Question to IT Managers

N2IT

Maybe this is some topic in a management course I may have missed or slept through, but as a manager I find myself hiring resources that I find myself week in.

Example I am managing a deskside and desktop effort. The last delivery lead ran a lean shop with a lot more deployment guys. They do bring in the billables but I am concerned with being to thin on the break fix side. I feel I can teach break fix guys deployment and installations. Where as the opposite doesn't really hold true.

Is this just a situation of me being more aligned with the service needs or just giving into my insecurities?

paul78

I think there really is no right answer since you have only been at the company for less than a year. The previous lead may have staffed the team in a particular way based on his/her experience with the business. Also, the prevalent business conditions at the time may have dictated the staffing model.

I do think that part of any staffing model needs to be related to the type of culture that you are seeking in the organization. For example - there is a school of though that you hire lots of A, B, C players to get a mix of skill level and can afford more head-count. And there is also the thought that you should only hire the best. But by hiring the best, you limit the number of head-count. I think that having small but highly skilled staff only really works in high-pace smaller companies. Larger companies that have to scale needs all types of skill level.

Other thing to think about is succession planning - are you hiring people that are different in skill because they complement or contrast your skills - who would take over your job if you wanted to get promoted?

As for break-fix versus deployment skills - I actually think that those are very different talents. I don't say "skill" because I absolutely agree with you - you can teach the skill or create repeatable processes. But in my experience, I have found that people tend to have a "knack" for the aspect of break-fix versus deployment/release. Not that you can't find people that can do both. Also - it depends on what you are deploying and break-fix. My experience is not with desktop/deskside in this context but with ASP type services.

Interesting problem though...

N2IT

Thanks for chiming in. This road ahead of me is nothing short of exhausting. I give nothing but respect to competent managers who can deliver on a weekly, monthly, quarterly timeline.

Staffing is less challenging with a set budget IMO, the challenge I face is with utilization and capacity management. I find myself very risk averse adapting to the culture (I so happen to adapt well to this culture), yet willing to take on risk that benefits relationships with my customers. What gives in that situation is the potential monthly margins.

It's a balancing act that is nothing short of challenging.

I suppose time will bring out the best in me. I can honestly say going through the RMP studies has really given me a lot of tools to work from. But experience and a lot of lessons learned seem to be the best teacher.

paul78

N2IT wrote: »

... respect to competent managers who can deliver ...

Yeah - me too. I've always been more of a seat of the pants guy and relying on gut instinct. Not really the best way but it works for me. So normally I end up in roles where I'm valued for my judgement and tenacity and not really my organizational prowess or administrative skills. Resource and capacity management is partly art-form. You certainly will always want to make staffing decisions from evidence and metrics. But in my experience most metrics based systems are at best only as good as the data collecting methods.