Chief Information Officer Search

A Successful CIO Search Must Support This Rapidly Evolving Strategic Role

The Chief Information Officer search process must reflect and support the way the CIO role throughout healthcare has grown in both scope and complexity over the last several years. Today's CIO is expected to thoroughly understand technology development as well as business strategy application.

Factors contributing to the evolution of the Chief Information Officer's responsibilities include:

• Focus towards healthcare cost and quality.
• Pay-for-performance.
• IT adoption and lack of clarity in interoperability.
• Competitive pressures among providers.
• Complexity in developing IT systems that integrate internal business needs with disperse hospital customers.

Consider the following prior to launching a healthcare Chief Information Officer search process:

CIO Search: High-Profile Role

Today’s Chief Information Officer is a critical member of a company’s senior executive team, responsible for providing vision and leadership in developing and implementing information technology initiatives, as well as providing critical insight to a company's strategy, growth, quality and operations. It is imperative that other members of the executive team view the CIO's role as more than a technologist, but as a critical contributor among the executive team members.

CIO Search: Identify the Need

A company must determine specific business and IT needs and desired outcomes prior to launching a Chief Information Officer search process.

There are multiple varieties of Chief Information Officers:

• A CIO to direct the day-to-day IT function in developing appropriate organizational structures, processes and human capital to position IT as a strategic differentiator.
• A CIO who is capable of maintaining an IT infrastructure while also understanding the overall business.
• A CIO with strong business acumen and strategy experience capable of collaborating with the CEO and senior business executives in shaping and executing IT-enabled, competitive decisions.

CIO Search: Reporting Structure

Who the CIO reports to says a lot about the CEO’s view of IT. This also determines the caliber of CIO candidates who will be attracted to your CIO position.

• A CIO whose responsibilities include company transformation and growth typically reports to the CEO.
• A CIO whose responsibilities are internally focused on projects and costs typically reports to the CFO.

CIO Search: Balanced Technology

While it is important for a Chief Information Officer search candidate to offer demonstrated experience and expertise in integrating newly acquired technologies, an ideal candidate must be an astute judge of the potential of new technologies. Additionally, a proven CIO will work with a pre-determined technology infrastructure and avoid being caught up in the frequent hype surrounding new hardware and software development.

As IT initiatives in healthcare continue to grow, the Chief Information Officer's role will need to evolve into one that learns or knows how to successfully manage IT initiatives that are much larger and affect more pieces of the organization than previously undertaken.

CIO Search: Find a Search Partner

Enlisting the help of an experienced healthcare executive search firm can help guide your company through all aspects of the Chief Information Officer search process. Partnering with an experienced executive recruiting resource to lead your CIO recruiting process will improve and increase access to high-quality executive candidates while ensuring a structured and continuous Chief Information Officer search process.

Contact Us

Visit our Contact Us page to reach any member of the FOCUS Search Partners Team.

We look forward to discussing with you how our proven executive recruitment process will precisely and thoroughly identify, recruit and retain proven Healthcare industry leadership for your business.