Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Human Resource Considerations

2. What do we look for? • Don’t have advancement opportunities where they are (50+%) • Earn less in salary & bonus than deserve (50%) • 2/3 understand business goals and strategies, but 1/3 believe they are empowered to contribute to success

3. What continued • Would rather telecommute or at least have flexible hours (60%) • Cannot discuss career goals with management (50%) • Too burdensome of a workload (40%) • Not enough company sponsored training and seminars (45%)

4. What continued • Jobs are stressful (80%)

5. Good things about jobs • Job security and satisfying relationship with managers (60%) • Good communication with managers and get recognition (50%) • Good relationships with peers (75%) • Good relationships with users (almost 75%)

6. What are types of jobs • Tech support – 18% • Programming/SWE – 21% • Tech writing – 5% • Digital media – 7% • Network – 7% • Web – 8% • Database – 10%

7. Jobs continued • Enterprise systems – 11% • Other – 13%

8. Future in IT? • IT positions as one of the fastest growing occupations • From 1998-2008 growth will be: • Computer engineer – 102% • Computer support specialist – 102% • Systems analyst – 94% • Database administrator – 77% • Desktop publishing specialist – 73%

9. Future continued • U.S. Bureau of labor statistics shows that in the top 10 fastest growing occupations that IT positions fill the first seven slots and again at number 9.

10. Skills needed • Skills for recent graduate • Business analysis • Change management • Communication • Finance • Project management • Leadership • Managing value • Marketing • Mentoring/career development

11. Skills continued • Stakeholder management • Team building • Training – ability to teach • For management also need: • Application software • Databases • Hardware infrastructure/architecture

12. Skills continued • Knowledge of general IT management issues • Career development • Organizational forms • Strategy & planning • Networks • Systems development & programming • Integration within and across architectures

13. Skills continued • Skills for experienced IT professionals • Industry knowledge • Best practices • Industry issues • Industry-specific solutions • Firm type specific knowledge • Business processes • Generalized business strategies

14. Skills continued • Influencing decision making • Marketing • Promotion skills • Ability to communicate across disciplines • Ability to employ consulting skills • Ability to influence decision making • Information about business process • Understanding organizational philosophy • Understanding the strategic goals & objectives

15. First-line managers • Challenges • Becomes responsible for the output of other people • Acts as a leader rather than a “boss” • Stays informed on technical issues, but no longer primary focus of job • Acquires many new administrative duties, personnel, procedural and budgetary

16. First-line managers continued • Deals with employees and their problems, but no longer a co-worker • Faces many new situations in which action to be taken is unclear and requires a judgment call rather than reference to a rule

17. First level managers consider • Pitfalls to avoid • Trying to be popular instead of effective • Failing to ask for advice • Overlooking role of supportive problem solver • Failing to keep employees informed • Micro-managing • Acting like the “boss” rather than a coach

18. Considerations continued • Training suggestions • Network with other FLM • Identify a potential mentor • Participate in FLM development workshops • Register for FLM courses • Subscribe to periodicals and journals

19. Considerations continued • Basic success strategies • Admit mistakes rather than attempting to cover up • Show consideration • Provide details to members of team • Exhibit confidence and belief in team members • Provide ongoing feedback, praise and recognition

20. Recruiting • Executive searches – 24% • Word of mouth – 20% • Internal company job listing – 15% • The Web – 5% • Newspaper and magazine classified – 30% • Don’t know – 6%

21. Retention • Compensation • Pay within 10% of market rates • Integrate human resource & IT functions, allow IT managers greater flexibility in determining salary & compensation levels • Build defensive intelligence sources – do surveys • Set aside money for training • Offer time/performance based bonuses • Stock options

22. Retention continued • Benefits • Health, dental, and vision are a given • Financial benefits include matching 401-K, pension plan, employee stock purchase plans, and tuition/education reimbursement • Lifestyle benefits, including casual dress, telecommuting, flexible hours and sabbaticals

23. Retention continued • Training • Organizations that only invest less than 3% of payroll in training and upgrading of skills see twice the staff turnover than those than invest 10% or more

