8April 2016Some people view cooking as a science and others see it as an art ­for me, it's both. You can have a stunning chocolate cake (my favorite), but if you accidentally switch the sugar and the salt ­ the aesthetics won't matter much. Likewise, your cake could taste exquisite, but if its layers are lopsided, you might have a tough time finding someone willing to try it. Whichever side of the culinary continuum you fall on, a high-quality recipe is a must. As IT head chefs, CIOs face growing pressures to reduce costs, keep up with rapidly changing technology, manage the needs for a multichannel consumer experience and deal with growing security risk demands. To face these challenges, CIOs require the right recipe with four integral ingredients to run a successful IT organization.Season Your Workforce with the BestSkill Sets Having the right organizational structure in place is a key to meet short-term and long-term business goals. This involves taking a look at the current skill sets and knowledge among your IT staff and creating a structure that supports the corporate strategy. Rapidly changing technology requires a constant demand of the latest technology skill set and necessitates assessing and adjusting your workforce accordingly.According to a 2016 survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 75 percent of CEOs say that a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce should be a priority for business. This situation couldn't be more real, as we face a mass exodus of retirees in the next 10 years. As a result of the shortage of skilled IT employees across all business sectors, Aflac is steadfastly closing talent gaps in our IT organization. For example, through our IT Apprenticeship Program, we hire talented college graduates into an IT training program that helps to fill areas with a skill set gap. Balancing the right mix of experts to lead their own fields and the best blend of personalities helps create a team that collaborates and communicates. Just like a good chef knows the right mix of flavors, successful CIOs understand it takes a properly seasoned team to carry an organization.Bind Things Together with an Agile ApproachCIOs must also look for ways to create structures that keep teams collaborative to widen knowledge and perspectives. When I first came to Aflac in 2013, the IT organization was modeled after a traditional waterfall structure. Because this was not conducive to providing deliverables at a fast enough speed to meet the needs of the business, it became necessary to change to a consultative, agile structure. An additional benefit The Recipe for Running a Successful IT OrganizationBy Julia Davis, SVP and CIO, AflacJulia DavisIN MY OPINION
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