How IT Leaders are Adapting to Remote Work: A Conversation with Peers

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education into a sudden, technology-enabled transition to virtual operations, IT units led the way. Now they are on the front line of defining a post-pandemic workplace. In several recent roundtable discussions convened for higher education CIOs, we asked IT leaders to tell us how they are addressing workplace trends and post-pandemic institutional needs. Our discussion considered the impact of remote and hybrid work on staff retention and recruitment, the alignment of IT staffing needs with institutional remote work policies, and CIO priorities for the upcoming academic year.

Our participants made it clear that IT remains a campus leader in work policy transformation even as it returns to an interrupted agenda of digital transformation. If you didn’t have a chance to join us in these conversations, we’ve summarized key takeaways below.

Review the key takeaways

Competition for IT talent is getting even fiercer

A sudden rise in remote work options has accelerated what has been called the “Great Resignation”—a wave of turnover driven by employee restlessness and talent poaching from employers crossing former recruiting boundaries. Most of our participants said they had recently experienced worrisome IT staff attrition. One reported losing a developer a week for six weeks; another said that departing staff had accepted offers ranging from 150% to 250% of their university salaries, with no need to relocate. The trend confirms that, in IT at least, work flexibility has changed from a perk to a table-stakes benefit essential for basic talent competitiveness.

IT is leading the transition to remote work

EAB’s recent survey of HR leaders found that IT was expected to be among the most remote-friendly units on campus, and roundtable CIOs confirmed that IT will be far less bound to campus in fall 2021 than before the pandemic. Still, some institutions are restricting remote work options in ways that could compromise IT retention and recruitment. In a poll, seven out of ten CIOs said that most of their staff would work in hybrid or remote modes. Another 22% will have most on campus but a minority remote or hybrid, and a small but significant proportion (9%) will be fully on campus. Given its special recruiting needs and higher comfort with remote modes of work, IT is in a position to help other units navigate the transition to a new workplace. Some CIOs, however, will need to build a case to convince leadership to adopt less restrictive policies.

• Most staff working hybrid or remote: 70%
• Most on campus but a minority remote or hybrid: 22%
• Fully on campus: 9%

CIOs are returning to a proactive agenda

Asked to identify their top priority for the coming academic year, about half (48%) of our participants said it was to restore focus on issues de-prioritized during the pandemic. ERP projects, governance, and establishing new talent pipelines were among the initiatives identified. Another 19% chose IT staff development, while adapting to remote and hybrid work accounted for a few more institutions. Despite the changes the pandemic has brought, we heard little indication of active renewed strategic planning at the institutional or IT unit level.

IT office space is still in flux

While high levels of remote and hybrid employment suggest a departure from fixed permanent office space for all IT staff, most IT organizations are still holding back on making major changes to work space. Recent EAB survey data, however, suggests that a large majority of institutions expect to change space utilization policies over the next year. Evidence from early adopters suggests that as hybrid and remote work take hold, hot desking and flexible work spaces will become the norm for those IT staff not assigned full-time to campus work.