CIOs still hiring despite budget pressures

More than four in five (81%) large enterprise CIOs are planning to increase their IT headcount this year, despite the current economic climate and ongoing advances in AI, according to research from Gartner.

The research firm found that only 14% of CIOs at large enterprises are planning to reduce their IT staff and the remaining 5% expect their headcount to remain the same.

Meanwhile, only 4% of surveyed CIOs reported AI as a technology producing work in the sector today.

In response to the prevailing economic volatility, 41% of respondents report slow hiring for IT roles and 35% report decreasing their overall IT budget. The most important factors CIOs are looking for during the hiring process are having technical skills as well as soft skills.

Figure 1. IT staffing steps taken in response to economic volatility.

Sydney-based Gartner Advisory Director Neha Kumar said organisations in ANZ have nevertheless slowed their focus on attracting IT talent due to ongoing budget pressures.

“The IT talent problem in ANZ hasn’t gone away and retention issues remain, but leaders are shifting attentions towards augmenting hiring with a renewed focus on doing more with their current employees and upskilling them,” she said.

“While many may have more budget, they also have inflation pressures and the need to justify the value of investments, making hiring more difficult.”

Meanwhile, CIOs in the region are looking at how to navigate career development to retain employees and upskill them into new areas, she said.

“There’s growing interest in ANZ on the talent implications on new emerging technologies like generative AI. CIOs are investigating what it means for their talent strategy, with considerations on whether some things can be automated and if the capabilities of AI can fill some of the skills needed, while upskilling employees to produce technology outcomes more quickly.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Dilok Klaisataporn