Succession Planning - Best Practices

Everyone should know that succession planning is essential and some cased required because of requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and standards like ISO 27000 (formerly 17799).

Best Practices include the following:

Promote Proactive Steps To Be Taken by All

Every manager and key employee should have a replacement in mind. A succession planning process should be created and reviewed regularly. If the plan is not viewed positively and does not support employee retention then it needs to be re-worked.

Use Existing Human Resource Evaluation and Compensation Systems

Existing systems drive performance of the enterprise's staff use them as metrics in the succession planning process. If the right individuals are not moved into these key positions then your performance evaluation systems are wacky. The people who should be promoted and are not not will see that and leave creating a problem for your enterprise in the future.

Use the Same Succession Planning Process Across the Entire Enterprise

If the same succession plan is in place across the entire enterprise, then cross group movement will be encouraged and people will not feel they are locked in because some is not leaving the enterprise.

HandiGuide PDF

Job Descriptions WORD

WORD & PDF

Updates / Others

HandiGuide & Job Descriptions - pdf format

The Internet and IT Position Descriptions comes in PDF format The PDF book is over 750 pages in length and contains 261 Job Descriptions in addition to a Job Progression Matrix Template, Job Evaluation Questionnaire, and Position Description Questionnaire.

Includes positions from CIO, CSO and CTO to Wireless and Metrics Mangers. All of the positions in the book have been created to reflect the technology world of 2013.

Job Descriptions - MS WORD format

261 Internet and IT Job Descriptions as individual files in WORD .docx formats. Long file names have been used to make customization easier.

Includes positions from CIO, CSO, and CTO to Wireless and Metrics Mangers. All of the positions in the book have been created to reflect the technology world of 2013.

HandiGuide & Job Descriptions - pdf & MS WORD formats

The Internet and IT Position Descriptions comes in PDF format and WORD files. The PDF book is over 750 pages in length and contains 261 Job Descriptions in addition to a Job Progression Matrix Template, Job Evaluation Questionnaire, and Position Description Questionnaire. There is one word file for each job description (WORD .docx format). Long file names have been used to make customization easier.

Includes positions from CIO, CSO and CTO to Wireless and Metrics Mangers. All of the positions in the book have been created to reflect the technology world of 2013.

BONUS ---- If you provide us with up to five (5) completed Position Description Questionnaires within 30 days of purchase, we will create the 5 position descriptions for you and provide you with 24 months of free update service for the HandiGuide and all job descriptions that we update and create.

Update Service & Custom Job Descriptions

This service will provide you with updates to each of the products listed below for a period of 12 months from the date of the purchase of the service. In addition, you are entitled to 3 custom job descriptions. You will have to complete the Position Description Questionnaire (which we will provide to you via email upon your request). It typically will take 5 working days to provide you with the completed job description.

IT Best Practices News and Information
Some say the IT job market is improving

May 22nd, 2013
An on-line job portal, Dice says IT degree graduates are finding jobs. They also say that some companies still report technology-skill shortages.

According to them there hass been a solid job market for entry level tech professionals in the past few years with more than 40,000 joining the job market in a given year. That, combined with growing enrollments in computer science departments, implies even bigger numbers of newly minted professionals will be available for the companies that seek to employ them in the years to come. However experience is often valued over education in technology departments. It is recommended that students get some experience.

Best City for IT jobs - New York 8,600 jobs available

Second Best City for IT Jobs - Washington DC/Baltimore - 7,000 jobs available

Third Best Market - Silicon Valley - 5,200 jobs available

Next Best City - Chicago - 3,800 jobs available

Unfilled IT jobs in the US over 83,000 -- 48,000 are full time positions

Over 37,000 contractor positions open

Over 50,300 IT degrees issued in 2012 versus 59,500 in 2003 (source Dept of Education)

Low point in number of degrees 2009 - 38,000

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Security IT Pros are in short supply

May 21st, 2013
There is a cybersecurity skills shortage and recent studies magnify the fact.

25% of mid-market (i.e. 100 to 999 employees) and enterprise (i.e. more than 1,000 employees) report a "problematic shortage" of IT security skills.