24. Retention continued • Work environment • Provide IT with change to work with new technologies through job-rotation programs • Make working environment “fun” (walk-up massage, napping tents) • Recognition programs

25. Retention continued • Eliminate burnout • Staff to meet objectives, renegotiate service levels, co-opt user support or increase outsourcing; after hours premium support • Offer time-off to employees who have put in long hours for an extended period of time

26. Retention continued • Poll Employees • Ask for employee satisfaction data once a year • Use a 360 degree review process to beter understand how staff perceives them & work environment • Implement “skip level-lunches” to gain insight into regional or departmental problems

27. Retention continued • Hire Appropriate profile • Everyone wants aggressive go-getters, but these people are most likely to “go get” the next best opportunity • Understand a person’s cultural fit within the organization and role for which best suited

28. Retention continued • Open career paths • Do not place artificial boundaries on career ladders • Allow an IT professional to grow in compensation and influence within a chosen career path • Allow people to have opportunity to build process management skills, even if not suited for people or project management jobs

29. Understand needs & desires of IT • Exit interviews – 100% • Informal conversations (supervisor) – 100% • Annual employee performance reviews – 90% • Periodic formal employee surveys – 90% • Periodic formal conversations (exec) – 90% • Periodic formal conversations (mentor) – 65% • Information employee surveys – 65%

30. Motivating IT staff • Allow people to learn new technologies as they emerge • Give people the resources they need to do jobs well • Be competitive in terms of salary & benefits • Provide for workers’ personal development – give clear career path and provide training

31. Motivating continued • Provide strong leadership during periods of raid and random change • Make certain that people perceive that what they do on the job is meaningful work

32. Stress • Greatest sources of workplace stress • Increasing workloads – 55% • Office politics – 24% • Work-life balance – 12% • Commuting – 4% • Pace of technology change – 1% • Other – 4%

33. Help to diffuse stress • Bring in outside contractors to reduce workloads • Improve communications and encourage team building to defuse office politics • Involve employees in decisions about managing workloads • Plan & promote outside activities to break up workplace monotony – have fun

34. How executives can help with stress • Keep staff regularly updates on status of projects • Make sure each person knows what’s expected and when it’s due • Set priorities for projects to help each person schedule work • Manage deadlines • Make sure staff takes breaks regulary

35. Executives continued • Make sure IT staff leans about latest development in the field • Arrange for massages and exercise time • Arrange for food to be available – well balanced diet • Encourage staff to work with stress buddies who can encourage stress reducing practices

36. Executives continued • Ask staff to keep a stress diary to help identify ways to reduce high-stress situations • When staff appear highly stressed, encourage them to take time off – whether a walk around the block or extended vacation • Encourage staff to ask for help when they need it • Make sure work area includes ergonomic

37. Career Development • Education & training number 1 for improving morale and esteem – 87% • Increased quality of work – 82% • Improved capacity to solve problems – 82% • Better team performance – 82% • Improved capacity to cope with change in workplace – 75%

38. Career development continued • Higher success rate in promoting employees within organization – 71% • Increased output of products and services – 65% • Increased employee retention – 40%

39. Other career development • Ethical conduct and data management • Commitment to building quality IT • Ethical management of data • Ethical use of corporate IT assets

40. 6 Commandments of Ethical Data Management • Data is a valuable corporate asset and should be managed as such, like cash, facilities, or any other corporate asset • The CIO is steward of corporate data and is responsible for managing it over its life-cycle from its generation to its appropriate destruction

41. 6 commandments continued • The CIO is responsible for controlling access to and use of data, as determined by governmental regulation and corporate policy • The CIO is responsible for preventing the inappropriate destruction of data • The CIO is responsible for bringing technological knowledge to the development of data management practices & policies

42. 6 commandments continued • The CIO should partner with executive peers to develop and execute the organization’s data management policies

43. Career Success Strategies • Learn your company’s mission statement • Seek out problems and solutions • Promote your successes • Be an ethical leader • Commit to learning • Become a mentor • Assess your skills • Take risks