Do you remember the days when IT performed miracles, amazing feats, magic in front of our eyes, saving hours, zillions of pounds? Finance departments loved IT, making lives just so much better – bring out the rose-tinted glasses.
These days however, all we hear when visiting companies is “All IT do all the time is fix things. That’s when they are broken, that’s once they’ve got hold of them that is, the rest of the time, what do they do, hide in the basement…. These days users/clients know as much about IT as IT do, well they have to, the time it takes to get one….” OR DO THEY…?
And hey, you’re dead right, from IT’s perspective, don’t fix it, if it ain’t broken.
Some say we only use 13% of MS Office, whatever it is, it’s a fraction of what it has to offer, most just use it for word processing and sending and receiving email. The more companies we visit, the more we are told they “don’t want someone just to fix it – that’s easy, we just need to know how to use it and get the best from IT.” Many companies have so many applications that overlap, and nobody really understands any of them, they just get by. A common theme is “All the gear, but no idea”. There may be a few super users, but they are busy themselves with the day job.
Is it a sign of the era we live in? Nobody reads the instruction manual cover to cover, plug and play, that’s the way.
So what is the answer, how can IT become a superhero again?
Training… One of the first things to be abolished in any economic downturn is training. All very well in the short term, but now it’s been so long, most users/clients have learnt what they need by trial and error and by being taught by an expert.
Applications/software have so much functionality, but very few people really know how to get the best out of it and simply apply the day to day workaround to get what they need.
Not only will training be a proactive way of cutting down support calls, but it will also build strong relationships and you may even find out more about what the business/users/clients really need.
But IT is busy, not hiding, fixing things If there were only a few more hours a day, then absolutely, but it’s not a priority. Training is so down the list it hasn’t seen daylight for years.
If you can’t spare the time or resources, how about considering a short term contractor? We can supply either someone to carry out the “fixing things” whilst you build relationships or supply you with a trainer, on a short term basis, weeks not months, or even permanently.
By bringing in a contractor it could be more cost effective than using the application/software vendor themselves as they’ll more likely just pull someone off support for the day. We could supply an experienced trainer who has trained on the application software previously, as well as trained on other related application software you use. A good trainer not only delivers training to groups and one on one, but also puts together courses tailored to your business.
It’s time to be a hero, be appreciated. Be proactive, not just reactive.
