Struggling to get high level IT skills? Try this
For many small to medium-sized enterprises, securing top quality, high level IT skills is difficult.
It might be easy to find someone who can do your PC support and IT network support, fixing problems with PCs, printers and other equipment. But they’ll rarely have the understanding necessary to make the right software, hardware and service purchasing decisions, or deal with a serious cyber security issue or ransomware problem.
They are unlikely to be able to take a strategic view on the best way to tackle business problems with IT or prioritise developments to suit business needs. They may not be capable of deciding what’s needed for a disaster recovery plan, particularly as cloud services change the data landscape.
However, small businesses often won’t be able to afford the salary levels that experienced IT managers and directors require.
But there is a solution.
Engaging an IT solutions and services company means you can access the high level, strategic IT knowledge you require without the drain of a full-time salary. Having someone come in and assess your requirements and lay out a tech strategy to match your business strategy can be done on a part-time basis; you only pay for the time you need.
The number of days each week or month will drop as your flexible IT director takes a back seat and project manages everything. The work can be undertaken by your existing staff, other contractors, perhaps a service provider, or the company that provided the director.
You get the skills and experience you need, with business understanding and accountability, for a fraction of the cost of a full-time IT director.
Worked example
An online fashion retailer with around 40 employees in a combined office and warehouse space had an IT technician who was perfectly adept at maintaining and fixing the existing IT infrastructure. The managing director knew what was possible with the technology at their fingertips – websites, social media, Magento, Zendesk and Peoplevox – but knew he wasn’t the right person to bolt everything together properly and keep it running.
After advertising for an IT manager at salaries around £25k to £30k and not finding the skills he needed, he hired a consultant IT director. This person was with them for three days a week initially, while he got to know the business, strategy and IT needs.
Once the initial problems were resolved he worked on a strategy with the MD and after the second month dropped down to two days a week. Turnover doubled in the first six months and by then the consultant was only working one day a week, so the return on investment was immense.
Could we help?
Talk to CARA about how we can boost your company to the next level. As well as bringing high level experience to your board we can design your strategy, implement it and even support it once it’s running. We’ll put in as much or as little as you are comfortable with.
You get to focus on what you do best: running your business. Get in touch today – there’s no obligation.
