Further evidence was published today supporting the business case for developing appropriate soft skills in IT teams. Bob Jones (IDG) states that without developing appropriate communication and networking skills departments will struggle with staff retention and succession planning (see when soft becomes hard for IT - Fiona Bates).
However, implementing change and upskilling staff to develop, implement and review skills sets requires a thorough understanding of what the business needs, what is currently in place and a plan to ensure that implementation becomes entrenched in the culture of the department.
Plan, audit, implement, review - by following each stage and spending time developing an appropriate strategy for your staff will ensure that skills are used, changes implemented and informal learning becomes ingrained in the departmental culture.
Friday, 11 July 2008
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Focus on people training.....
Advice from Paul Coby speaking last week at the IT Forum EMEA. Paul, CIO at British Airways was speaking about the importance of people in large scale projects such at T5.
"When you launch a project of the scale of T5, focus on people training. Train everyone to where you think they should be then triple it."
He identifies the need for people to have the skills to pull off the projects and highlights the importance of embedding those skills.
The move towards "business technology" as opposed to Information Technology will require a shift in the skills but also the attitudes within IT departments and their staff. A move, that, if it is to be successful, will require a process that supports change as well as delivering training on new skills.
Much of the requirement will not be technical - it will require technical staff to think and act from a strongly business centered focus. Developing these skills will require more than a training course in communication.
The learning and change process will need to become part and parcel of the departmental culture, supporting individuals to adopt new methods and to deploy them successfully will require a blended approach to ensure success.
CIOs will need to become champions of change, be open to and willing to face the challenges of change and to gain buy-in and to support their teams. They will need effective and appropriate methods to develop those skills and implement then successfully.
In short, get the buy in, train them, triple it and then follow up and support the implementation process, evaluate and support at each stage, tackle blocks head on and celebrate success.
Building the IT department of the future will require commitment at all levels but the effort will ensure success and implementation in the long term.
"When you launch a project of the scale of T5, focus on people training. Train everyone to where you think they should be then triple it."
He identifies the need for people to have the skills to pull off the projects and highlights the importance of embedding those skills.
The move towards "business technology" as opposed to Information Technology will require a shift in the skills but also the attitudes within IT departments and their staff. A move, that, if it is to be successful, will require a process that supports change as well as delivering training on new skills.
Much of the requirement will not be technical - it will require technical staff to think and act from a strongly business centered focus. Developing these skills will require more than a training course in communication.
The learning and change process will need to become part and parcel of the departmental culture, supporting individuals to adopt new methods and to deploy them successfully will require a blended approach to ensure success.
CIOs will need to become champions of change, be open to and willing to face the challenges of change and to gain buy-in and to support their teams. They will need effective and appropriate methods to develop those skills and implement then successfully.
In short, get the buy in, train them, triple it and then follow up and support the implementation process, evaluate and support at each stage, tackle blocks head on and celebrate success.
Building the IT department of the future will require commitment at all levels but the effort will ensure success and implementation in the long term.
Monday, 9 June 2008
Forget the credit crunch.....
IT is facing an equally worrying talent crunch over the next 3 years. A recent study sponsored by SAP has again identified the two trends of the moment in terms of IT Management:
- staff are getting harder to find and keep
- organisations are struggling to find the soft skills they require such as communication and managerial skills - rather than the technical skill sets.
This combined with an ongoing need to meet customer expectations and align IT strategy to business goals (as discussed here previously) demonstrates that departments must now focus on developing their existing talent for the future, and furnishing both the skills and the departmental culture for success.
A closer examination of the process of development can be found at http://www.optimiset-d.co.uk/resources/ .
Further details of the research are available at http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/06/03/230926/sap-warns-of-talent-crunch-in-three-years.htm
Thursday, 29 May 2008
The IT department v.2...
will have a human face, according to Carl Bate (Chief Technology Officer - Cap Gemini). Bates, speaking to Compiter Weekly will need to change dramatically over the coming years to meet the new ways in which technology will be used by customers.
Bate cites three maim trends fuelling this change:
Bate cites three maim trends fuelling this change:
- A move towards software as a service
- Increased connectivity
- Blending of people and technology
Bate further argues that it will be the human or soft skills that will be most important for the technical expert of the future. In short, IT departments will need to develop leadership, communication and team skills to stay ahead of the game.
The full podcast can be found at Computer Weekly
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Working Longer, Working Smarter?
The TUC recently announced that 5 million employees are working unpaid over time in the UK; this is an increase on the 2006 figures of 103,000. The average overtime worked each week is 7 hours 6 minutes, rising to 7 hours and 54 minutes in London. According to Brendan Barber (TUC General Secretary) “Britain’s long hours culture is enjoying a renaissance”. (1)
So is this good news for business? Employees are working longer for no extra cash – at first glance it may seem quite a good deal. However, a look at some of the costs of the long hours culture suggests otherwise.
As mentioned in a previous article the number of days lost through sickness absence as a direct result of stress stood at 13.8 million in 2006/7 – this equates to approximately 30.2 days lost per stress related absence. (2)
Added to days lost through illness are a range of other findings that demonstrate that overworked, stressed out staff do not perform effectively, lose motivation and commitment, have a negative perception of their organisation and indeed leave! Previous research findings include:
So is this good news for business? Employees are working longer for no extra cash – at first glance it may seem quite a good deal. However, a look at some of the costs of the long hours culture suggests otherwise.
