New Manager question

gonzoflick

I am going to be sitting down with department heads soon and questioning them as to their IT needs in the company. I expect the conversations to be quite lengthy and I am not a very good note taker. I have a small digital recorder and was going to ask them if it would be alright if I used it so that I may be thorough.

My question is, would you be scared, or would you think it was strange for your new IT manager to be recording your first real conversation with him?

Thanks

msteinhilber

If you explained to me that it's the best method for you to keep track of what their needs from the IT department are so that you could help provide my department with the best quality of service I wouldn't have a problem with it.

I might think it is a bit strange though, because I would kind of expect a manager to be able to take notes effectively but that's just my first reaction - not at all a slam on your abilities at all. Have you considered doing some initial research as to what their general environment is currently like, so you could prepare some questions that you have to better understand their needs and write down summarized answers? That way part of your work is finished since you did up front research, you'll sound better prepared and look like an efficient manager. Perhaps that was already your plan, but I kind of read it like you'll be sitting down with them and saying "alright, go ahead and explain what I can do to meet your needs the best".

I would really see if you can get it down on paper initially though. My thoughts are that if you have to record it, you'll just be going back through to transcribe key points of the conversation onto paper or electronic format since it's not practical to keep playing back through a lengthy recording over and over as you develop your plan. That way you save yourself some time and don't have to worry about what people think about being recorded

Hyper-Me

Also be prepared to discuss the pros and cons of what they need.

Although we work in a service industry, the end users and departments we support rarely know what they need. They know what they want, but they dont know what the NEED to make it work.

jrdnoland

gonzoflick wrote: »

I am going to be sitting down with department heads soon and questioning them as to their IT needs in the company. I expect the conversations to be quite lengthy and I am not a very good note taker. I have a small digital recorder and was going to ask them if it would be alright if I used it so that I may be thorough.

My question is, would you be scared, or would you think it was strange for your new IT manager to be recording your first real conversation with him?

Thanks

Where I work we tend to have team meetings and everything is recorded as meeting notes or action items as the meeting progresses. We typically have rotation as to facilitators, note takers, etc. We use standard forms and someone types out the items as they occur. That way everyone is clear as to what was said and what is expected.