11/12/08 05:31 pm ET
A timely report was just released by Forrester Research Inc. that offers insights into how chief information officers can measure if they operate a shop that attracts the best talent, if they can be developed, and if it can keep them. Because President-elect Barack Obama has said he will use technology to improve public services and make government more transparent, the tips are timely for federal CIOs if they want to build a team to answer the call -- if it comes.
Craig Symons, the researcher who wrote the report, says CIOs should measure three categories in their work environment: recruiting, development, and retention. Even those these are mostly written for the private sector, they are relevant for the public sector. Here are some of the metrics CIOs should use (and it's a good guess government doesn't do too well in these categories):
--Recruiting. How attractive is your work environment? For the current generation, a key decision factor that's even more important than money is the work environment. Measure the ratio of acceptances to the offers you give out. [Government may score poorly here.]
How efficient is your hiring process? One of the most important time frames is how long it takes an organization to fill a position and get that person productive in the role. Measure the time from opening a new hire requisition until the newly hired employee is fully productive. [Government surely would score low on this.]
--Development. Development plan coverage. Employee development begins when the employee and his or her manager create a development plan that balances the goals of the employee with the needs of the organization and ends with the completion of the plan. Measure the percent of FTEs with completed development plans. [Sounds like a process not a result, which government is really good at doing, but it doesn't always translate into better performance.]
Training commitments. The constant change associated with IT as a result of new technologies and methodologies requires that skills be updated on a regular basis. Measure the percent of training and development days used per FTE per year. [Training budgets have been going down for government workers.]
--Retention. Better measures of turnover look at losses of high performers and key positions. When top performers leave voluntarily, it has a much bigger impact on the organization then when mediocre or poor performers leave. Measure turnover of top performers based on performance reviews and turnover of key positions. [For government, another tough one to solve.]
Work/life balance is important, so measure it. Many employees no longer define their life by what they do for work. They are looking for a balance. Measure the ratio of vacation days used versus available; the ratio of overtime to standard time. [Given the generous benefits for government workers, this may be a plus, but many IT workers are notoriously overworked -- even in government.]
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