Staying Put Pays Off in Financial Services IT

The road to a management position in the information technology field is surprisingly close to home, especially in insurance and financial services.

A new study shows that IT leadership positions in insurance and financial services organizations, more than with companies in any other market segment, are more likely to be filled by candidates already working within the company.

The poll, conducted by Menlo Park, CA-based RHI Consulting, a provider of IT professionals and consulting services, found that CIOs in financial services and insurance fill managerial positions with internal promotions 66.19 percent of the time, while the mean for all industries was 53.15 percent.

In addition, 31 percent of overall respondents said nearly all IT managerial positions at their company were promoted from within, with financial services and insurance indicating that 33 percent of all IT managers were promoted from within.

According to Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director, RHI, companies promote from within for a variety of reasons. For instance, by promoting from within, "businesses demonstrate to employees that their contributions are rewarded, which can be a tremendous tool for motivating and retaining top talent." Another reason is that elevating existing employees to more senior roles can reduce the learning curve for a position, which reduces training costs, she adds.

Industry segments that trail financial services and insurance in promoting from within include wholesale (60.55 percent), retail (56.86 percent), business services (55.40 percent), and construction (54.52 percent).

The national poll includes responses from more than 1,400 chief information officers from US companies with 100 or more employees.

Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio