ASOCIA Executives Services Highlight – CIO Placement Specialists

Since our inception, the ASOCIA Executive Services Search division has been recognized has a national leader in mid- to senior-level executive placement. Our areas of expertise range from Fortune 500 to start-up organizations spanning all industries including information technology, finance and accounting, human resources, sales and marketing, and healthcare(biomedical, medical devices, pharmaceuticals).

We have further established ourselves as a industry leader in C-level placements, with a specialization in CIO placement due to our strong expertise in the information technology sector. Asocia Group’s core competency is providing information technology services to clients nationwide. Our strong background in information technology, coupled with executive recruitment expertise, has enabled us to become a market leader, as we have a thorough understanding our clients’ industry and needs.

Our seasoned technology executives have a reputation for producing in-depth, accurate assessments of our clients’ strengths and solving complex challenges. Whether you need restructuring leadership, program implementation or turnaround support.

We provide full-time and interim executive placement services. Our services are available on a retainer or contingency basis.

- ASOCIA Executive Services- CIO, CTO, VP of IT - CIO Executive Search

As a premier provider of human capital solutions, the Asocia Executive Services division is dedicated to helping our clients secure the most talented people in the market.

ASOCIA Group is a woman-owned organization (WBE), certified by the Women’s Business Enteprise National Council (WBENC) since 2007. www.asociagroup.com/WBENC

For more information on our executive placement services, please contact us:
Info@asociagroup.com
www.asociagroup.com

EHR: CIO’s Worried About Meeting “Meaningful Use” Requirements

Eighty percent of chief information officers surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers say they’re worried their hospitals won’t be able to meet whatever meaningful use criteria the government sets for electronic medical records systems.

Chief information officers at healthcare providers and insurance firms are worried that their organizations won’t be able to win so-called “meaningful use“ designation for electronic health records systems in time to take advantage of government subsidies, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In a survey of 120 CIOs, the consulting firm found that 80 percent are “concerned with the ability to meet MU requirements within the specified time frame.”

“Without a set of final rules in place, lack of clarity around certain criteria and reporting requirements has left some CIOs at an impasse,” according to the report. “Fueling the concern are availability of skilled IT resources, infrastructure requirements, vendor readiness, and effecting behavioral change across the organization.”

The federal government is promising about $40,000 out of a $20 billion kitty to each physician practice, hospital or other healthcare provider that can prove “meaningful use” of an EMR system, but has yet to establish exactly what it means by meaningful use. More than a third of the CIOs surveyed said they’re also worried about software vendors’ ability to deliver systems that will meet the criteria, with 44 percent saying their HIT vendors aren’t ready.

“I think we all wonder if we’re going to be ready,” John McInally, CIO for MetroHealth System in Cleveland, told MedCity News. “I don’t know any of my colleagues anywhere that feel they’re completely ready for meaningful use.”

In order to be eligible for the federal handout, healthcare providers must use a certified EMR product and be able to demonstrate the ability to meet reporting requirements.

“The real test, though, will be the new quality reporting requirements that come with this meaningful use,” McInally said. “So it’s not enough to just have the information systems installed from certified vendors, but you also have to be able to produce reporting that demonstrates you’re using those systems to assure high-quality patient care.”

The PWC survey showed that healthcare providers that pull doctors, patients and insurers into the loop are more likely to be ready to apply for stimulus cash next year. But less than 20 percent of the CIOs surveyed said their employers are including patient input into their meaningful use initiatives. By contrast, 63 percent said their organizations are already working with physicians or will in the next six months.

ASOCIA Healthcare is a healthcare consulting, staffing and medical products distributor. With extensive experience in EHR consulting, our expertise can help ensure your success in deploying successful EHR systems.

For more information visit: www.asociahealthcare.com

ASOCIA Healthcare is a subsidiary of ASOCIA Group, a top-tier provider of information technology consulting, staffing and executive search services.

ASOCIA Group is a woman-owned organization (WBE), certified by the Women’s Business Enteprise National Council (WBENC) since 2007. www.asociagroup.com/WBENC

ASOCIA Group Powers Up Their Executive On-Demand Workforce

Leading the Workforce Revolution in the Executive Temporary Job Space

Asocia Group announced today they have increased their available talent pool of On-Demand Executives in response to the changing needs of companies in the current economic client. Asocia has established a talent pool of over 700 executives nation-wide.

