On being a CIO ... part 3 - skills
Readers of my blogs now know a little about our ambitions and vision here at NHS Resolution. Of course, setting out the end goal is only the beginning. We need to get there! And one of the things organisations like ours have to grapple with, is how to transform whilst keeping the lights on. This is often portrayed in terms of business users but it's also a challenge for the technology teams helping to deliver the changes.
We are on a journey where we are moving from a bespoke set of systems, supported on an outsourced model to SaaS products where we blend in-house and supplier capability for support. This means our teams will need to learn new technologies, new ways of working - changing our capability and support model - all whilst continuing the day job and supporting our current estate. So one of my big priorities is to work out how best to do this.
Things I am doing:
- Setting up a comprehensive, easily accessible set of technical training courses (we are using Pluralsight but others are available) alongside a set of "soft" skills training
- Providing a base curriculum (tailored for a few different tech tracks) to guide people on the journey we need them to take
- Getting people to develop individual training plans in conjunction with their line manager so they actively plan out what they are going to do and when
- Providing professional accreditation (we've just joined the BCS) options for those who would like to go down that path
Things I'm thinking about:
- Ringfencing dedicated time to learn - something akin to the Google "20% time"
- Finding other/alternative ways to learn - not everyone likes/suits online training. And I don't mean face to face training - but other ways to learn e.g. skills building through shadowing/rotating work
- How much "business training" we should weave into all of this. This is actually a big area of focus personally (as a recent joiner I am keen to learn more about what we do) but is it too much to ask of my tech team on given all the other priorities?
How have you solved for skills building in your organisation? What are your top tips?
CEO Kocho | Board Director | Mentor
3 年Niamh McKenna I have really enjoyed your blogs. Great insight on how you have approached your role. Hope all well!
NHS England - Cyber operations - Service Lead
3 年Good read Niamh. From. My experience ensuring all staff have an understanding of the business, (what's the story, what do we do) appropriate to their delivery is key. Perhaps business fundamentals + 1,2,3. I think businesses often focus on the task/specialisms/process and not the business outcome. By doing so you'll create a common story for all to drive with and with that it will naturally help to integrate the deliverables. Good luck and speak soon Best wishes
Partner at PA Consulting | Public Sector | People & Workforce
3 年Other considerations a) making sure to tie learning to skills and back to the ‘job to be done’ (so not seen as a separate nice to have, but tied into driving performance and b) tying skills and learning into career pathways and making sure recognised in talent and HR processes, such as scheduling roles, perf mgt etc
Partner at PA Consulting | Public Sector | People & Workforce
3 年Great read Niamh and fully agree with all you’ve said. I love the ‘shadowing’ element - I think really easy (but sometimes scary) to do - recently we’ve been inviting more junior resources into ‘new business’ discussions or internal ‘senior’ discussions around risks/pricing/commercials etc - great way for people to learn.
Helping Entrepreneurs achieve Freedom
3 年Good read this and I know the Pluralsight team well. The other training we have done which landed well is bootcamp style (not the PT variety) and secondments into areas where there are skills gaps. One area we always struggle with is commercial skills and mentoring from other private sector areas has helped. Sounds like a great plan ??