Dig Deeper: Tapping the Talent Pool
Hiring a CIO: Be Competitive
In order to attract top candidates, you'll need to offer a competitive salary. Searching competitors' job listings can be a useful means of finding that industry information if you aren't in the position to purchase salary study information or work with a firm that conducts compensation research. Other simple sources of information can be PayScale.com and Salary.com – and they adjust for geographical inequalities in pay.
Some executive search firms offer compensation data and recommendations based on candidates' experience and qualifications. Another way to gauge salary norms for technology executives in your area is basic networking. Woods cautions that, salary demands from a candidate will likely match their individual experience and track record, so be prepared to pay more for someone who has overseen repeated successful growth.
If you're still unsure, it's perfectly acceptable to ask applicants about their salary expectations, including whether they expect additional bonus or incentive compensations. It's also worth asking what sort of salaries the candidate expects for his or her staff.
And don't ignore the power of benefits to affect a CIO's decision to join your company. In small companies, benefits send important signals about the culture and company's stability. "If you're like Google and have incredible benefits, then you might not need to pay that much. But if you don't offer health insurance, you might need to pay more," Matuson said.
Dig Deeper: The Right Way to Pay
Hiring a CIO: Go the Extra Distance
As with hiring any executive-level position, it is important to treat the hiring process as a way to not only grow, but also to shape and transform the future of your business. Experts say its important to adequate time for a search, and to recognize that the interview process is far more complex than it would be when hiring a junior-level employee.
"The hire is going to be so important to the cultural fit and the personal chemistry on an executive level,' Berray says. 'After [a search firm or the company itself has] done the vetting, sitting down one-on-one with the CEO should really be the first step.'
Berray suggests bringing in the applicant again for a first-round of interviews with the CEO and possibly the chair of the board. The second round would include any peer executives, and a third round of interviews could take place with anyone who would report to the new CIO as well as additional members of the board of directors.
When you're looking to seal the deal, consider doing it out of the office in a more casual environment, such as a restaurant.
The meat and bones of these interviews should examine the candidate's skill set, social skills and other qualifications. 'One way you can help understand who is going to work for you best is have a clear statement of your goals for the short-, medium-, and long-term,' Woods says.
In addition, you'll want to incorporate behavioral lines of questioning that can help you better understand and analyze the candidate's personality traits.
Of course, each CEO has her or his own standards to meet. For Teree and Ticketfly, new hires should be genuinely interested in music, ticket sales, and the technological infrastructure that goes into the operation.
"You want people who really dig it," Teree says. "Just as you don't want an architect who loves modern homes rebuilding an old Victorian, people are going to be at the end of the day more productive if they like what they are building."
And, on the flip side, they should not be in it for just a good "next step" or resume-builder. "I'm always wary of people who are looking for titles," he says. If your company is also not keen on cushy titles, consider the core roles of the CIO you are hiring, and consider proposing the position be called an IT "manager" or "director" or simply be given a VP title.
Checking a candidate's references is the most overlooked part of the hiring practice, but experts say it is absolutely essential, even at the executive level. Many employers also ask that applicants agree to credit-history checks and pre-employment drug screenings; those are optional, and often depend on vocation.
Of three references, have a phone conversation with at least two, and pay attention to the tone of a reference's recommendation, not just its content. Most people feel that it is not wise to hamper future employment for a past employee or coworker, so savvy references won't say anything negative. One tip: Leave a voicemail message that says, "I would appreciate a call back only if you feel this candidate is exceptional." If a reference truly believes in the candidate, he or she will return the call quickly. If you do not hear back from them, you can read into that, too.
"I work hard to find someone who worked with the particular person, but who wasn't their recommended reference," says Ellen Rudnick, the executive director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "Through one or two phone calls, you can usually track somebody down to get an unbiased opinion."
When you have an ideal candidate with whom you can agree on a salary and benefit package, begin the on-boarding process as quickly as possible, because helping the new executive become acclimated to your business, its culture, and its standard procedures can be a lengthy process.
Despite that you'll be working closely with your new CIO day in and day out and the person will be functioning as a near parallel executive, don't forget to maintain standards of having a formal assessment of their progress two or three months after their start date. Take time every few months at least for the first year to allow for questions from them on expectations and review any problems they might be having on projects or in the position.
Dig Deeper: Working with an Executive Search Firm
Hiring a CIO: Additional Resources
The Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value, by Richard Hunter and George Westerman. Harvard Business Press, 2009.
IT Savvy: What Top Executives Must Know to Go from Pain to Gain, by Peter Weill and Jeanne W. Ross. Harvard Business Press, 2009.
World Class IT: Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs, by Peter A. High. Wiley, 2009.
Breakthrough! Exploding the Production of Experienced Recruiters, by Steven M. Finkel. 2008.
Hire With Your Head: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams, by Lou Adler. Wiley, 2007.
