Are CIOs' Jobs Secure as Pressure to Perform Mounts

Survey results show that the CIO median tenure is just more than 4 years, and there is no change in sight.

Are CIOs' Jobs Secure as Pressure to Perform Mounts - As seen with many current employees in a variety of positions and industries, CIOs seem to jump from company to company. In fact, results from a Janco Associates Inc. survey show that the median length of employment for CIOs is approximately four years and one month.

"We have seen a fairly steady change in the CIO positions for several quarters," says Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco. "There are a fair number of CIOs who have been in their positions for more than seven years, however many of them are close to retirement age. As a result we feel the median length of employment for the CIO position will not increase any time soon. The good news is that there will opportunities of others to move into those positions. "

Movement for the insurance CIO oftentimes is to positions within non-carrier companies. Just recently, former Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co. CIO and VP of IT, Frank Petersmark, signed on at insurance IT consultancy X by 2 as CIO advocate, serving as a liaison between X by 2 and CIOs at current and prospective clients. And, last year, Novarica added Don Desiderato, former CIO of Prudential, to its insurance practice as a principal.

While many reports say hiring overall is increasing, Janco research shows demand for CIOs in mid-sized enterprises has decreased. Janco adds that, based on 12-month comparisons, mean compensation (including bonuses) for all IT executive positions in large enterprises surveyed is $140,960 (a slight increase from $140,267 in 2010) and $123,378 (up incrementally from $123,301 in 2010) in mid-sized enterprises.

Overall compensation for all IT professionals has increased from $77,604 to $77,873; however the study shows that there was a 5% decrease in the number of employees receiving personal performance bonuses while there was 5% increase in those receiving enterprise based performance bonuses.

"Bonuses are showing that companies are look for enterprise revenue improvements and want to motivate employees to focus on improving the company's bottom line over and above everything else," Janulaitis says.

These results will be published in Janco's "Mid-Year IT Salary Survey," which is due to be released in late June.

Read on Salary Survey  Order Salary Survey  Download Summary