1. Human Resources UOW IACT418/918 Spring 2001 Bob Brown

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 - I Attracting the right people Scarce skills ~ high demand Highly mobile Looking for new challenges  opportunities to learn

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

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

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

9. Some Trends - I Outsourcing of IT Management of people issues vs. price & technical performance HR Support is the key to winning business Change Management ~ critical Effective induction programmes

10. Some Trends - II Flexible resourcing 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 - I 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 - II 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 - III 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 - IV 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 - V Administrative support staff Largely clerical Some grasp of IT issues & jargon Accounting & business administration skills

17. Staff Selection Should 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)