PO7 Manage IT Human Resources

A competent workforce is acquired and maintained for the creation and delivery of IT services to the business. This is achieved by following defined and agreed-upon practices supporting recruiting, training, evaluating performance, promoting and terminating. This process is critical, as people are important assets, and governance and the internal control environment are heavily dependent on the motivation and competence of personnel.

Control over the IT process of Manage IT Human Resources satisfies the business requirement for IT of
  • acquiring competent and motivated people to create and deliver IT services
by focusing on
  • hiring and training personnel, motivating through clear career paths, assigning roles that
  • correspond with skills, establishing a defined review process, creating position descriptions
  • and ensuring awareness of dependency on individuals
is achieved by
  • Reviewing staff performance
  • Hiring and training IT personnel to support IT tactical plans
  • Mitigating the risk of over-dependence on key resources
and is measured by
  • Level of stakeholders’ satisfaction with IT personnel expertise and skills
  • IT personnel turnover
  • Percent of IT personnel certified according to job needs
Management of the process of Manage IT Human Resources that satisfies the business requirement for IT of acquiring competent and motivated people to create and deliver IT services is:

1 Non-existent
2 Initial/Ad Hoc
3 Repeatable but Intuitive
4 Defined
5 Managed and Measurable
6 Optimized



Benchmarks/Guidelines for Scoring

1 Non-existent when
There is no awareness about the importance of aligning IT human resources management with the technology planning process for the organization. There is no person or group formally responsible for IT human resources management.
2 Initial/Ad Hoc when
Management recognizes the need for IT human resources management. The IT human resources management process is informal and reactive. The IT human resources process is operationally focused on the hiring and managing of IT personnel. Awareness is developing concerning the impact that rapid business and technology changes and increasingly complex solutions have on the need for new skills and competence levels.
3 Repeatable but Intuitive when
There is a tactical approach to hiring and managing IT personnel, driven by project-specific needs, rather than by an understood balance of internal and external availability of skilled staff. Informal training takes place for new personnel, who then receive training on an as-required basis.
4 Defined when
There is a defined and documented process for managing IT human resources. An IT human resources management plan exists. There is a strategic approach to hiring and managing IT personnel. A formal training plan is designed to meet the needs of IT human resources. A rotational program, designed to expand technical and business management skills, is established.
5 Managed and Measurable when
Responsibility for the development and maintenance of an IT human resources management plan is assigned to a specific individual or group with the requisite expertise and skills necessary to develop and maintain the plan. The process of developing and managing the IT human resources management plan is responsive to change. Standardized measures exist in the organization to allow it to identify deviations from the IT human resources management plan, with specific emphasis on managing IT personnel growth and turnover. Compensation and performance reviews are being established and compared to other IT organizations and industry good practice. IT human resources management is proactive, taking into account career path development.
6 Optimized when
The IT human resources management plan is continuously being updated to meet changing business requirements. IT human resources management is integrated with technology planning, ensuring optimum development and use of available IT skills. IT human resources management is integrated with and responsive to the entity’s strategic direction. Components of IT human resources management are consistent with industry good practices, such as compensation, performance reviews, participation in industry forums, transfer of knowledge, training and mentoring. Training programs are developed for all new technology standards and products prior to their deployment in the organization.