Every man at the wheel who manages an IT team wants to get impressive results. However, we must not forget that team members are not robots who can constantly show high performance and do their job 24 hours a day. Managers need to monitor the mood of the team, and their morale, use modern working methods, and also introduce innovations that will increase motivation.
This is extremely important because challenges in the IT department can lead to serious consequences for every company and business. The low level of efficiency leads to numerous failures and also disrupts important business processes.
Sitting still and only raising your voice at your team members, demanding from them unsurpassed performance, will not lead to anything good. The work of IT specialists is innately difficult and monotonous, so managers need to find ways to improve performance.
We will cover what every IT department manager should take note of to see performance improvement in the shortest possible time.
Effective methods
Talk about the importance of the work of employees for the company
Most leaders, working with their team on various projects, tell team members about the specific goals and results they need to achieve. Employees receive tasks that they need to complete without always understanding how valuable they are to the business.
You should focus not only on the details of the project or tasks, but your team members should understand what effect it will have on the business. They will understand how they contribute to the development of the company and attracting new customers.
In addition, IT specialists are interested not only in their contribution to the company but also in their career advancement. Therefore, you should not only distribute tasks for all specialists but also give individual tasks. They will understand that they receive such tasks because their experience and skills will help to achieve outstanding results. Managers, in turn, can use the task planner, where they can assign tasks to employees and monitor their progress.
Implement modern tools for work
Every month there are more and more software and online tools that help employees with different tasks. There are a huge number of tools for IT departments that turn out to be indispensable in their work. However, you can often see that the management of companies is slowly introducing new tools into the work. Because of this, the productivity of employees can be significantly reduced.
Now many applications and services help automate most of the tasks. This helps to take the load off the team members and relieve them of the daily monotony. Managers need to keep track of new tools on the market that are suitable for use in IT departments. Moreover, it doesn’t hurt to listen to the advice of your team members, who may come up with new tools they’d like to introduce.
Set appropriate KPIs
Companies need to achieve excellent performance levels for the business to thrive. To do this, department heads set performance metrics for teams. If managers monitor the performance of their department, then specialists strive to achieve good performance, because they understand that for this they will be rewarded in the form of bonuses or salary increases. This motivates them to do their job quickly and flawlessly.
However, managers often set inadequate performance metrics, making goals difficult to achieve. In such cases, when, having assessed their capabilities and skills, employees realize that they are unlikely to achieve high performance, they lose the desire to strive for more.
Monitor the emotional health of your team
A hectic pace of work helps a business grow, but it can negatively impact employee morale as well as productivity. Often, IT specialists work in emergency mode, because they often have to deal with bugs, hacks, and so on. Such tension can lead to increased stress levels, which in the long run will lead to burnout of your team.
A good IT manager is not only someone who can streamline business processes but also someone who cares about his team. You should make it a habit to take small breaks for your team. Every time you finish work on a project or after a hard week of work, you can arrange evenings for communication and relaxation with your team. These can be field trips, corporate events, simple meetings in a bar, or team-building activities. In this way, you will contribute to not reaching the very minimum of productivity, and your team members will understand that the company appreciates them.
Don’t get used to micromanagement
Micromanagement in the IT department can be compared to overprotective parents who watch their children’s every move. If you want to have a healthy team capable of achieving good results, you are unlikely to succeed if you follow every step of your employees.
This is especially evident in moments of crisis for the team or during periods of significant changes in the work of the department. Your task is to guide and manage your team, showing in which direction they need to move. Your team members need to adapt at their own pace, and not worry every time you stand over their backs. Because of this, the level of tension and discomfort in the team can increase, which will lead to discord in the team. Therefore, you should not get used to micromanagement. You cannot help but control your team, but you should do so in a way that does not cause discomfort.
Motivate deepening skills
The IT sphere is associated with innovations. Good IT specialists are those who expand and deepen their knowledge. Instead of having a turnover because your team members lack new knowledge, you can make the team grow in the workplace.
To do this, you need to think about how to conduct corporate seminars, webinars, training, and so on. Organize professional events that will help your IT specialists gain new knowledge. This is useful not only for productivity but also for changing routines that can ruin your team’s morale.
Conclusion
Persistent leadership in the IT department will not lead to good performance, especially in the long run. IT professionals work in a stressful environment, so department heads need to maintain a healthy work environment, and professional development of team members, and avoid burnout. In addition, IT departments must keep up with the times, which is possible with the use of modern programs and tools.