Finding Your Top Performers

In fact, over the last two years we have placed about 10 percent of IS associates in key business functions and roles. And we have moved about the same number from the business into IS on a rotational basis. Similarly, the associates who score really high on technical competency but display gaps in business maturity need to be mentored in areas - such as sales planning or supply chain planning - that are important for their long-term success within the company. The top performers are those associates who score high along both dimensions. These people are often the ones who end up with multiple career options either within IS or as leaders in the business.

After determining our new staffing needs and evaluating existing staff, we discovered that IS would require an influx of 30 percent new talent as well as a departure of existing associates who did not possess the right skills. The transition was handled in several phases, with some employees finding other positions within the company. Others (about 25 percent) were let go as we shifted to rely more on outsourcing applications management and infrastructure management across the globe.

Once that was accomplished, I had to retrain the remaining employees to be advisers to the business. I have found that organizations such as American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) and Institute for Supply Management (ISM) offer excellent professional training for IS associates. Similarly, I turned to customized training from The Ohio State University to provide financial analysis training for nonfinancial managers. We also have associates who are either certified or getting certified as project management professionals. At Scotts, we set aside training dollars for associates.

To be effective advisers to the business, IS associates should be able to perform at the same level of functional competency as the business side in areas such as production planning and order management. This allows the business manager to view IS as a partner as opposed to an alien technologist. In fact, most of the IS directors on my staff are expected to supervise at least one business improvement project that involves no new technology but is focused primarily on process redesign. In this way, the business stops regarding them as pure technologists with a hammer forever looking for a nail.

Mentoring is another mechanism that I have found useful. In this program, mentors from the business are paired with IS associates. For instance, our finance person is paired with someone from the corporate controllers office; a supply chain person is paired with someone from sales or supply chain.

The Education Gap

Despite such efforts, I can't help but wonder: Are we too late in creating this new breed of IS leaders? What is the role of the universities in developing the next generation at a time when the entire industry is under the cloud of offshore outsourcing?

As CIOs, we can only do so much within our own organizations. We need to become actively involved in changing the academic curriculum at the university level to ensure that emerging groups of graduates are well-rounded in all areas of business as well as technology. I am still amazed by the fact that in many universities, the computer science departments and the business schools are not creating the kind of joint degree programs that will allow their graduates to develop successful careers in these turbulent times. CIOs should do what they can to shape the business school curriculum as well as teach courses. I teach courses in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University and act as a mentor for graduating seniors in the MIS program there.

Undoubtedly, we are facing an uphill battle in an age when there is continued emphasis on outsourcing. But this is a battle that can and must be won to maintain our country's edge in innovation and productivity. We all need to take an active role in shaping the future.

Sumantra Sengupta has global responsibility for business transformations and information services for Scotts. He was previously a partner at consulting firm Capgemini. He can be reached at sumantra.sengupta@scotts.com