An IT department is one of the latest additions to every business’s basic corporate structure. Even so, an IT team is one of the most critical teams in the whole organization, even if your business isn’t IT-related.
As long as you use computers, have a corporate network, and share data between different departments, you’ll need a good IT team. With that said, how can you recognize if your IT department is dragging you down? Let’s find out!
5 Top Signs Your IT Team Might Be Dragging You Down
Reactive VS Proactive Approach
Every IT department has to develop a strategy to ensure that all the organization’s IT needs are met. If your business is like any other, it will grow and evolve.
Your IT team has to account for that growth by developing a strategy that will accommodate your growth and allow your other departments to operate smoothly as far as computers and networking go.
If your IT team is constantly on the back foot and reacting to your growth instead of preparing for it in advance, they might be dragging you down. A team without a set strategy is a team that is driving blind.
Inability to Maintain Basic Networks
If there’s one thing that will grind even the most basic organization to a screeching halt, it’s a poorly maintained network.
Depending on how your business is set up, there is a chance that each department is storing all of its important data on a single stack of servers. If these servers go down any time, your business can no longer operate normally.
Server and network maintenance are the most basic elements of any IT work. If your team isn’t capable of meeting such basic performance norms, it might be time to overhaul the entire department.
If you’d like to see more on this subject, IT professionals from Orbis Solutions offer great insight. Finding a team that can meet your company’s basic needs is the minimum you should settle for.
Inability to Solve Problems Within Reasonable Deadlines
Running a tight ship in IT terms means being able to solve issues on the fly. That being said, there comes a time when your team will be presented with a true challenge — a significant crisis that the company’s fate might be in question.
We’re talking backup fails before system failures, all kinds of network issues, a server that won’t boot up, you name it.
Every situation is different, so it’s imperative that your team is capable of critical thinking and has the necessary problem-solving skills to take on any challenge.
If they can’t, your organization is in trouble.
More importantly, you’ll be in even more trouble if they can’t handle challenges promptly. Ensure that your IT team is up to the task and consists of individuals who know what they’re doing.
The Lack of Leadership
Every team has a vertical and lateral structure.
No matter how friendly your employees are with each other, there has to be a clear delegation of responsibilities, which implies a leadership position. A leader is essential for any team, including an IT one.
The lack of leadership is enough to break whatever cohesion within the team and reduce the entire IT department to a level of performance that no longer meets the minimum requirements of your organization.
If you’re looking to build a strong in-house IT team, make sure that the head of IT is a person who is both knowledgeable in the field of IT, but also someone who will take responsibility for their department’s success and failures.
Accountability and ownership are traits that any leader should have, including leading your IT team.
Get Your IT Department Sorted Out On Time
Pushing problems under the rug is never the right answer. If you notice that your IT team is underperforming and is developing trends that are going against your organization’s long-term goals, don’t wait.
You must recognize the issues and find solutions before the situation gets out of hand.
If your IT department is working smoothly and delivering results, you’re giving every other department within the organization a solid foundation for its success.
There’s nothing worse than dealing with slow computers or intermittent network access when you’re on a deadline and have to deliver work to a client. They say that a good IT team is the one you never have to call. There’s some truth to that.
