Being a CIO is a high-performance sport. You are in the middle of a whirlwind of changing demands, digitalization pressure, and sky-high expectations. Customers — whom you used to call colleagues — want to be served quickly, intuitively, and flawlessly. Your own team wants autonomy, recognition, and perspective. And you? You have to ensure both continuity and progress. But what do you steer on?
For too long the focus was on technology and SLA's: systems had to run, tickets had to close, endless innovations had to be managed, value services delivered… But the real value of IT does not lie in uptime or response time — it lies in the experience and the business outcomes you make possible.
What counts is: can your colleagues do their work well with your IT services? Do they experience IT as support or as a burden? Are their goals achieved thanks to your systems, processes, and people? That is where your added value as a CIO lies.
And that is exactly where XLA's (Experience Level Agreements) come into play. They make the experience of the internal customer measurable. Not to please, but to steer on what really matters: delivering visible value to the business.
Strategic communication is your lever here. Not as a PR trick, but as a way to align expectations, make successes visible, and above all: to connect your team and the organization with what IT does and where it is heading. Because don't forget your own people either. IT professionals are scarce and in demand. If they have the feeling that their work is not valued, or that they are merely a cog in a machine, then they are gone in a flash — for less, to an employer who does have an eye for their experience.
"Those who don't take experience seriously lose not only customers — but also talent."
CIO's therefore have a new role: that of experience manager and value director. You can use some help with that. Just like that famous "kingmaker" David Garth, who helped four mayors to the top, not with talk, but with sharp direction of perception and impact. Not through superficial PR, but by strategically influencing experience and results. (De Volkskrant) "He was a politician who knew how to use television, instead of a television man who advised politicians." The same applies to you: you need an IT person who knows how you should use communication to optimize the IT experience of your stakeholders.
Do you want not only to manage IT, but to truly deliver value? Then it is time to put experience at the center. By making experience measurable (with XLA's), deploying your communication purposefully, and building a culture in which IT services are not just delivered — but truly make a difference in the experience of your most important stakeholders: the Business and your team.
Do you recognize yourself in this? Do you feel that the pressure is increasing, but the appreciation is decreasing? Call or email me. I help you get a grip on experience, communication, and value — so that you visibly make the difference.