As mentioned in a previous article the number of days lost through sickness absence as a direct result of stress stood at 13.8 million in 2006/7 – this equates to approximately 30.2 days lost per stress related absence. (2)
Added to days lost through illness are a range of other findings that demonstrate that overworked, stressed out staff do not perform effectively, lose motivation and commitment, have a negative perception of their organisation and indeed leave! Previous research findings include:
- 61% of employees reported a negative consequence in their personal life as a direct result of working longer hours (Mental Health Trust, 2003) (3)
- Correlations have been identified between working long hours and the amount of time spent worrying about work related issues in personal time. (Mental Health Trust, 2003) (3)
- 80% of workers feel that they cannot cope with the demands placed on them at times (24-7 Survey, 2007) (4)
- Workers who are stressed are nine times more likely to make a mistake than those that are not. (24-7 Survey, 2007) (4)
- Working long hours is not helping productivity – the UK still has lower productivity levels than Germany, France and the United States (5)
So in all it would seem that if we are to be effective, productive and well we may need to find different ways of working – both as organisations and individuals. The future will require us to work smarter rather than harder!
References:
1. Figures from TUC research. Available at: www.tuc.org.uk/work_life/tuc-11180-f0.cfm>
2. Health and Safety Executive. Available at: www.hse.gov.uk/stress/why.htm.
3. Whose life is it anyway? Report on the findings of the Mental Health Foundation. Available at: .Whose life is it anyway?>
4. Working Flat out and Feeling Fed Up - Summary results for the 24-7 Survey 2007.
Available at: ”http://www.worklifebalancecentre.org/main-epr-mar07.pdf”
5. Policy Analysis – UK productivity during the Blair Era. – Available at: ”http://cep.lse.ac.uk/briefings/pa_uk_productivity.pdf”
Friday, 1 February 2008
Why Women Cry at Work
An exploratory study investigating the reasons why women cry at work has been presented at the British Psychological Society's 2008 Division of Occupational Psychology Conference. The research, undertaken by Yasmin Yaghmour and Dr. Gail Kinman of the University of Bedfordshire, found that the reasons for women crying at work include:
The study also suggests that women make great effort to avoid crying at work, especially when in public facing roles.
Women reported feeling ashamed when they did cry in the workplace, perceiving that it reinforces negative stereotypes and makes them appear weak or incompetent to colleagues. Ms. Yaghmour goes on to state that "feeling empowered and in control in the workplace seems vital for women to feel professional and competent".
The research is another interesting finding that relates to the emerging body of work examining the links between work, emotional labour and well-being.
- Feeling out of control
- Feeling vulnerable due to a build up of stress
- Being overwhelmed by feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger
The study also suggests that women make great effort to avoid crying at work, especially when in public facing roles.
Women reported feeling ashamed when they did cry in the workplace, perceiving that it reinforces negative stereotypes and makes them appear weak or incompetent to colleagues. Ms. Yaghmour goes on to state that "feeling empowered and in control in the workplace seems vital for women to feel professional and competent".
The research is another interesting finding that relates to the emerging body of work examining the links between work, emotional labour and well-being.
Management competencies to prevent and manage workplace stress
Recent research undertaken by the HSE and CIPD suggests that there are competency based behaviours that managers should develop to prevent and manage stress within their teams and organisations.
This emerging research highlights the importance of the manager’s ability to identify and respond to their team effectively. Positive engagement with the four competency areas both prevents as well as reduces reported stress within teams.
The bottom line
In 2006 -2007 a total of 13.8 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression and anxiety (source HSE: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/why.htm ) - the cost to business being huge.
Investment in developing competencies in managers that both prevent and mediate stress within the workplace reduces the cost of sickness absence, increases motivation, morale and productivity and reduces staff turnover - all of which impact heavily on the bottom line and thus profitability.
Phase 1 of the research is available from:
www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr553.htm
For further information regarding management development and competencies please email enquiries@optimiset-d.co.uk
Phase 1 of the research identified 19 competencies that, when exhibited by managers, prevent and mediate stress within teams. Initial findings from phase 2 of the study have now refined these initial competencies into four main areas:
- Managing Emotions
- Managing and communicating existing and future work
- Managing difficult situations
- Managing individuals within the team.
This emerging research highlights the importance of the manager’s ability to identify and respond to their team effectively. Positive engagement with the four competency areas both prevents as well as reduces reported stress within teams.
The bottom line
In 2006 -2007 a total of 13.8 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression and anxiety (source HSE: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/why.htm ) - the cost to business being huge.
Investment in developing competencies in managers that both prevent and mediate stress within the workplace reduces the cost of sickness absence, increases motivation, morale and productivity and reduces staff turnover - all of which impact heavily on the bottom line and thus profitability.
Phase 1 of the research is available from:
www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr553.htm
For further information regarding management development and competencies please email enquiries@optimiset-d.co.uk
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