How to Improve Your IT Department

Jason Kurekgi August 3, 2020

Your IT department is one of the most important components to your business. Their importance cannot be stressed enough. They are the ones that facilitate your entire business, regardless of whether you operate in-store or online. They are the front line defence against hacking attempts. They are there to help put out small fires in the office. When it comes to the department that makes your business run like a well-oiled machine, look no further than your tech specialists.

Having an entire department is essential, but their cost also makes them a luxury. You need to know how to support your IT department regardless of whether it is one person on their own, or an entire team. You can do that by using this guide to improve the department from the ground up:

Know Their Limits (and When to Outsource)

Discuss with your hire or hires the types of work and scenarios they feel confident in addressing, and then make a list of outsourced IT teams you can hire on a job-by-job basis for everything else. Eventually the goal is to be so successful you can have the entire team working for you in-house, but for now, work with what you have and know when to look to outsource.

Make it Easy to Stay Within Budget

IT specialists often need to be able to handle both the software and hardware problems of any given day. Software takes time, but hardware requires budget. Make it easier for them to stay on budget just by making it a cinch to choose the best product for the cheapest price. All electronic parts can be searched for and compared online from sites like Octopart in seconds. This way you can minimize your spending, but still enjoy the best service from your tech specialist.

Invest in Training

There are two types of training you are going to want to invest in. The first is your IT specialists themselves. Have a budget that they can access for further training and a way for them to request to take courses or go to workshops. Tech is changing all the time and though it is possible to follow along and learn on the job, sometimes that won’t always be possible.

The second type of training is for your regular employees. Have your IT technicians train them on how to stay safe, avoid malware or ransomware, and even how to accomplish simple fixes themselves. This way the rest of your team can better handle day-to-day problems, and your IT specialist can focus on improving your systems.

Bring Them Into Strategy Meetings

Always have an IT representative present during any strategy meetings. In fact, most meetings can benefit from your IT specialist. They can help ground your marketing efforts by making note of what is easy to do, and what isn’t. They can help highlight security issues, and let you know of any technical constraints. Have them there to shape your ideas for your customers and your business.