36% of organizations increasing IT headcount this year plan to hire information security staff. Of all the IT headcount being added in 2013, hiring information security professionals is the highest of priority.

83% of enterprise organizations say that it is "extremely difficult" or "somewhat difficult" to recruit and hire information security specialists. Those organizations having the hardest time include companies in rural areas, mid-market firms, and vertical industries like academia, and the public sector.

IBM recognizes that a dearth of cybersecurity skills presents a threat to its customers, its security business, and its services organization. IBM is trying to do something about it. IBM just published a paper called, Cybersecurity Education for the Next Generation - http://www.e-janco.com/register_security_IBM_paper.asp.

The paper provides a high-level overview of the current state of cybersecurity skills and education and then suggests a few changes. IBM suggests that cybersecurity programs must become:

More comprehensive. Yes, firewall rules and AV signatures are important, but the next-generation of cybersecurity leaders need to be able to understand cybersecurity as it relates to the business, legal system, and society. This means that cybersecurity education has to branch out from the Computer Science department alone.

More cooperative. Cybersecurity protection doesn't work when the CISO and team are not part of business, IT, and application planning. That said, many groups view the security team in an adversarial way. The next-generation of cybersecurity leaders must be able to break down legacy walls and become business facilitators rather than business impediments.

Book smart and street smart. We need cybersecurity people who understand what works in theory and practice. A degree or certification alone isn't enough.
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Software Developer Wages Fall Two Percent as Workforce Expands

May 18th, 2013
The Janco Associates, Inc. and eJobDescription.com salary survey draws on data collected throughout the year by extensive internet-based and completed survey forms sent to businesses throughout the United States and Canada. Over 300 companies participate in the survey.

The U.S. tech industry added nearly 64,000 software related jobs last year, but as the workforce expanded, the average size of workers' pay checks declined by nearly 2%.

There are multiple theories for the decline in pay, but a common one cited by analysts is simply that the new people being hired are paid less than those already on the job.

The average annual wage of all workers in the software services sector was $99,000 in 2012, about $2,000 less than the prior year.

IT Median Salaries

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Unemployment picture looking better but…

May 17th, 2013
Unemployment picture is looking better in many parts of the country, however some states continue to see levels are 8% and above.   Included are some of the most populated states like Illinois, California, and New Jersey.

States with High Unemployment

Top 10 States with the Highest Unemployment Rates 10 States Have Unemployment Rates over 9% In the latest release of state unemployment rates there are 10 states which stand out because of their...

Unemployment Data Is The BLS Playing With It? Feds say they may delay the unemployment report It is ever so amazing that the feds are now saying that they may delay the unemployment...

Unemployment is over 9% in 8 states not a good sign for IT Pros As people continue to forecast an improvement in the economy, the latest BLS data shows there still are 8 states with unemployment number that are...

IT Employment Up In a Soft Job Market Between the first to second quarter of this year, the unemployment rate of computer hardware engineers went from 4.4% to 0.5%. For software developers, the...

IT Job Market is Poor at Best IT Job Market Is Poor At Best The information technology job market in the U.S. shrank by 6,600 jobs in September, and the number of...
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H-1B current readings

May 16th, 2013
H-1B battle Readings

H-1B politics shifts to backroom as vote nears

Senators begin contentious H-1B battle

Tech may sink immigration bill if unhappy, Sen. Hatch warns

An H-1B jobs database the tech industry may hate

U.S. firms say H-1B restrictions may help them

Senate's big immigration bill seeks to crack down on offshore outsourcing

Senate immigration bill may push back on globalization

U.S. gets 124,000 H-1B petitions, 45% above cap

With H-1B cap exceeded, visa lottery will be needed

U.S. gets flood of H-1B petitions on first day

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20% Discount for subscribers to CIO and HR News

May 16th, 2013
Subscribers to the CIO and HR News feed can get a 20% discount on any product on www.e-janco.com and www.ejobdescription.com . All they have to do is enter the discount code of CIOnews

The news feed is at http://www.ejobdescription.com/News/ejob.xml

Product include:

CIO IT Infrastructure Policy Bundle (more info...) All of the policies below are included as individual MS Word files and a single PDF file. Electronic forms are all individual documents that are easily modifiable

Backup and Backup Retention Policy (more info...)

