More companies are requiring new CIOs and chief technology officers to work in the office, leading to a slowdown in hiring for tech leaders, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 5.
Turnover among CIOs and chief technology officers rose more than 30 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, when organizations went on an executive hiring spree, offering high salaries and nabbing talent from across the country because of remote work arrangements, according to the Journal. But that rate has declined 15 percent in 2023, in part because of the return-to-office mandates, executive search firm Leathwaite reported.
"It's a question we're now having to ask that we haven't had to ask for three years, which is: 'Are you willing to relocate?' You might get the answer: 'I'm not interested,'" Eric Sigurdson, CIO practice leader at search company Russell Reynolds Associates, told the newspaper. "I think all the search firms have seen a slight decrease year-over-year in 2023 … in the technology officer movement for that reason."
Some companies are having those firms look for local candidates only or at least exclude those on different coasts or time zones, according to the story. The Journal cited the example of Mark Brooks, the former CIO of payer Centene who recently took on the same role at Reinsurance Group of America, less than 20 miles away. "He's going to be able to drive and not fly," Mr. Sigurdson, who led the search, told the news outlet.