An article I wrote emphasized that CIOs must be central to organisations’ strategic decisions. One key reason is that, to lead digital transformation and future-proof the business, CIOs need not only the right skills within their teams but also to ensure digital capabilities are embedded across all functions.
McKinsey underscores this in their aptly titled piece "We’re all techies now: Digital skill building for the future." They argue that achieving the full benefits of AI and emerging technologies requires a digitally fluent workforce, not just strong talent in IT. Companies that succeed in this “all-techies” approach outperform laggards by two to six times in shareholder returns.
Equally, McKinsey stresses that organisations must adopt strategic workforce planning (SWP) to remain resilient. In "The critical role of strategic workforce planning in the age of AI," they note that top performers treat talent with the same rigour as financial capital, ensuring the right amount of the right skills at the right time.
This makes CIO-HR collaboration mission-critical. Together, they must not only secure scarce tech talent but also build digital capabilities across the business.
That is why our next Technology Exec Lab will bring leaders from across sectors to explore strategies for closing skills gaps and future-proofing the workforce, underpinning long-term competitiveness.
If you’re a technology or HR leader accountable for shaping systems and/or the people and capabilities that define what comes next, request an invitation for our March peer event on “Solving the Tech Talent Puzzle” here.
