How to Properly Manage Your IT Department - A Simple Guide

Managing the IT department of any business, large or small, depends on much more than ensuring that all the computers in the office work properly. The IT department is a place where big ideas and big dreams can come together to change a company. Even though so many people think of IT as a place where people fix computers only to go back and hide in the corner, IT is actually the place that can make a business the most money in the most efficient ways possible. Consider each of these four possibilities as ways of improving and expanding the business rather than just ways to keep all the computers running.

Rather than thinking of the IT department as the people that fix computers, it is best to think of the IT department as the people that help to keep the workforce productive. The IT department should have a slogan that speaks of productivity, when they're called they should be asked to help keep someone productive and they should be rewarded for keeping productivity alive at the company. Without them, nothing would get done.

Often, the IT department should be tasked with coming up with new ideas for the business. These ideas could range from redesigning the website in a fashion that brings more conversions and revenue to updating the computers with new PCIe expansion boxes. When the IT department is constantly coming up with ideas, they are more productive, more beneficial to the company and feel more like a part of the team.

Managing an IT department correctly can be extremely difficult because it's like they speak a different, technical language. The IT department should be its own division of the business. Rather than the IT department simply feeling like a nuisance, they should have their own division, their own manager and their own procedures and protocols. Allowing the IT department to create their own culture gives them a chance to be more productive and feel better about their work.

Often, IT can be seen as a part of the business that does not get to share in the spoils of the business' growth because the are not making products. However, allowing the IT department to share in the profits of the business will give them more reason to be productive and help in any way they can. Make sure that they are kept in the know when it comes to success of the business and not just shelved to the side.

Including the IT department in all aspects of the business is a much more proactive and wise way to manage them and the rest of the company. IT keeps people productive and helps a business thrive.