Human Resources IACT 918 April 2005 Glenn Bewsell/Gene Awyzio SITACS University of Wollongong

Overview The IT section can often be considered to be a “company within a company” But it is relatively small, under-funded and under appreciated Since ‘people’ make up more than half of the network manager’s assets, how to obtain and keep the ones you need …

Resourcing the Organisation Attracting the right people Scarce skills ~ high demand Highly mobile Looking for new challenges opportunities to learn

Resourcing the Organisation Creating the right environment Flexible ~ not bureaucratic Innovative ~ Risk-taking Challenging ~ continuous learning Rewarding ~ not bureaucratic Participative ~ consultative

Developing the Workforce Professional development – generic skills Customer interface skills Negotiation skills Report writing Presentation skills

Developing the Workforce Management training & development Aligned to business needs & individual’s experience Career planning ~ horizontal vs. vertical Succession planning ~ management & technical Continually updated

Developing the Workforce Specific technical skills On-the-job ~ coaching Often outsourced Continuous learning & self development Fills gaps Training tools Interactive training techniques Conventional aids ~ books, tapes, videos etc. Resource centres

Developing the Workforce Sponsored external development On-going education ~ professional, academic, technical Conferences Seminars Structured framework Planned ~ systematic Budgeted ~ resourced

Some Trends Outsourcing of IT Management of people issues vs. price & technical performance Change Management ~ critical Effective induction programmes

Some Trends Flexible resourcing Franchising Core vs. non-core skills Use of variable resourcing models Use of contractor/temporary labour Retention of core skills Franchising

Other important aspects of HR Management of people issues vs. price &/or technical performance “Branding” in keeping the right people Corporate development Training as a differentiator HR often a key to winning business

The people you’ll need Telecommunications Manager Conceptualiser & visionary Articulate & persuasive Understand organisations problems & how communications tech can be applied to them Able to grasp technical subjects but doesn’t have to be a ‘techie’ Able to plan & make decisions

The people you’ll need Designers & Implementers Good understanding of communications systems & products Creative & innovative Project management skills Verbal & written communications skills Team player

The people you’ll need Network operations staff the ‘manufacturing’ arm Service oriented Strongly motivated to maintain the system Good verbal skills with ‘customers’ Able to swap between sections (say: network ops & computer ops) to spread skills and experience

The people you’ll need Technical support staff Understand hardware & software Self-starters Analytical problem solvers Often have advanced technical education, frequently vendor based Novel Microsoft Cisco etc.

The people you’ll need Administrative support staff Largely clerical Some grasp of IT issues & jargon Accounting & business administration skills

Staff Selection Should you hire experienced outsiders? Or train up insiders? For management, knowledge of organisation more important than tech, so perhaps internal? For technical roles, knowledge of the organisation less crucial, so external? Should some or even all of your telecommunications work be contracted or outsourced?

External Consultants Keep up with rapid technological changes Often use a vendor-based consultant Be wary of vendor’s own agenda! Check the individual consultant rather than just the reputation of their parent company Determine their experience Obtain a clear proposal and action plan (with costing estimates)