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

2. 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 …

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

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

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

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

7. 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

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

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

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

14. 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

15. 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.

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

17. 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?

18. 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)