Asocia Group is beefing up our Executive On-Demand Workforce Division which provides senior-level executives on an interim basis. Asocia has established an extensive talent pool of senior-level executives nation-wide, providing on-demand talent to clients.

Asocia’s Executive On-Demand division was established in 2008, and has gained a reputation for specializing in CIO and other senior-level information technology interim services for clients. We are have expanded our services to include non-IT, executive-level positions as well. Asocia has a full service division that focuses on full-time placement as well.

Asocia provides Executive On-Demand services across all industries with a specialized focus in the Technology and Healthcare sectors. Asocia Group’s subsidiary, Asocia Healthcare, provides information technology and healthcare consulting and staffing services to leading hospitals and institutions nation-wide. Asocia Healthcare has been a leader in providing high-level talent in the healthcare industry and the C-level suite in the healthcare industry is a core focus for Asocia’s Executive On-Demand services.

For additional information, please contact:

www.asociagroup.com
Post by: John Jeffers, Asocia Group

CIO Job Outlook for 2010

As bad as 2009 was for employment in the U.S., the CIO job market picked up during the latter half of the year, according to executive recruiters who believe the increase in CIO job openings and search activity is a positive sign of what’s to come in 2010, according to CIO.com

“The bottom was reached in the first quarter [of 2009], and it started to turn around mid-summer,” says Mark Anderson, president of ExecuNet. “Right now we’re definitely seeing the market rebound for CIOs and for executives across the board. We’re seeing about a 23 percent increase in the number of jobs being posted in our private network from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2009.”

Anderson adds that executive recruiters polled by ExecuNet in December anticipate a 19 percent increase in search assignments in 2010. Last year, search assignments were down 30 percent from 2008, according to ExecuNet, so the 20 percent increase in 2010 won’t quite recover the business lost in 2009.

Dice.com, which targets IT professionals, observed an uptick in employment activity during the second half of the year. By the end of December, the number of jobs advertised on Dice exceeded over 50,000, up from a low of about 45,000 job ads in the middle of the year.

“That’s unusual,” says Dice.com CMO Tom Silver. “Typically we see job count drop off toward the end of the year. I look at that as a sign of encouraging things to come in 2010.”

Trends Driving the CIO Job Market

Several trends set the stage for the CIO job market to begin its rebound during the second half of 2009 and to continue through 2010.

1.Stimulus Money - that the U.S. government allocated to industries such as health care, green energy and green technology spurred hiring in those areas, even at the bottom of the recession, says ExecuNet’s Anderson.

2.Pent-up Demand for Talent - also played a role in the hiring rebound. August popped because people didn’t do a lot of hiring in May, June and July, with companies realizing they needed to make some key hires to get their businesses ready for 2010.

3.Signs of a Slow Economic Rebound - including 2 percent economic growth during the third quarter, spurred fourth quarter CIO hiring. The back half of the fourth quarter was strong because people felt more encouraged. The stock market had been up for a number of consecutive sessions.

4. Social Media & Web 2.0 -In the media and entertainment industries, employers are looking for CIOs with a different skill set and that’s driving new hiring. Media and entertainment companies want visionary IT leaders who embrace emerging social media and Web 2.0 technologies, who can explain to other executives how these technologies will impact their businesses, and who’ll spend 80 percent of their time planning ways to incorporate these technologies in new product development.

In other industries, the ongoing need to comply with increased regulatory scrutiny, operate more efficiently and be prepared for the rebound is causing companies to begin hiring new CIOs.

The Year Ahead

Going into 2010, ExecuNet’s Anderson expects involuntary turnover (a.k.a. layoffs), to decrease among CIOs, since most employers took care of cutting their management teams at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.

Headhunters also anticipate voluntary turnover among CIOs—that is, CIOs who are leaving their jobs of their own free will to pursue new career opportunities—to spike with the recovery.

Part of the reason the CIO job market in 2009 was so bad was because there were so few openings due to voluntary turnover. CIOs in “safe jobs” didn’t dare leave them, notes Anderson.

ABOUT ASOCIA:

Asocia Group’s Executive Search Division specializes in mid to senior level executive placement. Our areas of expertise range from Fortune 500 to start-up organizations searching for superior talent. As a premier provider of human capital solutions, Asocia is dedicated to helping you secure the most talented people in the market for your organization. Our services range from CEO recruitment to executive search, middle-management recruitment and leadership development. We work with our clients to provide them whatever they need for however long they need it. Our services are available on a retainer and contingency basis.

For more information on Asocia Group and our services please visit:www.asociagroup.com