The IT Staff of the Future: The Importance of IT Business Alignment for Staff Development Katherine Spencer Lee Executive Director Robert Half Technology

Robert Half Technology | What Well Cover The blurring of IT and business Why IT staff need soft skills Evaluating your teams soft skills Helping staff build soft skills Recruiting employees with strong soft skills Obstacles to overcome

Robert Half Technology | Business Alignment IT is embedded in many functions that run todays organizations, regardless of industry, such as: –Accounting –Operations –Sales/Marketing IT staff must: –Collaborate with cross-departmental colleagues –Speak a neutral language –Understand the unique needs of end users –Think strategically –Take a service-minded approach

Robert Half Technology | Business Alignment New legislation has brought IT to the forefront of organizations Much of compliance burden falls on IT staff IT staff must –Understand concepts that fall outside IT –Be able to work across all departments

Robert Half Technology | Business Alignment Continuing to prove cost effective for firms to outsource purely technical roles Yet, companies are still short of skilled staff IT staff must –Coordinate projects –Assess risk –Determine budgets –Assess applicability of technology in marketplace –Manage vendor relationships

Robert Half Technology | Business Alignment IT Department Then Functioned as a separate silo Little interaction with other departments IT Department Now Integrated into virtually every department Constant collaboration with other groups

Robert Half Technology | The Soft Skills Your Staff Needs Communication skills An understanding of business fundamentals Project management skills The ability to collaborate

Robert Half Technology | Communication Skills Effective communication skills allow your staff to: –Describe technology in plain English –Describe the nature of training end-users will need –Describe technological capabilities to management –Speak to a wide variety of groups for sales or training purposes

Robert Half Technology | Communication Skills IT Professionals Then Communicated tech speak with each other Less interaction with other departments or external customers IT Professionals Now Must communicate with outside professionals Must talk business with others Communication built into planning process

Robert Half Technology | An Understanding of Business Fundamentals Allows your staff to: –Contribute to the decision-making and planning processes –Anticipate operational needs –Remain flexible –Apply relevant technology to business and affect the bottom line

Robert Half Technology | An Understanding of Business Fundamentals IT Then Technology drove business IT didnt address needs of marketplace IT Now Business drives technology IT projects are only initiated if there is a true business need

Robert Half Technology | Project Management Skills Allow your staff to: –Remain on time and on budget –Hit key milestones throughout lifecycle –Maximize company resources –Ensure projects align with corporate strategy –Develop solutions with companywide compatibility –Ensure consensus

Robert Half Technology | Project Management Skills IT Then Jump right in and get to work as quickly as possible on a project Limited vision on resource availability for projects IT Now Proactive planning to ensure best use of resources Strategic mindset to identify potential shortfalls Resources allotted strategically

Robert Half Technology | The Ability to Collaborate A strong sense of collaboration allows your staff to: –Diffuse tension and approach sensitive situations with tact –Build consensus –Motivate groups toward a common goal

Robert Half Technology | The Ability to Collaborate IT Professionals Then Worked almost exclusively with other IT staff IT Professionals Now Regularly work with a variety of non- technical professionals Get buy-in from other departments throughout process

Robert Half Technology | Evaluating Your Staffs Soft Skills Develop competency models Look beyond tasks Focus on attributes needed to complete those tasks How do task requirements and skill sets align?

Robert Half Technology | Evaluating Your Staffs Soft Skills What qualities should be included? Look to your teams top performers Consult customers

Robert Half Technology | Evaluating Your Staffs Soft Skills Network engineer Which soft skills are required to best align IT goals with strategic business demands?

Robert Half Technology | Helping Your Staff Develop Soft Skills Show staff how their products are used Have personnel meet with cross- functional managers of other teams –Marketing –Technical support –User interface design –Development –Localization

Robert Half Technology | Helping Your Staff Develop Soft Skills Provide training in non-technical areas Leverage in-house resources Encourage staff to enroll in business- training courses Provide tuition reimbursement or flexibility

Robert Half Technology | Recruiting Staff With Soft Skills Look within your organization –Existing IT staff –Staff from other areas –Work cross functionally

Robert Half Technology | Recruiting Staff With Soft Skills Dont overlook those who lack strong technical skills Pose questions that allow you to gauge soft skills Pay attention to the candidates actions during the interview(s)

Robert Half Technology | Recruiting Staff With Soft Skills Recruit non-IT professionals –Many not aware of opportunities in IT –Attend career fairs –Network outside IT industry –Join general business associations

Robert Half Technology | Overcoming Obstacles Lack of enthusiasm –Show staff the benefits to the business –Show staff the benefits to their careers

Robert Half Technology | Overcoming Obstacles Lack of qualified candidates –Show prospective employees your firms career-advancement plan –Point out that IT managers are frequently tapped for other operations

Robert Half Technology | Overcoming Obstacles Lack of progress –Base performance reviews on attainment and utilization of soft skills –Solicit feedback from other departments

Robert Half Technology | The IT Staff of the Future: The Importance of IT Business Alignment for Staff Development Katherine Spencer Lee Executive Director Robert Half Technology