This research will help you determine what skills will be most valuable to your IT group and pull together a customized plan.

Vendor Research

IBM announced a series of significant PartnerWorld program changes to be fully implemented by October 2010. These changes are aimed at simplifying the program, de-emphasizing revenue, and focusing on the mid-market. Current IBM partners must...

Tool

Use this tool to map employees to the roles they perform. Estimate the number of employees needed to meet present or future workloads and identify where the organization is experiencing a staffing shortfall.

IT technical specialists need the opportunity for career options besides the people management track, that recognizes their technical skills and seniority.

Template/Policy

Regular and formal performance reviews are critical to maintaining overall productivity of your staff. Every organization has a unique method of administering performance appraisals, but many are based on a few simple templates. A commonly used...

Template/Policy

Regular and formal performance reviews are critical to maintaining overall productivity and improvement of managers. Every organization has a unique method of administering performance appraisals, but many are based on a few simple templates.

Note

The performance appraisal space is a mess of opinions, tactics, best practices and theories. If you are updating your current performance appraisal program or creating one from scratch, determining what opinions and tactics to adopt is a...

Tool

Using objectivity when deciding who and where to cut is nearly impossible. This tool will assist you in identifying cut candidates as objectively as possible, while ensuring that all required IT roles are covered to continue operations...

This solution set will help you anticipate skills shortage risks and lay a foundation for filling potential gaps.

Earning the respect of technical people takes strategy, especially when you're starting a new IT leadership position. Without credibility, it will be extremely difficult to influence your team and move the IT department forward. Follow...

Sometimes, when a manager wants something done right, they think they have to do it themselves. They take a project from their subordinates and work all weekend to get it back on track. Then they baby-sit their staff to make sure they get the...

Layoffs are intended to dramatically cut labor costs, not as an excuse to finally take care of problem staff. Assess the factors involved in making layoff decisions and ensure these factors are objectively prioritized to minimize risk.

In-demand IT skills change from year to year, but demand for business understanding and soft skills will not go out of vogue. Recruit and train skills that will advance enterprise strategy and augment the bottom line.

IT managers from small organizations shouldn't feel intimidated going into a contract negotiation, even when negotiating with large vendors. Small enterprises can approach negotiations like the pros by carefully reviewing the contract proposed...

Tool

This tool is designed to help organizations determine top tactics for cost reduction within the internal IT administration area. After the questions have been completed, the tool will generate guidance on what cost-saving actions to take, the...

Layoffs are intended to dramatically cut labor costs, not as an excuse to finally take care of problem staff. Assess the factors involved in making decisions about who has to go and ensure these factors are objectively prioritized to minimize...

According to a recent study from Info-Tech Research Group, IT leaders view poor job performance as the top factor when determining whether to lay off staff. However, this betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of layoffs.

Before entering into contract negotiations with a selected vendor, IT needs to be well-prepared in order to achieve a successful deal. Learn how to review the contract proposed by the vendor, as well as assemble a strong negotiation team with...

Premium Resource

The purpose of the Performance Measurement and Professional Development section is to gather performance feedback, at regular intervals, and to apply that feedback as a component in the professional development program.

Tool

Focusing cost-reduction efforts on internal IT administration services provides quick cost savings. However, it is important to supplement short-term tactics with mid and long-term follow-ups. The techniques provided in this note, as well as the...

(By Info-Tech Analyst Russ Conwath- Printed with permission from Processor magazine www.processor.com). In an ever more competitive job market, there are a number of factors that differentiate one candidate from another. For those entering...

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A flagging economy eventually forces some hard decisions when it comes to IT staff. How does IT remain able to respond to changing business needs with fewer staff? Learn how agile your IT staff truly is with this measurement tool.

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Employees are assets, and the skills they hold are important tools that must be documented, tracked, and assessed in order to be effectively leveraged. Use this tool to list and rate IT's skill set arsenal, identify what's missing, and plan for...

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Employee skills are assets that must be carefully accounted for and managed in order for them to be effectively leveraged. Use this inventory tool to document IT's skills arsenal, identify gaps, and plan for future needs.

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Reducing headcount is a mentally and emotionally challenging task under any circumstance. Use this tool to take a systematic, skills-focused approach to making staff reduction decisions.

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Making staff reductions is not only an emotionally challenging task, but also one wrought with uncertainty and risk for error. This risk is magnified when time frames for reductions are short. Follow a structured and objective method for...

Note

Layoffs can result in a large-scale reorganization of the IT department. Coordinating the details of who will handle what going forward may feel rather like putting together a puzzle with too many pieces. While no tried-and-true method exists,...

Note

Job descriptions are important management documents that set expectations, accountabilities, and other requirements for job performance. Use this template to document role requirements in detail.

Note

End users display a diverse range of IT skills. Use this assessment tool to identify end-user skill levels and determine if they have the knowledge to act as resident experts.

Note

Power users are advanced, technically-savvy users that have a great personal interest in technology. These individuals are an untapped resource that, if leveraged properly, can extend IT support to the front lines. To improve desktop...