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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2016/06/02/tech-talent-gaps-hold-companies-back/\nCIO Journal.\nTech Talent Gaps Hold Companies Back\nCIOs are having trouble finding the right staff and worry they can’t keep them when they do\nKim S. Nash\nThe proportion of CIOs reporting a technology skills shortage is at the highest level since the 2008 recession and many technology chiefs say the gap is preventing them from keeping up with the pace of digital change.\nIn a survey of 3,352 CIOs and other technology leaders by recruiter and outsourcer Harvey Nash and KPMG LLC, 65% of respondents said recruitment problems were hurting IT modernization efforts. Last year the number was 59%. One consequence: Project success rates are falling in areas such as big data implementation, according to the survey.\nWELLCARE HEALTH PLANS INC.\nDarren Ghanayem, CIO of WellCare Health Plans\n“That’s pretty staggering,” said Bob Miano, president and CEO of Harvey Nash USA. “CIOs may have great ideas but if you can’t get the IT talent, that’s a growing problem.”\nDemand is greatest for data analytics experts, for the second year in a row, according to the survey, followed by project managers and business analysts (see chart). Staff to oversee outsourcers, on the other hand, are in least demand, as some companies curtail outsourcing and seek to hire full-time IT staff.\nWellCare Health Plans Inc. is one company planning to cut back on the use of outside contractors, seeking instead to hire internally for strategic positions, said CIO Darren Ghanayem. Mr. Ghanayem is looking to hire data analysts and software engineers experienced with Hadoop, among other roles. “In the past, it was ‘let’s find talent at the best cost available.’ Now it’s ‘let’s try to grow our core, which will help us grow as a company’,” he said.\nTo increase the candidate pool, in addition to looking for specific skills, WellCare searches for “people able to learn,” he said. Technical skills can be taught, he said, noting that he is an aerospace engineer by training who learned IT on the job. He is also seeking to identify people in business units with a penchant for technology who might want to join the IT group.\nSurvey participants acknowledged that high demand for certain skills has introduced new pressures.Experts in blockchain, the online ledger technology best known for supporting Bitcoin, arebeing offered $250,000 in salary in some circles.\nIn addition, churn among technology professionals is rising with demand for certain skills, notably data analytics and project management. When CIOs find the right people, 90% say they are worried about retaining them, according to the survey.\nRetention is a significant issue for Carol Juel, CIO of Synchrony Financial. Since the credit-card company spun off from General Electric last year, Ms. Juel has been working to promote a culture that accepts experimentation and failure, and, along the way, “congeniality,” she said, in part to retain staff. “A core value is caring,” she said.\nDisruption caused by nontraditional competitors is a problem, the survey found. New products and services are the main source of business disruption for 27% of respondents, followed by new forms of customer engagement at 23%.\nMs. Juel, to spur innovation on her team, recently took staff to visit Tesla Motors to hear about how the car company operates. “Talking to people who are far afield [from Synchrony’s business] really helps,” she said. “You come back excited to think through disruptions.”\nCarol Juel\nDARREN GHANAYEM\nPrevious The Morning Download: Nasdaq Tests AI that Flags Potential Rogue Traders Next The Morning Download: CIOs Say War for Tech Talent Takes Toll on Companies\nSHOW CONVERSATION HIDE CONVERSATION (4)"