Entry Software Corporation

Entry

team engagment

Tips for Managing IT Team Effectively

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How to utilize your team effectively
Your team can either lead the company to success, or failure, which is why you need to utilize them as best as you can.

Teamwork is essential for creating the foundation of a high-performing business. Good team ethic leads to the success and smooth operations of your company. By identifying employees’ skill sets and assigning tasks that are well suited to their abilities helps to improve team efficiency. An effective team includes skills such as good problem-solving skills, decision making, communication and interpersonal skills. Here are some tips you can use when managing your team to benefit your company.

First, behind every successful business lies a great team. Teamwork maximizes the individual strengths of team members to bring out their best. Selecting individuals with the proper skills for the job is an important part of building a strong and successful team. When the right people are in place, work is always a priority and projects are completed effectively. You can find this out by:

  • How they embrace challenges
  • What motivates them
  • How the work with others
  • What their strengths and weaknesses are
  • How they handle stress and negative situations

When an effective team is set in stone they ensure success for your company operations.

Second, communicating the idea of success you’ve developed to your team in a way that clarifies both goals and expectations. All team members should trust, respect, and support each other, once the team is established and each member should know the value of their personal contribution to the team goal. By involving team members in the decision making process, it helps to limit conflict and complaints related to projects and tasks. The quality of decisions made will improve when the whole team is involved. Team decision making is beneficial, as it offers a diverse set of views that work towards creating a positive outcome for the company.

Third, conflict often arises when team members focus on personal issues rather than work related issues. Building a positive relationship with your colleagues can make for a much less stressful environment and work to reduce conflict. Teams who work particularly well together enjoy each other’s company and get together outside of the office from time to time to socialize and have some fun. This will lead to more productivity and success in the long run.

Finally, motivation can be in short supply during times of stress for some employees. However, if you have employees that approach work with a positive attitude and complete their tasks, other employees with recognize their hard work. Seeing others working productively will encourage underperforming employees to work harder as well. This will help to increase motivation and efficiency in your workplace.

Overall, these tips help to create an effective team and successful company!

How to Achieve Team Buy-in For Your New IT Support Software

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When a company transitions into anything new, a common challenge they face is the lack of team buy-in.

Key people in the organization such as IT technicians are often the nay-sayers for new support systems because it means having to let go of a practice that they’ve used for years and have already “mastered.” They may question if a new system is necessary and worry about the amount of time it will take them to learn it.

To remain relevant and ahead of the competition, change is needed. Many managers look forward to change as it often means progress. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for employees to fear it and fight it. And for any company to be successful, it’s important to value everyone’s opinions and to work towards a middle ground when there is conflict.

How do you achieve buy-in from those you lead? Here are three tips to help ensure that the transition to your new IT support software goes smoothly:

1.    Have One-on-One Meetings

If you suspect resistance, nip it in the bud. And involve HR if required. It may seem like a small problem now, but one rebellious employee can poison the others who have already bought-in.

Ask the employee in the presence of HR why they are countering the change. Are there opinions more personal than they are technical? Remember that their feedback is valuable and while their views may not put a halt on the transition that is already underway, it’s important that they know that their voice matters.

2.    Assign Rotating Key Roles to the Team

Give everyone on the IT team the opportunity to test out the new software by assigning them rotating roles. Let an IT tech be the Problem Manager and give them tough problems to solve and let them get the work done. In this way, they’ll see how the new software will benefit them in the future.

Related Content:
Hiring a Help Desk Technician

3.    Start Early

To ensure buy-in, you should involve your team in the planning process. You can’t just deploy a new solution and expect everyone to jump on board naturally. When you involve them from the start, from discovery to planning, they feel invested.

A good time to introduce your team to new IT support software is on the first day of a demo. Unified project management and service desk software, TeamHeadquarters, offers a personalized demo for your team to test. Your team can explore their tools such as project management, service and help desk, asset management and time management.

By involving your team during the demonstration phase, you can put their fears of change to rest by allowing them the opportunity to express their concerns. And once they are more accepting of change, they can contribute their ideas towards the successful transition of the application.

[Read more…] about How to Achieve Team Buy-in For Your New IT Support Software

Team Project Management Software | Solving PMO Isolation

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We’ve seen organizations where the project manager seems to be continuously pitted against the project teams. We’ve even been part of them and led them. Project Managers and PMO’s on these teams are often isolated units within the IT organization with a distinct “over thereness” to them. Project managers who trend towards isolation and Ivory Tower type interaction with teams may do so because there is no other choice. Isolated, fraction-ed project management, and the lack of IT work management systems are significant contributors to work isolation in general. Properly using team project management software can help.

The Project Manager, faced with these issues may face a number of insurmountable challenges. These include:                                                                                                             

  • overwork;
  • lack of information;
  • too little information too late;
  • seemingly uncooperative teams.

The remedy is obvious; join the team and solve the problem!

As we look at these four symptoms of bad project-management we see an obvious remedy; use a tool that everyone can contribute to.

By using a common tool each person on the team becomes responsible for the work assigned. No cat-herding required, (okay, maybe a little :)). As we examine the effect that an integrated IT work management system has on each of the four symptoms above we note that:                                                                                      

  • Overwork is remedied by putting the work in front of the individual who performs it. Expecting them to update and complete tasks and communicate as required.
  • A lack of information is immediately addressed via a team tool where the individual assigned takes complete responsibility for the task or work.
  • Good policies and procedures for data entry, (i.e. everything in by the end of the day), combined with the team project management software remedies the issues around ” too little information too late”.
  • And finally, the issue of uncooperative teams resolves itself. As we realize, (remember that), most teams are not really uncooperative. IT staff won’t key anything in that doesn’t add value – they are hard-wired this way and that is why we love them. If it adds value, (paycheck, review, team success, overall morale, the project manager will stop bugging me), then they are in.
If you are experiencing these four symptoms, or your own unique symptoms caused by the lack of a TEAM project management system then implementation of an integrated IT work management system may be just what the doctor prescribes.
In summary; a project manager who has a tool where all of his team members can collaborate and coordinate ALL IT WORK, (tickets, tasks, planned work, ad hoc work, development, releases, etc…), is vital to the success not only of the project manager but of the organizations projects and of the team.