1. Most IT recruiting is done by HR and middle management. What's my role?

Penske's Stephen Pickett likens his role in IT recruiting to that of a coach. "The CIO should be the chief sales and marketing executive for IT recruiting," says Pickett, vice president and CIO of the transportation company. "They are the ones that sell the future."

First, the CIO needs to provide the recruiting framework for the IT organization. "They should focus on more than headcount," says Bright. "The CIO has to articulate a vision." At the strategic level, IT leaders should focus on identifying key positions and building competency models for them. They also must make sure high-level recruiting strategy translates into front-line action by hiring managers. Unfortunately, CIOs tend to spend more time managing up than managing down. But smart IT leaders invest time in things like skip-level meetings with the direct reports of their direct reports and reviewing recruiting metrics (volume of incoming resumes, number of candidates being interviewed, turnover rates) to make sure their vision becomes reality.

It's the CIO's job to make other strategic staffing decisions as well. For Boehme, that means figuring out the best use of hiring bucks. "More than ever you find yourself managing dollars, not headcount," Boehme explains. "I have to consider all my options. Should I hire four people in India? One person in the US or Europe? Two contractors instead?"

Perhaps the most important role the CIO has is lobbying the business for recruiting support. Alastair Behenna, CIO for UK-based staffing firm Harvey Nash, says his job is "going to battle for headcount, salary reviews and benefits". That's something IT leaders could stand to do more of, says David Foote, president and chief research officer for Foote Partners, a workforce management research firm.

"When CIOs look ahead and think about what's going to make them successful in their jobs, deep down most of them know it's successful staffing. But they don't have the guts to fight for what they need," says Foote. "Most CIOs aren't looking at the staffing problem in a portfolio kind of way. They wouldn't let their systems deteriorate the way they've let their staffing situations decline. They're putting themselves at risk."