Blog and Personal Web Site Policy (more info...) Includes electronic Blog Compliance Agreement Form

BYOD Policy Template (more info...) Includes electronic BYOD Access and Use Agreement Form

Incident Communication Plan Policy (more info...) Updated to include social networks as a communication path

Internet, e-Mail, Social Networking, Mobile Device, Electronic Communications, and Record Retention Policy (more info...) Includes 5 electronic forms to aid in the quick deployment of this policy

Mobile Device Access and Use Policy (more info...)

Patch Management Policy (more info...)

Outsourcing Policy (more info...)

Record Management, Retention, and Destruction Policy (more info...)

Sensitive Information Policy (more info...) HIPAA Compliant and includes electronic Sensitive Information Policy Compliance Agreement Form

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Policy Template with Metrics (more info...)

Social Networking Policy (more info...) Includes electronic form

Telecommuting Policy (more info...) Includes 3 electronic forms to help to effectively manage work at home staff

Travel and Off-Site Meeting Policy (more info...)

IT Infrastructure Electronic Forms (more info...)
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Technology based jobs grew slightly in the last 12 month

May 14th, 2013
According to TechAmerica (TA), The IT industry industry added 67,400 jobs in 2012, a 1.1% increase from a year earlier.

According to thier analysis, the tech industry's growth slightly outpaced the overall private sector in the U.S., which grew by 1%.

Three of four tech industry sectors defined by TA saw growth in 2012. Software services drove the vast majority of growth during the year, adding a net 63,900 jobs, compared to 11,300 jobs added in engineering and tech services and 1,800 added in Internet and telecommunication services. Tech manufacturing had a net decline in employment, dropping by 9,500 jobs.

Thirty-nine states saw a net increase in tech employment in 2012, with the largest increase in California with 17,700 jobs, Texas with 10,000 jobs and New York with 8,400 jobs. The fastest rates of growth were in North Dakota, Michigan and Missouri, all with more than 3% growth.

The top states for tech employment in 2012 were California (968,800), Texas (485,600), New York (318,200), Virginia (285,400), and Florida (270,900), the report said.

As in the past, Virginia continued to lead the nation in concentration of high-tech workers in 2012, with 9.8% of its private sector workforce employed in the tech industry.

California's tech industry workers were paid the highest annual average wage of $123,900 in 2012, followed by Massachusetts, at $116,000, and Washington state at $110,200.

California was the top state for employment numbers in 12 of 15 tech industry sectors, but other states had strong concentrations in some tech fields. Minnesota ranked first in electromedical equipment manufacturing, and Washington ranked first in software publishers, the report said.

Virginia ranked second in computer systems design, and Massachusetts ranked second in measuring and control instruments manufacturing and in R&D and testing labs.
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Are Baby Boomers a driver in lower labor participation rates?

May 13th, 2013
Since October 2009, while the civilian population aged 16 and older has risen by 8.6 million people, the labor force has risen by just 1.4 million people, cutting the labor force participation rate to its lowest level since 1979. Or, if the U.S. economy had just maintained the participation rate that prevailed in October 2009, there would be almost 4.2 million more people in the labor force today.

It can be argued that larger numbers of older workers in their 50s and 60s have been discouraged by the lack of opportunities, and are opting for retirement sooner than they would have in a gangbuster economy.
However the formal retirement rate keeps going up, and the net result is an economy with fewer and fewer available workers. Baby boomers are distorting the numbers, because they account for an outsized portion of the population and as they move from prime working age into their golden years, their retirement drags down the overall participation rate just as they helped to elevate it when they entered the market.

There needs to be a way to look at and measure the impact of people engaging in non-traditional approaches to careers, such as part-time, creative and entrepreneurial pursuits. Dropping out of the workforce doesnt mean dropping out of life.

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People may be going back to work...

