Talent War Set to Become Top Priority for CIOs in 2023, Study Reveals

The 2023 CIO & CISO Hybrid Priority Report from CEO.digital has shown that attracting and retaining key talent will become the new differentiator of successful enterprises next year. Several workplace evolutions are on the cards as this priority shoots to the top of the agenda.

94% of CIOs and CISOs say finding and keeping talent has become increasingly important in their roles, making success in today’s hypercompetitive market difficult to come by. Innovative outlooks and business model adaptations have created a working environment that’s shifted focus from traditional priorities and given innovation and security leaders new challenges to face.

As hybrid working environments mature and enterprises compete for a limited number of staff with key skillsets, it’s the businesses who provide the best employee experience who are enjoying the most success. The talent war is alive and well, so how are CIOs and CISOs feeling the heat and planning to overcome the challenges it brings?

The War for Talent

Firstly, the importance of attracting and retaining talent has increased for almost all surveyed CIOs and CISOs, with 94% stating that it’s become increasingly critical to their roles over the last two years. The shortage of key skills is manifesting in the shifting priorities of innovation and security leaders, pointing to a market that’s now even more competitive. Businesses are aiming for seamless and secure transformations to slingshot growth, and they’re having to invest heavily in the right talent to do so.

Following this trend, hybrid and remote workers are also being paid more, on average, than their fully office-based counterparts. The question here, is why does that discrepancy exist in the first place? 83.3% of surveyed CIOs and CISOs stated that salary was a significant factor when it came to key talent retention, and with the information above, it seems that hybrid and remote businesses are attractive for more than just what they offer in a superior work/life balance.

Hybrid mature workplaces are also winning the hearts and minds of employees looking for change after the pandemic. Chris Voce, Customer Engagement Strategist at Citrix, cites author David Pink in stating that in order for human beings to achieve peak motivation, they require three things: purpose, mastery, and autonomy. Chris believes that the autonomy granted by mature hybrid and remote workplaces is an enormous part of the shift we’re seeing now, saying that “when you think about autonomy, it’s somebody getting to choose how their work gets done. And that’s what we’re starting to see, that’s the ‘why’ behind this, people have had a taste of that autonomy.”

Disruption has bred innovation in the ways we work. The hybrid era appears to be working for most, and business leaders are paying attention. How will the future of hybrid work look? We can only look to the advice of those leading the way right now.

Download the full CIO & CISO 2023 Hybrid Priority Report for Free

In the full report, we explore questions surrounding talent in greater detail, along with 7 other key priorities at the top of the modern CIO and CISO agenda. Among those are how CIOs and CISOs see the relationship between successful hybrid models and corporate success and analysing the trends that CIOs and CISOs are on the lookout for in the next two to three years.

Download your copy of the free report and help shape the future of your organisation.