A small business with basic technology needs might be able to temporarily survive by using cloud-based tools, outside consultants, and good old-fashioned gumption. However, there comes a point for every company when someone other than the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) needs to make long-term and research-backed information technology (IT) decisions. Every company will reach this point at a unique moment in their growth and will need to answer the following questions: Is a tech lead needed before launch to manage information security? Should the company start to look for an IT lead once the internal operation becomes too cumbersome? What skills and experience should be listed on this person's resume?
I spoke with Marc Cecere, VP and Principal Analyst serving Chief Information Officer (CIO) Professionals at Forrester Research, about when companies should start looking for a tech lead. This executive will oversee a number of critical functions—from helping manage data collection, maintenance, and security to the application of on-premises and cloud-based tech.
“A lot of this decision comes down to what you’re looking for in a technology leader,” he said. “Are you looking for a senior-level person who knows the business and the technology? Are you looking for an order taker who can follow the direction of senior management? Are you looking for somebody who is a visionary but might not know how to run the technology, or maybe someone who isn’t a visionary but understands how to run the tech?”
Regardless of which type of tech lead you choose, Cecere said you should start at the C level. Sure, it might be nice to hire a kid fresh out of college as that person might be a genius, fully capable, and ideal for day-to-day, hands-on work. However, much of what your IT lead will be doing is working with other lines of business—strategically, politically, and financially. Having someone who has navigated a corporate environment, worked outside of a digital environment, and can bring the clout of the C-level title, will help ensure that IT has an active and equal role in deciding what’s best for the business.
1. CIO or CTO?
Before we delve into how to spot, hire, and work with a tech lead, it’s important that we break down the two most likely positions you’ll be considering: CIO and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). At its most basic level, the difference between a CIO and a CTO is about strategy versus stability.
A CTO oversees the creation and management of proprietary and third-party solutions focused on enhancing the customer experience. A CIO is primarily responsible for handling internal tech, including those tools and applications that focus on business processes and security. The CTO is a money maker. The CIO helps save the company money.
With that in mind, is your company looking to design and build new tools and services that your customers might buy? If so, look to hire a CTO. Conversely, are you looking for someone to help you move you contact data to a customer relationship management (CRM) system? Then hire a CIO.
As your leadership team discusses the technological problems occurring within your organization, you’ll start to see certain words bandied about: build, customer, internal, business processes, security. Let those words guide you toward the CIO or CTO hiring decision.
2. Who Is This Person?
Although we’ve already established that tech whizzes come in all shapes and sizes, you’re more than likely looking for someone who has a Bachelor’s degree in the STEM field (Science Technology, Engineering, and Math). Cecere said it doesn’t really matter whether this person mostly focused on physics, electronics, engineering, or design while he or she was at school. What you’re looking for with his or her degree is a person who was able to navigate the political and structural requirements of a four-year university.
“You want someone who is wicked smart,” he said. “You want someone with a curiosity for the business. It isn’t absolutely required for somebody to have a Bachelor’s degree, but [you’ll want someone with the degree because] the degree won’t be about the technical skills but rather, [it will be about] someone who navigated four years at a school. Seventy percent of the benefit is learning what you pick up at school outside of the classroom.”
Once you’ve determined that your candidates all have Bachelor’s degrees, you’ll want someone with at least 10 years of experience running part or all of an IT shop. This person has had four or five different roles within an IT organization, regardless of the number of organizations in which he or she has worked.
3. The Million Dollar Question
Okay, so now that we’ve helped you determine what skills and experience you should be looking for, you’ll have to decide the right time to make the hire. Bringing in a CIO or CTO isn’t just about hiring a nerd to do the math and science stuff. Most times, there are practical and valuable bottom- and top-line reasons for extending the C suite.
For example, if your company is thinking of investing in an expensive piece of tech, whether that’s a new infrastructure tool or a new engine for a self-driving car, then you’ll want a C-level executive to help you make that purchase.
“If the CIO or CTO makes the wrong purchase, you’re throwing away a person’s money,” said Cecere. Fortunately, the tech lead is more likely to know how to make these purchases—from talking to vendors and testing solutions to understanding the contract terms negotiated by both teams of lawyers.
Along these lines, if your company is considering going through a transformation (i.e., a rebrand, a new product line, or moving from on-premises to cloud-based), then you’ll want someone who can guide the technological know-how of said transformation. “Two-thirds of orgs are considering or are currently in a transformation,” said Cecere. “Transformations don’t happen without technology these days.”
Also, if things keep breaking, if IT is becoming too reactionary rather than innovative, if lines of business aren’t able to tie internal systems back to one another, and, of course, if you’re concerned about security, then you’ll probably want to start looking into hiring a tech lead immediately.
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