Gartner Predicts by 2021, CIOs Will Be as Responsible for Culture Change as Chief HR Officers

In an era of continuous change, a proactive and adaptive culture is a critical asset and CIOs will play a key role in establishing the right mindsets and practices. Analyst house, Gartner, Inc., predicts that by 2021, CIOs will be as responsible for culture change as chief HR officers (CHROs), according to the announcement.

“A lot of CIOs have realized that culture can be an accelerator of digital transformation and that they have the means to reinforce a desired culture through their technology choices,” said Elise Olding, research vice president at Gartner. “A partnership with the CHRO is the perfect way to align technology selections and design processes to shape the desired work behaviors.”

It’s more than just introducing new technology, however. Digital transformation is about changing the nature and future of work. For HR leaders, this means talent management is no longer just about getting employees to fill data into their profiles and annual performance reports, but instead, giving them the tools and information they need to plan and develop their careers. This includes encouraging transparency into corporate culture, structures, goals and objectives, so every individual employee can continuously align, and help the organization to meet overall business goals and objectives.

According to Gartner, the mission and values of an organization usually fall into the realm of HR. The partnership between IT and HR can shed light on how IT can make technology and process design decisions that foster the intention of the desired organizational culture. Enterprise architecture can adopt principles that align to the cultural traits, and when business analysts design processes they can create them with the intended traits in mind. Hence, IT supports the way an organization behaves in cooperation with HR.

However, culture change is a process. This means that there will be barriers to digital initiatives — in peoples’ mindsets and practices. “A great way to jump-start culture change and enable adoption of new technologies and processes is the culture hack. Start with a small, motivated user group and use it to showcase fast wins and results,” Ms. Olding said.

Read the full press release here.

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