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It’s one of the great paradoxical questions of modern times: how do we get more productivity out of less time, fewer resources and smaller teams? Mathematically, it doesn’t add up. But in the world of IT, this is a question management must grapple with on a regular basis. The top developers and software engineers are tempted into the companies with the most to offer, and though the industry has gained popularity with college students, it is still essential for organizations to maximize the staff they have.
But the answer doesn’t involve pulling a huge rabbit out of a tiny hat. There are steps these teams can take to get optimal productivity from their staff – in most cases, there is ample room for improvement. Sometimes it’s a question of motivation, other times it can be addressed with better resource or time management, while still other situations require revamping the organizational structure of the department.
As corporations work to reduce overheads and improve margins, some of their departments might come under pressure to make drastic changes – IT is no exception. But with some deft maneuvering, these teams can avoid losing ground even as their territory shrinks. Here are three ways to do so:
1. Create a Space Where People Want to Work
This is a broad category that can be addressed in a number of ways. Maybe it’s a simple change of atmosphere – buy a few bean bag chairs, as Inc. Magazine suggests, or make space for a game room. These are cheap and effective ways to boost morale. Not only will these methods provide a way for IT professionals to decompress during their lunch break, they show the company is willing to invest in their happiness and listen to their requests.
But it’s also about putting forth the right attitude and creating a productive culture. Work shouldn’t be a place where you go to relax – it should be a place where you want to be productive, you want to reach your goals and you feel you have the tools to do so. Sometimes that means setting the record straight with a negative employee or holding team meetings to address the things the group feels strongly about. If an IT team wants to work and feels prepared to give a 100 percent effort during their day, that alone will do wonders for productivity.
2. Rethink the Management Strategy
If a company has been operating the same way for years and decides it needs to increase its performance, a good place to start is to examine which things have been prioritized and how various aspects of the team could be managed differently. In other words, take a fresh approach. When an organization actually cuts funds or staffing, that’s when this step is even more important – when a team is smaller, prioritization becomes critical, according to ComputerWorld. Each individual takes on a greater role and performs multiple tasks.
“You can’t have silos when you’re small because people are involved in everything,” Dale Denham, CIO at Geiger, told ComputerWorld. “I prefer not to hire people who only do storage, because they’d become so focused on storage-related goals such as I/O (to the exclusion of all else), they forget to focus on how a business unit accomplishes its goal.”
It doesn’t mean management must tear down the entire group and start from the ground up – just make sure every employee knows exactly his or her responsibility and eliminate any superfluousness.
3. Train from Within
Every IT team does things a little differently. That means it’s crucial that a company train its employees on how to implement it’s protocols to a “T.” When the organization isn’t going to compete with Google or Microsoft for engineering talent, it also helps to take an internal approach to employee development. Through training programs designed to give staff Cisco certifications or advanced Excel training, these organizations can get more out of their staff.
It also helps to have a team that’s willing and ready to learn, which comes down to good recruiting and motivation. Those are tough things to teach but will still go a long way in preparing an IT team for any downsizing that may come its way.
When all is said and done, it isn’t necessarily the size of a team that dictates its level of success. Rather, it’s the way the individuals work together, the strategies the team leaders employ to tackle tough projects, and the methods the organization puts in place to allow its team to thrive. Unfortunately, employees and funding will sometimes fall victim to wholesale changes dictated by upper management. But that doesn’t have to totally throw off the goals or capabilities of the IT team. By keeping these guidelines in mind, these teams will be able to weather these changes.
At New Horizons, we’re talking about IT everyday—and not just with a variety of clients, but with leading vendors—about industry trends and real-life challenges. And because of these close partnerships, New Horizons is positioned to help businesses like yours leverage our knowledge experts to discuss strategies, implementation and troubleshooting.
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