What healthcare can learn from Target's CIO

When Target tapped a new CIO in 2015 the retail company was still reeling from backlash from its December 2013 data breach. However, within five years, Target's CIO has turned the company around, according to The Wall Street Journal.

While Target serves a different market, hospitals and health systems can take away strategies implemented by CIO Michael McNamara, including an in-house IT staff.

After Mr. McNamara stepped into his role as CIO, he discovered that IT staffers were typically outsourced and not spending their time on critical projects. To fix this, Mr. McNamara spent 18 months developing an in-house IT team.

Currently, Target has an IT team of 4,000 employees, compared to the 10,000 when Mr. McNamara took over. Mr. McNamara made the decision to trim down the team in order to improve efficiency. He end many of the outsourced staffers' contracts; instead, hiring 1,000 in-house technology personnel.

Since making the decision to take IT efforts in-house, sales from stores and digital channels were up 4.5 percent in the quarter ended Nov. 2 compared to same quarter the year prior. Additionally, E-commerce sales increased 31 percent in the quarter. Since 2015, Target shares have spiked more than 50 percent, reports WSJ.

Mr. McNamara credits the in-house IT team as critical in the integration of technology throughout the company. He transitioned some of its IT systems to the cloud to support the added demand consumers had for online shopping.

"Retail was being disrupted and it was clear that our business was moving faster than we were in the tech team," said Nancy King, vice president of merchandising and market technology at Target, to WSJ.

For hospitals contemplating their IT status, it may be worth considering looking to build an in-house team. Mr. McNamara also has strategies for attracting IT staff. He stresses describing the impact potential recruits could have on the business.

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