IT departments getting their own HR bods

The increasing sophistication of the IT business in large firms is leading to the rise of the position of an HR specialist for the department to deal with the broad array of technical skills and training requirements.

Analyst Meta Group's annual Staffing and Compensation Guide found a quarter have an individual who acts as the HR IT programme manager.

The role is to direct the various programmes that affect IT human capital and to act as a resource for IT managers in mapping skill sets to the inventory of projects in the IT portfolio and ensuring the appropriate sourcing actions are undertaken.

The report said the individual often works in concert with the HR organisation, as well as with organisation development staff, who may also have dual reporting relationships into both a development or HR organisation and the IT group.

Maria Schafer, senior programme director with Meta Group advisory service Executive Directions, said in the report that the "IT human capital portfolio manager" is becoming an increasingly important role in the IT department of big organisations.

"With so many projects in any given corporate IT portfolio, business-unit leaders must ensure that they match the right talent with the right project, and quite often they must rely on the opinion and counsel of an HR professional familiar with the IT organisation's needs."

The research was based on the responses of 650 companies.