the firm’s success is defined by a completely different set of metrics, one that the technical staff rarely understands or even cares about.

When I read this I had to agree with it. I too get usually that same feeling. It is easy for technical staff to get distracted by the latest and greatest changes in technology. Would you rather spend your day on finding more efficient tapes for the backup system, instead of evaluating the usefulness of the iPhone in your division? I know I’d prefer the novelty. Problem is, the firm’s success is defined by a completely different set of metrics, one that the technical staff rarely understands or even cares about.

If the IT culture is not aligned with the business (by the way, when are we going to recognize that IT is an integral part of the business?) then problems like us-versus-them attitude, unstructured process, or even worse, too much bureaucracy, where the process is so cumbersome that people avoid IT and nothing gets done), or a mentality that IT works in a firefighting mode, just rushing to find workarounds instead of fixing the root cause of the problems.

What to do about this? I can think of a few things that are effective to bridge this cultural gap:

1.  Exchange of ideas (Intrateam workshops)

Establish a routine of team collaboration and ideas exchange. For example, once a month have a guest from another team. Ask her to talk to your team about what she does, how she interacts with IT, and what are the most critical technical problems she faces it. This will help the IT staff to understand what others do in the firm, while providing other teams’ members to feel closer to the IT staff. Common understanding of each other’s roles and challenges improves the culture and breaks the barriers that may exist.

2.  Common goals, common metrics

Make sure the goals for the IT department are in alignment with the main business goals. Then, define metrics that help you lead your team to reach them. Constantly, remind your staff of the organization’s mission, and when approached by your staff to make decisions, think out loudly “How does this fit in our Mission?”

3.  Periodical reporting

Generate a monthly or quarterly report of activities and achievements by the IT department. Make sure each maps to at least one of the organization’s goals (otherwise, why did you do it?), and mention what divisions benefit from them. Make sure the heads of all divisions receive it. Ask them for feedback. Show them that IT is there to help, to be a team player. You can use a simple table like this:

2009-Q4 Activities Report, IT Division

4.  Targeted research

Make sure you allocate targeted research time for the IT staff. By targeted research I mean that you as the IT head approve the type of research projects that are started, and request the team member provides an explanation of how and why this is important for the corporation. They must understand that this research and its findings will be made available to the organization, and that maybe a brown-bag presentation will be requested.

Also, propose a couple of topics where you want to see some improvement (use the feedback you got from the divisions’ head when you sent them the periodical reports, and from the Suggestions box), and ask for volunteers to work on them.

By presenting the results to the rest of the organization, others will have the chance to see how creative and talented your staff is, and will start proposing more topics for research.

5.  More milestones, shorter projects

A common issue is that projects run for too long. The technical staff is, usually, looking for new things. By continuously working on the same thing for months in a row you increase the chance of people leaving. Work in conjunction with your Project Management Office – PMO (If you don’t have a PMO in place, contact Alec Satin, PMP right away), to approach long projects in a phased approach. When possible, allocate some break time between phases so the staff gets a chance to work on something else.

6.  Suggestions box

The ol’ Suggestions box is a valid tool, if used correctly. Setup an inbox where people can submit anything they want anonymously (to make sure it is anonymous, create a public accessible form that emails you the suggestion, contact me if you want to more details about how to accomplish this). Take every suggestion seriously, focus on what it is said/requested, and don’t waste time trying to figure out who sent it. This feedback is priceless, but people will only use it if they see you handle it correctly and positive changes come out of it.

Post from: Strategic IT Planning Blog, by Andres Vivas.

Is your IT Team’s Culture Aligned with the Business?

Technorati Tags: Business Strategy, Culture, IT Strategy, Metrics, PMO