May 10th, 2013
Among those persons marginally attached to the labor force in April 2013, there were 835,000 discouraged workers - decrease of 133,000 workers from a year earlier.

Persons not in the labor force by desire and availability for work, April 2013

Total not in the labor force              90,436,000

Do not want a job now                   84,107,000

Want a job                                                                 6,329,000

Did not search for work in previous year                                               3,196,000

Searched for work in previous year(2) but not in past 4 weeks              3,133,000

Searched for work in the previous year but not available to work now      786,000

Marginally attached (available to work now)                                          2,347,000

Discouraged over job prospects                                                              835,000

Reasons other than discouragement                                                       1,512,000

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More IT Layoffs

May 9th, 2013
CA Technologies will lay off approximately 1,200 employees worldwide and consolidate its development operations after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter financial results.

The company expects to carry out the majority of the cutbacks by the end of the current quarter in June and will take a charge of approximately $150 million in fiscal 2014 to cover those costs.

CA reported revenue of $1.15 billion for the fourth quarter ended March 31, a decline of 3 percent from $1.18 billion in the same period one year earlier. Income from continuing operations was $242 million, up 15 percent from $211 million last year.
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Immigration Bill May Impact H-1B hiring

May 8th, 2013
The U.S. Senate's comprehensive immigration bill has within it a proposal to create a database that may hault some bad H-1B hiring practices.

There are a string of provisions in the Senate's bill its proponents say are intended to help U.S. workers. One is a requirement for the government to create a national database of jobs that employers want to fill with H-1B workers. U.S. workers will be able to apply for those jobs, which will be posted for 30 days. Employers are also barred "from recruiting or giving preference" to visa workers over U.S. workers.

The tech industry is concerned that the immigration bill's recruitment and database provisions may extend the amount of time needed to hire an H-1B worker and, more broadly, increase the risk of litigation and government oversight.

- more info

Mobility Policy Bundle with a full job description for a Chief Mobility Officer has just been released by Janco

May 6th, 2013
Janco Associates has just updated its Mobility Policy Bundle to meet critical new requirements being placed on organizations by mobile computing users. This release is part of Jancos continuing effort to create a set of standard Best Practices procedures that organizations can implement to meet the challenges they face as they adjust to the new ways that technology is being utilized by all levels of organizations. In addition to the updated procedures, Janco has developed a complete job description for the Chief Mobility Officer who is critical in the creation, implementation and operation of an organizations mobility initiative.

The CEO of Janco, Victor Janulaitis said, As the use of personal mobile devices, social networking, and compliance requirements expand, organizations are faced with a dilemma. How can they balance business continuity, security, and compliance needs in an ever more complex operating environment, while supporting increased business demands for more technology by an increasingly more technology literate user base. He added, Our policies, electronic forms, and job description for the Chief Mobility Officer role Janco has addressed those requirements.

In addition to the Chief Mobility Officer job description the bundle includes proven policies and electronic forms. The policies included in this bundle are: BYOD Policy; Mobile Device Policy; Record Management Retention and Destruction Policy; Social Networking Policy; Telecommuting Policy; and Travel and Off-site Meeting Policy. The Electronic Forms included are: BYOD Access and Use Agreement Form; Company Asset Employee Control Log; Enterprise Owned Equipment Form; Mobile Device Access and Use Agreement Form; Safety Checklist - Working at Alternative Location; Social Networking Policy Compliance Agreement Form; and Telecommuting Work Agreement

More information on this bundle, including a full copy of the table of contents for all of the policies, can be obtained by following the links.

