Need more from IT? How to Support the Changing Role of Your IT Staff

We hear it over and over again.? CEOs and executive leaders want and need more from IT.? However, communicating what ?more? really means is critical to getting what your company needs to be successful and competitive in today?s market!

The IT professional is rapidly changing as IT evolves. The role of today?s IT leader demands more emphasis on strategic planning, supporting business goals and users, and managing vendors.? As many infrastructure needs are outsourced, the need for purely technical expertise is shifting to a model where business skills, such as budgeting, project management, and change management, are not only taking a more prominent role, but will continue to grow in importance as the paradigm continues to shift. What are you doing to support your IT professional, whose training and education may have been very technically focused, to develop their business skills and expertise?? Here are three suggestions that you can put into action today:

1. Engage in a program of ?Quick Hits?:? By connecting IT with end users to solve process issues that are either no cost or low cost, and recognizing the benefits, you?ll encourage a shift in thinking from ?keeping the lights on? to impacting everyday business procedures.? At Hartman, we?ve seen these programs pay off significantly, resulting in ?improved customer service, increased production rates and user satisfaction.
2. Identify specific areas in need of support:? Project Management, for example, is something that every IT leader is expected to handle, often to the tune of large investments in systems.? These projects require not only your financial investment, but also a significant time investment from your people.? Most IT leaders have had little or no direct training in project management techniques.? Help your IT Manager to contribute more effectively by connecting them to systems that they can tap into, rather than reinventing the wheel.?At Hartman, our own Dawn King ?leads a ?Project Management Boot Camp? series that quickly provides IT with the tools, templates and strategies needed to tackle any project.?
3. Enroll your IT professional(s) in Hartman?s IT Leadership Workshop series:? Not only do we tackle a relevant business topic each month, we provide an interactive forum for IT professionals to work through case studies and apply key take-away tools and techniques to their organization.? In addition, these workshops provide a much needed peer-to-peer interaction and opportunity for discussion so that IT leaders can collaborate on best practices, lessons learned, and innovative approaches.? The workshops are included as part of our retained client service agreements, and are also available at a reasonable annual fee to organizations that are not current clients.? For more details, please contact Katie Runge at krunge@hartmanadvisors.com.

In summary, take the time to communicate your needs and expectations and provide a forum or roadmap for your IT professional to make it happen. Help your IT move beyond the operational day-to-day and leverage them to lead your company in developing a strategic outlook to move your business forward.

Source: http://www.hartmanadvisors.com/2012/08/need-more-from-it-how-to-support-the-changing-role-of-your-it-staff/

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