In today's digitally driven business landscape, IT employees are an integral part of a successful operation. Their knowledge helps shed light on software issues that may not be digestible by other employees, and without their technical acumen, business production would undoubtedly suffer. IT pros are the lifeblood of any training and educational process that employees must undertake in the workplace, especially at the managerial level. 

Since so many employees are looking to IT professionals and managers as a source of assistance and knowledge, it's important that the higher-ups are equally as helpful in a new software adoption process. Here are three qualities a modern-day CIO must have to help during a new system implementation:

• It's about people first:
  New chief information officers may want to think primarily about implementing the most powerful and robust technology available to increase production, but there's a caveat to the new role: people come first. Powerful software is useless if the end-user can't utilize it and all of its features. New software adoption can certainly enhance operations in the long run, but the people working the systems must first feel comfortable and at ease when using the new technology. It's the responsibility of the CIO to give employees peace of mind when using either current or new systems, and steps need to be in place to do just that. If CIOs feel uncomfortable with this process, there are third-party organizations that provide helpful solutions that aid in training and educating employees on the job. 


• Develop business acumen:
  IT professionals are the most well versed in their particular field. However, a senior management position such as this requires a depth of knowledge not only in tech, but also in business functionality, InformationWeek argues. An advanced degree isn't necessarily required, but CIOs today must understand the correlation between IT and business value. New software implementation must have an attached benefit to growing company operations, or else other executives won't green light a switch and employees won't fully embrace the switch. Even more difficult is getting the end-users to understand this same value. If staff doesn't see the value in the upgrade, training and education will be much more difficult.


• Allow room for growth:
  On both a personal and business level, CIOs must allow themselves and their company to grow with industry developments. New IT implementations are often pursued because they can enhance production or other facets of operations, and it's the job of the senior information officer to make sure that he or she is up to date with the latest trends and technology that enable just that, CIO argues. The modern-day CIO must leverage established knowledge of technology to meet the needs of a growing, competitive business. If an IT manager or CIO can demonstrate the true business value of the new software, it will be much easier to get employees on board with the switch. One of the first hurdles in the training process is getting staff to buy in, but if that can be accomplished up front, the remainder of the implementation will go much smoother.