Policies - http://www.e-janco.com/Mobility_Policies.html

Electronic Forms - http://www.e-janco.com/IT-Infrastructure-Forms.html
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IT is not viewed as a top career choice for recent college graduates

May 1st, 2013
In a recent survey by Accenture of recent college graduates IT was not at the top of the tottem pole of choices. The top choices were education, media and entertainement, and health care. Other findings of the study were:

Only 53% of graudates had jobs in their field of study

63% feel they need more training to get the jobs they want

42% feel they will need an advanced degree to advance

Loans outstanding are high - 33% owe $30,000 or less and 17% owe between $30,000 to $50,000

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HR is viewed by many as a source of future earnings

April 22nd, 2013
Many view HR as a department that provides little if no value. Line managers who have evaluated them say:

They speak in gibberish and terms that do not relate to the businesses

They have more red tape and meaningless processes than the government

They think they run the company when all they often do is make it more difficult to recruit and retain good talent

They are not in the business that the company is in

IT Job Descriptions
Salary Data

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Illinois, Neveda, and California have the highest unemployment rate

April 20th, 2013
23 states and DC saw the number of jobs increase while 26 others including Ohio and Illinois saw the number of jobs fall. That added to the fact that the fall in the overall unemployment rate was driven by people leaving the labor market. Nevada had the highest unemployment rate of 9.7%, followed by Illinois, California, and Mississippi. North Dakota, driven by the private sector oil boom had the lowest unemployment rate of 3.3%.

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Security will be a source of new IT Jobs over the next few years

April 19th, 2013
In 2012 number of high-profile security breaches occurred. Over 189 incidents happened in the first half of 2012, as well as the June 2012 theft by hackers of more than 6.5 million LinkedIn user passwords, and the mid-July theft of 450,000 email usernames and passwords from Yahoo's databases. It is estimated that a number of industries will grow at a annual rate of 7.7 percent, to $285.9 billion, from 2013 to 2018 and post an average total profit margin of 17.5 percent during that period.

Several industries are anticipated to play a greater part in - and increasingly depend on - cyber-security, including virtual data rooms, online insurance brokers and financial data service providers.

These industries form a growing part of the U.S. economy and together will total an estimated $207.1 billion in revenue in 2013. As online services and transactions become more popular, businesses and consumers are increasingly concerned about effective cyber-security.

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Salaries not keeping up with inflation

April 18th, 2013
According to the latest statistics from the latest BLS data shows that salaries have not kept up with inflation.

"Median weekly earnings of the nation's 102.6 million full-time wage and salary workers were $773 in the first quarter of 2013 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was 0.5 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 1.7 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period."- BLS

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66.2 percent of 2012 high school graduates enrolled in colleges
April 17th, 2013
 In October 2012, 66.2 percent of 2012 high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or
universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Recent high school
graduates not enrolled in college in October 2012 were more likely than enrolled graduates
to be working or looking for work (69.6 percent compared with 38.2 percent).
The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population working or looking
for work) for recent high school graduates enrolled in college was 38.2 percent. The
participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled in college were 34.4 and
41.6 percent, respectively.
 
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2012, 87.8 percent
were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were about
half as likely to be in the labor force (33.9 percent) as were their peers enrolled
part time (69.2 percent).
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H-1B expansion focus of Tech firms

April 16th, 2013
Technology companies have asked Congress to consider a bill proposal that would gradually raise the cap to 300,000 as well as alter the current green card system. Intel, for example, believes that raising the cap will lower company uncertainty while decisions are being made, and the current process puts a real constraint on our ability to hire the skilled workers we need to allow us to innovate, create new products and create new jobs.

Over 100 firms have petitioned Congress for a "market-based" visa system which is flexible enough to change depending on market conditions and the need for skilled workers. One argument for this system is that American universities are not producing enough graduates in fields including engineering, math and computer science, so restricting a firm's ability to poach talent from abroad also hampers its competitive edge.

IT Job Descriptions
Salary Data

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College degree or certification are required to get entry level jobs in IT

April 14th, 2013

College degree or certification are required to get entry level jobs in IT

In a recent survey 32% of companies are now filling jobs that historically high school graduates filled with college graduates. Much of this is due to the continuing slow economy; however it also is due to companies raising performance expectations for roles within their firms to improve overall productivity, customer service, product quality, and sales activities. In the same survey it was found that 37% of all companies were not likely to promote someone who does not have a college degree.

Janco Associates has found that in lieu of a college degree over 55% of CIOs would consider the right certifications as key criteria in hiring entry level staff. Promotions within the technology areas can be had with those certifications. But into order to get to middle and upper level IT management 90% of CIOs say that is a must.
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