I’ve had this conversation at least a dozen times in the past with mid-sized company leaders: “We’re thinking about hiring a CIO. What do you think?” 

My answer almost always starts with the same question back: “Why?” 

Not because hiring a CIO is wrong, but because I’m genuinely curious about what’s driving the decision. What work needs to happen that isn’t happening now? What problems are you trying to solve? Sometimes the title “CIO” becomes the focus when the real conversation should be about the work itself. 

What’s Really Driving the Decision? 

But here’s what I find myself wondering: Are any of those actually connected to specific outcomes you’re trying to achieve? Because a CIO salary, even at the lower end for mid-market companies, runs $150K-$250K+ with benefits. That’s a significant investment, and like any significant investment, it helps to be clear about what you’re investing in. 

Here’s what I often hear: A company hits 75 or 100 or 150 employees, and someone on the leadership team says, “We’re big enough now that we should probably have a CIO.” Maybe their MSP relationship isn’t working as well as they’d like. Maybe they’re tired of making technology decisions without internal expertise. Maybe they just feel like companies at this stage typically have one. 

What CIO-Level Work Actually Looks Like 

Before you can decide if you need a full-time CIO, you need to understand what real CIO work involves. It’s not just “managing the MSP” or “picking new software” or “keeping the network running.” Those are important, but they’re not strategic leadership. 

Real CIO work includes: 

Deep business discovery. Understanding where the company is going, what the growth plans look like, what’s changing in your market. You can’t create a technology strategy without understanding the business strategy first. 

Process improvement. Identifying where technology can actually solve business problems versus where you just need better processes. Most companies jump to technology solutions before they’ve figured out what problem they’re really trying to solve. 

Technology human resource issues. Building out your technology capabilities, whether that’s internal staff, external partners, or some combination. Mentoring your technical people. Creating the right organizational structure. 

Strategic vendor relationships. Not just managing contracts, but understanding the vendor landscape, evaluating build versus buy decisions, and ensuring your technology investments align with business priorities. 

Risk management. Security, compliance, business continuity. These aren’t checkbox exercises. They require ongoing attention and strategic thinking. 

If you added up all those responsibilities and honestly assessed how much time each would take in your specific business, would it fill a full-time role? Or would you be hiring someone who ends up bored and unchallenged, or worse, creating work just to justify their position? 

The Organizational Maturity Factor 

Here’s something worth considering: hiring a CIO isn’t just about having enough work. It’s also about whether your organization is ready to leverage what a good CIO brings to the table. 

A CIO needs to work cross-functionally with every department. They need buy-in from leadership on technology investments. They need the authority to make decisions and the organizational structure to implement them. If you’re still figuring out your processes, or if technology decisions are primarily driven by immediate budget constraints, or if there isn’t much appetite yet for strategic thinking about technology, you might want to ask whether the organization is ready for this kind of role. 

I’ve seen talented CIOs leave within 18 months because they couldn’t get the traction they needed. It wasn’t that the person was wrong for the role. The timing just wasn’t quite right for what they needed to be successful. 

The Alternatives Nobody Talks About 

This is where the conversation gets interesting. Because there’s actually a pretty wide range of options between “figure it out yourself” and “hire a full-time CIO”: 

Advisory relationships. Bring in strategic guidance when you need it, whether that’s quarterly planning sessions, major project oversight, or decision-making support. You get access to experienced thinking without the full-time commitment. 

Fractional CIO arrangements. More hands-on than advisory, but still part-time. This can work well if you need consistent strategic attention but don’t have 40+ hours per week of work. 

Strong technical leadership with advisory support. Maybe you have a solid IT Manager or Director who handles day-to-day operations. Add strategic advisory support for the big decisions and long-term planning, and you might have exactly what you need. 

Part-time CIO growing into full-time. Start with fractional or advisory, and as the work grows and the organization matures, transition to a full-time role. This de-risks the hire and gives you time to figure out exactly what you need. 

The key is matching the solution to your actual situation, not just copying what other companies your size are doing. 

Signs You Might Actually Need a Full-Time CIO

There are definitely situations where a full-time CIO makes a lot of sense. Here are some of the indicators I pay attention to: 

You’re making frequent, significant technology investments. If you’re constantly evaluating new systems, managing multiple major projects simultaneously, or your business model is heavily dependent on technology infrastructure, that’s real work that needs dedicated strategic attention. 

Your technology environment is complex enough to require full-time leadership. Multiple locations, diverse systems, regulatory requirements, technical staff to manage. Complexity creates work. 

You’re in a period of major transformation. Maybe you’re growing rapidly, entering new markets, fundamentally changing your business model. These transitions require consistent, focused technology leadership. 

You have the organizational maturity to leverage a CIO effectively. Your leadership team values strategic thinking about technology. You have clear processes. You’re ready to invest in making your CIO successful. 

If several of those resonate with your situation, a full-time CIO might be exactly what you need. These are substantive indicators because they point to actual work that requires consistent, dedicated attention. 

Something Worth Thinking About

Here’s a pattern I’ve seen play out a few times: A company brings in a CIO, pays them well, and then realizes six months in that there isn’t quite enough strategic work to fill the role. So the CIO starts getting pulled into day-to-day operations, troubleshooting user issues, managing routine MSP interactions, essentially becoming a highly-paid IT Manager. 

That’s often frustrating for everyone. The CIO feels underutilized. The company wonders if they’re getting the value they expected. And the real strategic work that could have been done gets lost in the noise of daily operations. 

Is there anything wrong with that? Not necessarily. Sometimes you discover what you need by trying it. But if you can think through the scope of work ahead of time, you might find a more flexible starting point that lets you grow into the right structure rather than committing fully upfront. 

A Different Way to Think About It 

Here’s another way to approach the decision. Instead of starting with “Should we hire a CIO?”, you might try exploring these questions first: 

1. What specific business problems are we trying to solve with technology leadership? 

2. How much time would solving those problems actually require? 

3. Do we have the organizational maturity to leverage strategic technology leadership? 

4. What’s the most flexible, cost-effective way to get the expertise we need right now? 

5. How will we know if it’s working? 

Start with clarity about the work that needs doing. Then figure out the best way to get that work done. Maybe that’s a full-time CIO. Maybe it’s not. Either way, you’ll make a better decision by focusing on the work rather than the title. 

The right answer is different for every company, and it changes as your business evolves. The goal isn’t to match what other companies are doing. It’s to get the technology leadership your business actually needs, in whatever form makes the most sense for where you are right now. 

At Technology Advisory Professionals, we help mid-sized companies think through these kinds of decisions without any financial stake in what you ultimately choose. If you’re wrestling with questions about technology leadership or need a sounding board for major technology decisions, let’s talk.