Curated Articles - IT Workforce

Curated articles on the IT Workforce

Here’s a collection of insights from key industry sources which are relevant to everyone interested in SFIA and creating a high performing IT workforce. Not all the sources are specific to IT – many look at leading practice elsewhere and how this can be applied to IT organisations and IT people.

Topics include IT skills assessments, IT career paths and career families, modern / social learning for IT organisations and IT people, IT workforce planning, high performance, employee engagement and performance, IT organisation design, IT role design, SFIA.

IT organisations – is your workforce high performing?

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When bad managers are allowed to run free, everyone suffers.

Adopting SFIA needs great line managers

ts difficult to imagine any truly successful adoption of SFIA which doesn't need great line managers. This is a clear need when SFIA is supporting operational business as usual activities such as performance management, recruitment, personal development or career...

Using SFIA to help you craft a high impact CV

The SFIA generic responsibilities and skill descriptors are really helpful if you are looking to create a high impact CV. Want to know more? - here's the top 10 things that Technology and IT...

CIO.com – 6 IT Workforce Predictions for 2015

ery bullish article from Sharon Florentine at CIO.com - of course the reality will be down to your specific country / industry sector. CIO Prediction 1: Expect Hiring Explosion in Q1 and Q2 The forecast for the first half of 2015 looks bright for IT workers....

IT Career paths – think climbing wall not ladder

How often do organisations lay out their IT career paths as a series of (predominantly) vertical paths? All nicely leading to the CIO or other very senior roles. Now for some this my fill a need for an aspirational view of their career. But (by definition) the...

Don’t hide behind SFIA skills assessment tools

hen first starting to use SFIA many consultants and organisations can get very fixated on the numbers and, for example, will average out the value of levels which apply to roles and try to quantify the gaps in levels in what looks like a very analytical approach...

Josh Bersin discusses high performing IT teams – my thoughts on SFIA as an enabler

How do leaders develop high performing IT teams? And how can SFIA help.

Need a Business Case for SFIA? Use these Talent Management insights from Microsoft to help.

alent management makes money. "Companies at level 4 (for talent management) are generating more than twice the revenue per employee, 40% lower turnover rates, and 38% higher levels of employee engagement" Source: Josh Bersin ne of the frequently asked questions...

SFIA supports non-management IT career paths

FIA is a key enabler for organisations creating technical (non-management) career paths. This article by Rich Hein on cio.com describes very nicely the benefits of mapping non-management career paths for IT - what would also be labelled as "Technical" career paths....

Are professional IT certifications valuable?

Many companies invest in certifications in a haphazard, unplanned manner. Worse, many corporations do not perform any evaluation of their certification programs. Professional certifications can be a powerful tool, but if organizations do not implement them with...

SFIA can enable IT organisations to adopt a modernised learning strategy

he 2014-15 Towards Maturity Benchmark Study has been published. Its called Modernising Learning: Delivering Results. A modernised learning strategy today means focusing on learning outcomes rather than inputs. Organisations need to respond faster, support learning...

SFIAv6 and Digital skills – here’s a list which neatly captures the issues

ne of the challenges for updating SFIA to SFIA v6 was to reflect "digital skills"; this has led to the inevitable question - what do we mean by digital skills and do they belong in SFIA? Cue much discussion about the boundaries of SFIA - is it about the "IT...

ITIL, SFIA Rock and Role

Exploring SFIA and how it is used. What’s a role? Several different things, depending on who is saying it, and in what context. Let’s look more closely. ITIL identifies many roles, such as Service desk manager, IT operator, Problem manager, Change manager, Capacity...

High Performance Workforce – Key Principles

In a high performance workforce people at every level and in every function are clear on the connections between their work and the success of the organization. This means everyone is focused on the right priorities, they know exactly what they have to do and they are...

Using SFIA to create a High Performance IT Workforce

Do you use SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) in your organisation? Or, are you thinking about implementing SFIA in your organisation? Are you looking to build a high performance IT workforce? Many organisations are aware that SFIA provides the most...

Using SFIA version 6 – 10 Things You Should Know

This is the most popular article on my website. As well as reading this you may consider the article below which explains: ⇒ how individual Technology and IT Professionals can get the most from SFIA. 1. What is SFIA? The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA)...

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I have been working in IT for 30 years and in IT Talent Management for the last 15 years. I have worked with SFIA since 2003 and I have a track record of success with organisations large and small and in the UK and beyond that proves my approach works. It can work for you as well.

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