Purpose
In 2017, companies woke up to realize that they were in the process of being disintermediated by West Coast technology players, from Google, Uber and Amazon to Facebook and Apple. Boardroom conversations were all about the need to make a play in technology, and CEOs, CHROs and heads of Talent all began recruiting Chief Digital Officers. However, newly minted Chief Digital Officers have found themselves in new, often strange, and overly ornamental and nonfunctional environments. This paper aims to discuss how to set a Chief Digital Officer up for success.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents interviews with over 100 senior Digital and Workforce Technology executives.
Findings
The emergence of the Chief Digital Officer is fast tracking the evolution of old industries as they compete in a tech-first world. However, without creating a proper support function, many CEOs, CHROs and Heads of Talent will find themselves cleaning up a mess rather than basking in the sun of a digital transformation. Being able to spot what type of workplace IT executive fits your company, along with having the right expectations and support in place for them to be successful, will allow you to have happy, more engaged and more productive employees for years to come.
Originality/value
If you plan to operate in a world of digital innovation and in the process hire a Chief Digital Officer, here are the things you need to know to ensure this executive’s success.
A competency model for chief digital officer as organizational governor of digital transformation