AKRON BEACON JOURNAL (OH)
Business Section
May 12, 2003
BRIDGING DIVIDE
IT WORKERS TIRED OF BEING STUCK IN SUPPORTING ROLES
Erika D. Smith, Beacon Journal staff writer / Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.
No one ever listens. But they keep coming -- coming with half-baked questions, impossible demands and evil-stepmother scowls.
At least that's what many corporate information technology specialists say. (You know, those nameless "computer fixers" on the other side of the building who use weird words like PEBKAC and USB?)
IT specialists say they get little to no respect from employees or managers at their companies. They are ignored for board-level budget meetings, an afterthought in business strategy sessions, and are forgotten by reckless staffers -- that is, until something goes wrong.
The bottom line is, businesses must change the way they think about IT by strengthening the lines of communication, said Peter Parsons, a writer for TechRepublic.com, an industry Web site.
"Too many companies decide that their operations must be computerized, but then fail to pair this decision with one that demands IT support be allocated its fair share of resources and be integrated with (an) overall business strategy," Parsons said from his home in Ottawa, Canada.
Companies have to accept the inevitable, that technology and IT are part of business.
More than that, he said, they have to think of IT as an equal and legitimate business department -- and be treated that way.
IT departments usually are the key technological asset that companies have, with a collective knowledge just waiting to be tapped, Parsons said.
Letting IT-management standoffs fester, on the other hand, could hinder business operations and profits.
One of the biggest dilemmas managers and IT specialists face is a communication gap.
Parsons, who runs the IT consulting firm Neandertech Ltd., admits IT employees are partly to blame because their departments "are often thought of as virtual fiefdoms, where only the brave (or stupid) tread."
Scary or not, managers must make more of an effort to talk to their IT employees, he said.
But talking won't do any good if managers don't ask the right questions, said Gary Amos, president of Amos Data Systems in Akron.
For instance, it's easy to think of a computer worm infesting a network as just a technology problem. But it's a business problem because ignoring it could slow operations at any company.
Managers need to ask "how is technology going to help our business?" Amos said.
Dave Pavlich, IT director at Roadway Express in Akron, couldn't agree more.
The shipping company is somewhat ahead of the curve, he said, because it had to build its own operating software, starting in the 1980s. That put IT at the forefront of the company's business plan and strategy.
A lot of other companies are just now getting to that stage, Pavlich said. His advice to those firms is to "treat everybody equal."
Managers need to approach IT employees like they are more than just computer fixers -- which they are.
Typical corporate IT departments have programmers, Web designers, hardware managers and network administrators.
Roadway has a large IT department of about 135 developers and a dozen programmers.
But even with the large number of employees, IT isn't isolated at Roadway, said Bill Mitchell, manager of engineering services. IT officials attend meetings with managers, and they team up to solve problems.
"Everyone steps back a little farther to see what the business problem is," Mitchell said. " . . . That fosters a level of respect and communication."
Still, at most larger companies around the world, Parsons said there's a deficit of knowledge and a deficit of communication.
As a former IT manager; information systems manager; IT consultant in the United Kingdom; and Web designer, he's seen those deficits firsthand.
THE EMPLOYEE FACTOR
When it comes to discussing complex, technical issues with managers or employees, clarity also can be a major problem.
"It's easy to drop into geek speak," said Kevin Campbell, an account executive for Area 51 Consulting in Akron. " 'You guys are always talking in four-letter acronyms. What does that mean?' "
With employees, that confusion often leads to frustration -- on both sides.
"People say, 'My computer doesn't work.' That could mean anything," Campbell said.
A similarly useless complaint led to an equally useless road trip when Campbell was an IT manager for East of Chicago Pizza Co.
A vague telephone conversation with an employee in Indiana convinced Campbell that the only way to fix the problem was to send an IT specialist. It turned out the only problem was a loose cable.
"You're talking to a 19-year-old kid thousands of miles away who doesn't know the difference between a monitor and a keyboard," Campbell explained.
But not everyone in the corporate environment is so ignorant about computers.
Some employees think they know more than the IT staff and manipulate their workstations with arrogance. They download spyware-packed programs that can interfere with the network, regardless of IT's orders.
Others simply don't pay attention. They open potentially hazardous e-mail attachments and delete program icons.
It's a classic PEBKAC issue. (That's Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.)
So how can you keep a workplace network running smoothly with so many employees of varying skill levels?
"That's the $64 million question," Parsons said. "You can't have people installing stuff willy-nilly."
About 90 percent of the glitches IT departments face originate at employee workstations, Amos said. That includes viruses.
According to a recent study by ICSA Labs, the number of computer infections at companies rose more slowly in 2002, but a stronger breed meant the costs for recovery increased.
The 306 companies examined had more than 1.2 million virus attacks on 900,000 machines. That's 113 infections a month for every 1,000 machines, up 10 percent from an earlier survey.
The number of respondents who suffered virus disasters fell to 21 percent from 28 percent in 2001. Those incidents cost an average of $81,000 apiece, up from $69,000 in 2001. (A "disaster" is defined as a virus that simultaneously affects 25 or more PCs and causes major damage.)
In Parsons' opinion, the way to avoid such problems is to be strict with employees from the start. And managers must back that play.
"If you are at work, then use your computer for work, not as if it were your machine," he said.
