IT Rocks
One of the main challenges I like about Philosophy is to try and make it relevant to everyday life. So where does the Myth of Sisyphus sit in the real world? Well, I talked a bit about the meaning of life to you personally but there are less deep questions that this applies to.
The world of IT has increased its pace year on year. One regularly hears the statement that change is the norm. What does this mean? There are two challenges. The first one is how does one keep up with the latest technology? The relentless quest for change and renewal means that your average expert of any technology will be out of date within 3 to 5 years. The second challenge is the that IT is now BAU. It is not groundbreaking, it does not 'save lives' and the outcome of most IT projects is to keep up and not get ahead.
This leads to enormous pressure on your IT department? How do you motivate people to keep on building, learning and delivering when the outcome is largely meaningless and any positives quickly become out of date as the 'next new thing' invalidates everything you have accomplished.
How do you keep people rolling that rock up the hill?
Learning the lesson outlined in the Sisyphus blog entry we must look at how to get the IT department to be valued on things other than the explicit outcomes of the IT project. They should look less at the shiny new technology and more on the process. Take pride in the way something was delivered and not what was delivered. If change is the norm then focus on how agile the department can be and the staff within it.
They must understand their reason for being and be rewarded on that basis. Otherwise morale will suffer.
As always, this is easy to say but hard to implement. Getting staff rewarded and appreciated in this way requires a huge leap for the average HR department. Satisfaction must come from a different place for both staff and employer. If you want change, projects WILL go wrong. Do not focus on when things go wrong but how well people react to these challenges.
Give your staff meaning and you will have a satisfied and happy staff.
The world of IT has increased its pace year on year. One regularly hears the statement that change is the norm. What does this mean? There are two challenges. The first one is how does one keep up with the latest technology? The relentless quest for change and renewal means that your average expert of any technology will be out of date within 3 to 5 years. The second challenge is the that IT is now BAU. It is not groundbreaking, it does not 'save lives' and the outcome of most IT projects is to keep up and not get ahead.
This leads to enormous pressure on your IT department? How do you motivate people to keep on building, learning and delivering when the outcome is largely meaningless and any positives quickly become out of date as the 'next new thing' invalidates everything you have accomplished.
How do you keep people rolling that rock up the hill?
Learning the lesson outlined in the Sisyphus blog entry we must look at how to get the IT department to be valued on things other than the explicit outcomes of the IT project. They should look less at the shiny new technology and more on the process. Take pride in the way something was delivered and not what was delivered. If change is the norm then focus on how agile the department can be and the staff within it.
They must understand their reason for being and be rewarded on that basis. Otherwise morale will suffer.
As always, this is easy to say but hard to implement. Getting staff rewarded and appreciated in this way requires a huge leap for the average HR department. Satisfaction must come from a different place for both staff and employer. If you want change, projects WILL go wrong. Do not focus on when things go wrong but how well people react to these challenges.
Give your staff meaning and you will have a satisfied and happy staff.
posted by So long and thanks for all the fish at
6:43 pm
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