Five Things the CIO Can Do For Us

Five Things the CIO Can Do For Us John Sullivan September 25, 2002

Project Management Program Management Office Leadership/Soft Skills How To Advice, Anecdotes and Case Studies

CIOs love lists. They are busy people and want everything reduced to "bullet items." Lists simplify complex problems and political issues and often end up making bad projects and difficult situations look good in the short-term, while effectively accomplishing nothing long-term.

As a veteran IT project manager surrounded by overworked and discouraged teammates, I have written my own list with five no-cost suggestions that would help create a more loyal and dedicated IT staff and save a few bucks in the process:

Stop Coddling the Executive Staff
Chronic policy exceptions for executives burden the IT staff with "workarounds" and hurt morale because they are constant reminders of management's unwillingness to standardize processes. One good example: payroll. Changes to executive perquisites, special bonuses and general unique treatment of executive payroll issues cost money by creating retroactive pay routines on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which causes additional configuration work and increased use of table space.