The first 100 days are a unique chance for CIOs to build their credibility and create trust.
What actions should a CIO put in place as a priority when taking up their post? Claire Dickson rotates her camera during our video chat and shows me the wall behind her desk. It is covered with a collection of brightly colored Post-it notes that correspond to a series of initiatives she is undertaking as CIO of the DS Smith Group, the UK packaging specialist, recently appointed to the post.
"I am in the process of setting up a process for my first 100 days," explains Claire Dickson, who takes advantage of these first months to meet and welcome her colleagues, assess the scale of the IT challenge and create a digital strategy for the five coming years.
She is far from the only one who recognizes the importance of having a process in place for the start of a new role in IT leadership. Gartner, for example, offers a toolkit called" The CIO's First 100 Days," which covers the issues, frameworks and decisions that will be important to newly appointed CIOs.
Think about the specifics of your new job
According to the analyst, CIOs only have one chance to cement their credibility and build a sense of trust - and that's something resonating in the mind of Claire Dickson, who is now a month old seniority in his new position at DS Smith. The key to success for other CIOs, she says, is simple: you have to listen a lot and make strategic, data-driven decisions.
According to Claire Dickson, all newly appointed IT managers come with a kit of tools and ideas from their previous role - and in her case, it was her role as CIO of BP's downstream operations. But rather than relying too heavily on past experiences and preferred approaches, she says the first month at DS Smith was a reminder of the importance of staying open to new approaches. “It's just about trying to get a feel for where we are and using a benchmarking of what other companies are doing to see where we're at,” she said.
Claire Dickson has created a list of important data sets, which cover everything from the shape of the existing IT portfolio, to investments in digital and data projects, to basic IT infrastructure, to spending. Customer-oriented services and supply chain systems. “I try to be as data-driven as possible, so I mine data from whatever I get my hands on,” she says. “But I think at the same time, it's about trying to make sure that we are sufficiently attentive to what is different in this company, compared to what we have experienced before, so as not to try to do the same things again. "
Review the company's IT
Claire Dickson spent the first two weeks at DS Smith organizing meetings with stakeholders. It's not as easy as it sounds when you can't meet in person due to the pandemic, but she says the process went smoothly and successfully. She also spent time with her team and got a feel for how IT is used and the possibilities to do more.
To that end, she is currently carrying out a basic IT assessment at DS Smith, covering some of the most important areas such as cyber security, talent, operations and architecture: “all the usual stuff you can get expect”.
This process will be followed by a Digital Maturity Assessment, covering everything from new ways of working to the use of cloud-based platforms across the organization. "I'm in the process of mapping all of this and then determining the priority areas in which we need to engage," explains the manager.
Develop a long-term strategy
Once this listening and assessment period is over, she will tackle the most important process of all: developing a digital IT strategy that will set the direction for the company's technology for the next five years. Its objective is to present this strategy to the board of directors at the end of July or the beginning of August.
In short, Claire Dickson's 100-day process is all about analyzing the current state of affairs, taking a step back to make certain decisions, and then creating a digital strategy. However, his focus on long-term goals is not his only priority. As Claire Dickson looks to the future, she also wants to add value along the way by changing things up where she can have an immediate impact.
“There are quick wins that we can definitely make, especially in the area of data and machine learning. I think we can start to add immediate value to the bottom line of the business. I would love to get some of those quick wins right off the bat, while the bigger transformation is underway, ”she said.
If the IT team can get a few of these viable minimum products up and running, Claire Dickson says they'll be able to show the rest of the business that IT isn't just a business. cost center, but also a potential value creator for the company. It will then be much easier to justify the pursuit of digital transformation.
Laying the groundwork for a more agile approach
According to Claire Dickson, her five-year digital strategy will cover a series of key elements, such as building a digital supply chain, digitizing the customer experience, and building the skills of the IT department through the creation of a digital skills academy.
She paints a picture of what she hopes will be the relationship between IT and the rest of the business at DS Smith in a few years: connected, collaborative, and working to solve customer challenges quickly and efficiently through use efficient data.
Like many of her peers, she advocates for the benefits of an agile approach to leadership, and she hopes the iterative work she is currently doing will help lay the groundwork for a much more agile approach to digital business transformation. . “I would love to be able to walk around the office and see cross-functional teams operating together in an agile fashion, business and IT together, working seamlessly as one team with workflows and Kanban boards. It would be great to see them work together on business issues iteratively, rather than annually,” she said.