IT Staff Could Benefit from Enhanced Tech Skills

<p><strong>Menlo Park, Calif. &mdash; May 10</strong><br />As technology changes, so do the job requirements for a company&rsquo;s information technology staff. </p><p>In a new survey, 25 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) ranked technical skills as the area in which their IT staff could most use improvement. Project management abilities were a close second with 23 percent of the response.<br /><br />The national poll includes responses from more than 1,400 CIOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees.&nbsp; </p><p>It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology, a provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis.<br /><br />CIOs were asked, &ldquo;In which of the following areas do you think your IT staff could most use improvement?&rdquo;<br /></p><ul><li><strong>Technical abilities: </strong>25 percent</li><li><strong>Project management skills: </strong>23 percent<br /></li><li><strong>Verbal and written communication abilities: </strong>15 percent<br /></li><li><strong>Organizational skills: </strong>14 percent <br /></li><li><strong>Interpersonal skills: </strong>12 percent<br /></li><li><strong>None/no improvements needed: </strong>3 percent <br /></li><li><strong>Other/don&rsquo;t know: </strong>8 percent</li></ul><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;Technology changes rapidly, making it crucial for IT staff to constantly learn new skills to keep pace with industry advancements,&rdquo; said Katherine Spencer Lee, Robert Half Technology executive director. &ldquo;While it&rsquo;s ultimately up to the individual to keep his or her technical abilities current, the best employers invest in ongoing professional development for employees at all levels.<br />&nbsp;<br />&ldquo;Professional development programs also can aid a company&rsquo;s recruitment and retention efforts. In today&rsquo;s competitive IT hiring market, employees want to work for firms that encourage them to build new skills and assume more challenging responsibilities.&rdquo;<br /></p>