10 tips for managing the human side of IT

The success of an IT department does not solely depend on having the best hardware and latest software. In fact, these alone do not guarantee efficiency if the people working in IT Support are not managed appropriately. It is not a simple task. Each Support engineer has their own personality, strengths and weaknesses, ambitions and drive. So here are a few tips to get the best out of your IT Support team in order to deliver an efficient and reliable service to the business.

1. Understand the role ‘shelf life’

Most people want to progress in their career, and in IT this process can be found to be somehow accelerated, leading to significant staff turnover. In order to be prepared to deal with this, it is important to understand someone’s longevity in a certain role, as they will only be effective whilst they are engaged. Different roles have a varying shelf life – for example, a typical Service Desk role would last around 18 months-2 years while more skilled software development positions can last longer.

2. Skills set relevance

Understanding skills sets and ensuring they are relevant to the tasks being performed ensures employees feel valued for what they know rather than being undervalued for what they don’t. This keeps staff happier and also allows them to identify areas within their skills set to develop and improve if they want to progress.

3. Encourage personal development

To retain staff and keep them motivated, a good manager should recognise development opportunities within the scope of their roles and encourage them to improve their skills. Shadowing other roles, when possible, is also a good way for staff to experience other realities and understand where they want to go with their career.

4. Feedback and reward

Having regular feedback sessions is imperative for all managers. This should include positive as well as negative feedback, but the most important thing is that, overall, it is constructive. Good results must be recognised, praised and rewarded when possible (it doesn’t have to be financial). This can generate healthy competition internally to naturally get the best out of people.

5. Expectations management

Just like in any other business agreement, don’t make promises that can’t be achieved. Managing expectations is a vital part of a manager’s role and this has to be done for both sides – the business and IT staff.

6. Equality and consistency

A good manager has to ensure the same techniques and processes are used for all staff and that they all feel that they are being treated equally. Make sure the team knows where they stand and enforce the same discipline and principles across the whole group.

7. Differences

When there are both in-house and outsourced staff within the IT service desk, it is important that everyone understands the difference between the two. Staff employed directly and staff provided by Managed Service Providers might have different benefits, varying working hours and so on. Make sure it’s recognised and appreciated and that all expectations are managed.

8. Relationship building

Listen. Staff like to engage with their management team on a personal front. Offer time to listen but understand boundaries and keep it professional. Just show an interest and don’t make it “all about work”.

9. Tailor management style

Adapt your management style so that it is fit for the environment in which you’re working. Different approaches work in different environments. Also, ensure the environment is appropriate for an individual’s specific requirements.

10. Empathy

Take time to understand the roles that you are supervising. The best managers are the ones who can understand the pressures of the people they are managing and empathise with them.

Getting the Right Balance

To help you address the above challenges, we have recently developed what we call the Service Desk Diagnostic Tool. By answering 20 questions you will be able to diagnose your organisation’s Service Desk and assess its strengths and weaknesses. You’ll then immediately be able to access a tailored report that ranks its performance across different areas and provides an indication of how your Service Desk performs overall. Please get in touch with more details.

Otherwise, we’d be pleased to talk to you about any aspect of your Service Desk, including how to go about surveying the level of your end user’s satisfaction with its delivery.

Please feel free to contact us. Acora is a UK based, award-winning managed IT services and technology company, with more than 30 years’ experience. More than 300 clients trust Acora with the responsibility for part or all of their IT, from solutions design to support.