Boardroom Despatches: Ageism is for the also-rans

"We are chameleons, and our partialities and prejudices change place with an easy and blessed facility, and we are soon wonted to the change and happy in it." - Mark Twain

I know a number of head hunters and am always getting calls for some looking for information on the 'right' candidates. Just recently, in the space of a couple of weeks, I had forwarded two names to two different head hunters, both looking for a CIO.

Both jobs were in the private sector, and sounded quite similar. To paraphrase - and this will sound familiar - the organisations were looking for the turnaround of a very technical environment by a position that needs to be more commercial and customer-friendly.

Both organisations' IT had a "poor track record of delivery", resulting in them wanting a programme management specialist. The previous incumbents had left "by mutual consent". The roles would be reverting to reporting into finance director due to poor budget management.

There's more. The newcomers would have to be credible with the board. They would need to be the face of IT both within the business and externally, across an industry they should know. So naturally, they'd be required to have knowledge of and experience with large enterprise application offerings - Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP to name the obvious names.

(And while I'm here, have you ever noticed that the requirements are always so similar at the most senior levels? Have you noticed the things that are never asked for: leadership and inspiration.)

Anyway, back to the story, I put forward these two candidates - both I had worked with in the past. One was a CIO of some standing. He had had two CIO jobs in the past and had fallen victim to the usual restructure after the appointment of a new group CEO based in the US who had decided to get rid of the UK-based board of directors and run with two executive teams only - one for the US and the other for the rest of the world.

He had received a very good compensation package and was now on the marketplace at 47. So he had a couple of months to recharge his batteries and he was ready for the battle again.

The other candidate - and you will have heard of this type of story before - was 32 years old. She had been a real high flyer at her first job after university with one of the UK's leading retailers and had been promoted twice in her six years with them. She left as a project manager of some standing.

She had planned her career very well and had moved to one of the world's foremost manufacturers with a stable of market leading brands. After six years there, she was now a direct report of the country CIO and ready to stretch herself with another organisation. Her CIO was very good but had only recently joined, so she would have to move on in order to get the 'stretch' she needed.

Initial reactions from the two head hunters were very promising. I also received a very good reception on discussing the potential roles with the two candidates I've described. They were both seen by the search specialists and both instantly put forward to the respective clients.

The first candidate was found to be just about the right person but the would-be employers were quite worried about his age. In fact, they remained so worried that they decided to look for someone "a tad younger" and, at 47, he was 'washed up and over the hill'.

The second candidate progressed to the final round of interviews. The shortlist came down to two but she was eventually parked until some time in the future because, at 32, she was just "too young".

The role was reporting to the group CIO in the centre, running a division of the company's IT, but with no or little influence on strategy, it was an implementation role. The brief had asked for "a senior IT professional who would be close to their first CIO appointment - this would be the ideal position to acquire the necessary experience". She was devastated, as the role was perfect for her. Even though her experience ticked all the required boxes, it was felt that she would find it hard to get the respect of 'the team' as most would be older than her.

Both of these decisions may work for the organisations involved in the long term but the rationale sucks, big time.

Both candidates suffered discrimination because those in the positions of power couldn't see beyond ages - whether that be too many or too few years in their eyes.

Is age a measurement of success? Absolutely not. The only measure should be contribution.

Traditional businesses, when seeing a great CV, tend to say: "You have worked in some great places, talk us through the places you have worked."

I believe that's an increasingly outdated approach. Progressive companies are more likely to say: "You have worked in some great places, what are you going to do for us?"

The battleground has moved back to talent. The only true way we can make our businesses distinctive and differentiate ourselves from increasingly aggressive competition is by having the best talent available. Therefore we have to be on the constant lookout for the best talent available.

The best talent available may well come in non-traditional packaging and from the most unorthodox of places but talent is talent. If the environment is not reflecting the changes in our society, then the chances are the best talent will not want to work there.

What does the management in your company look like? Does it really reflect the society at large? Are you able to attract and retain the best people available without imposing the organisation's prejudices on prospective candidates?

Show me an organisation that has any '-ism' - be it racism, sexism or indeed ageism - and I will show you an organisation that has a whole bunch of ills, starting with an outdated, inward-looking culture that is in danger of being left behind by competitors.

Show me a progressive, fast moving and successful business and in the main we tend to find fresh, open and risk-embracing management who know that they need all the talent they can get, no matter what the packaging.

Employees are changing. Many younger IT staff today are Generation Xers who 15 years ago may have seen their parents rewarded for years of loyalty by being thrown on the scrap heap as part of 'downsizing', 'rightsizing' - call it what you will. The best will move job frequently and won't put up with organisations that don't take a progressive, even-handed approach.

Editor's note: See our full coverage of ageism in IT. Have you been affected by ageism in the tech industry? Please email your stories to editorial@silicon.com.