfied with their current jobs, it is not preventing almost 40% of them to start looking for new opportunities. Nearly 1 in 5 are either actively looking or will be looking within the next three months.

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CFOs say IT salaries remain flat - recession is not over

Grant Thornton recently surveyed chief financial officerson a number of economic and business topics. Almost half of surveyed "national" 496 chief financial officers said they believe the economy will not come out of the recession until 2011, and a quarter predicted that the recession will last longer than 2011. Only 15 percent of tech CFOs surveyed said they think the recession will be over after 2011. Forty-seven percent said they think it will end in 2011, one-quarter expect it to end in the second half of 2010 and about 10 percent said they think the recession is already over.

Tech CFOs were more positive across the board. The 53 in that group were feeling pretty decent about their budgets and hiring, but don't expect much of a raise or bonus in 2010. Only 11 percent of respondents said they plan to give raises this year, with 32 percent actually decreasing them this year.

In terms of hiring, 37 percent said they expect to increase headcount in the next six months, compared with 29 percent in all other industries. Only 2 percent of tech CFOs said they expect to lay off employees, compared with 9 percent in every other industry. Over 80 percent of tech CFOs are keeping headcounts flat. IT Salaries have remained flat. From the report:

"Fifty percent thought that the U.S. economy would improve over the next six months (versus 44% for their counterparts in other industries), 60% thought their own company's financial prospects would improve (versus 52%), and 37% thought the economy would come out of recession in 2010 (versus 28%). In terms of inflationary pressure, only 17% were planning to raise prices in the next six months, versus 24% for other industries."

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Colorado Inflation Adjustment Lowers Minimum Wage

Colorado's minimum wage will drop slightly in the new year - the first decrease in any state's minimum wage since the federal minimum was adopted in 1938.

Colorado's wage is falling 3 cents an hour, from $7.28 to the federal level of $7.25. That's because Colorado is one of 10 states that tie the state minimum wage to inflation. The goal is to protect low-wage workers from having unchanged paychecks as the cost of living goes up.

But Colorado's provision also allows wage declines, and the state's consumer price index fell 0.6 percent last year, so the minimum wage is going down.

The lower consumer price index, attributed to lower fuel prices, would have forced the wage down 4 cents an hour, But no state can go below the federal minimum of $7.25.

Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia will keep a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Alaska will join them Friday when its minimum wage rises 50 cents to $7.75.

Colorado's drop is small - but those among the estimated 48,000 residents earning the minimum shook their heads at the possibility of pay cut. - more info

Keeping a positive attitude improves CIO performance

With hard times, CIO often find it difficult to enjoy the success that they have had. There are things that top IT executives and IT managers can do to get the joy and enthusiasm back in their lives. They are:

Take pride in your team and what it can do
Look for new challenges that can be met within the limitations of your staff and budget
Keep pet projects going even if it means putting in more effort
Let others know what you have done and are doingGive yourself rewards for the good work that you do
Delegate your dirty work and work that does not
Reward you to others on your team
Revisit your career choices and validate that you are in the right field

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High tech jobs continue to suffer according to government report

Silicon Valley's decline has been charted over an eight-year period between 2000 and 2008 in which venture capital investment meant big gains for technology workers' wages in the beginning, but those IT wages have since diminished. The recovery will be slow and gradual, according to government economists. On the whole, high-tech industries in Silicon Valley declined sharply in employment and wages from 2000 to 2004 but increased gradually in both respects from 2004 to 2008.

From 2000, when high-tech employment and wages peaked, to 2008, Silicon Valley's hightech industries lost more than 108,400 jobs, or 19.9 percent of their employment.8 High-tech industries in the rest of the Nation lost 6.2 percent of employment. In addition, real wages fell by 13.5 percent among Silicon Valley's high-tech industries, while high-tech wages grew by 1.3 percent in the rest of the Nation.

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Job Market Looking Better for IT Professionals

In a soon to be released IT Salary Survey, Janco Associates, Inc. says the IT Job Market is finally starting to improve.

Salary
Survey Summary

Janco's Summary observations for the 2010 Mid-Year IT Compensation Study are as follow:

Some recovery is occurring in compensation and hiring. The total mean compensation for all IT Professionals has increasing to $78,210 from $77,690. There still is softness in the executive ranks of mid-sized enterprises.
Executives other than CIOs in mid-sized companies continue to feel a salary crunch with Chief Security Officers and heads of internal consulting seeing the greatest pressure.
Companies have continued hiring and spending freezes in addition to laying-off of staff. This has been augmented by extensive outsourcing, bonus reductions, and elimination of IT contractors -- which has decreased the demand for IT professionals and in some cases lowered wages, with higher priced positions being eliminated.
Companies are continuing to reduce the benefits provided to IT professionals. Though benefits such as health care are available, IT professionals are now paying a greater portion of that cost.
Flexible hours and work schedules are becoming more available as the recovery begins to take hold and is viewed as a low cost high value benefit by both employers and employees.
As a result of outsourcing and layoffs, hiring for new positions has remained flat for several quarters.
CIOs compensation has increased over the last 12 months. The mean compensation for CIOs in large enterprises is now $181,533 (an increase of 7.52%) and $169,303 (a 3.73%) in mid-sized enterprises.
In mid-sized enterprises, the mean total compensation for all positions has fallen slightly from $73,905 to $73,439. At the same time in large enterprises, the median compensation has risen slightly from $82,475 to $81,652.

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