In most of corporate America, variable pay
based on performance, including a system of one time payments
(dare I say “bonuses”?), is the norm. Granted,
governments do typically offer more job stability, and that can
usually be an effective lever to pull to negotiate a lower
salary in hiring someone. But if the pay system doesn’t
appear comparable to the private sector, then your IT leader is
at a significant disadvantage in retaining qualified people.
And, if your IT organization can’t retain qualified
people, then your entire enterprise will suffer. In light of
how IT has become integral to most basic governmental services
(what governmental services don’t require a computer in
some form or fashion anymore?), if you can’t retain your
qualified IT staff, you’ve built your house on shifting
sand.
Idea #4: Commit Significant Training
Dollars to IT Staff Training. If you accept the reasoning in
Idea #3, then this one is not much of an intellectual leap, for
the logic regarding pay systems also applies to training. It
must be comparable to what is occurring in the private sector,
and it is necessary
for employee retention. But, also, consider this—in what other professional field is someone required to be completely retooled every eight to
for employee retention. But, also, consider this—in what other professional field is someone required to be completely retooled every eight to
ten years? If the IT world is a black box
to you, then this point may have little impact. However, I have
observed in my 25 plus years in the IT discipline, the
retooling of technical skills has been required at least three
times. In the early 1980s, computing was mainframe centric,
with a unique set of skills required to write programs, process
data files, and operate computers. By 1990, new skill sets were
required for systems that took advantage of PCs and servers
(often referred to as “client-server” systems). The
new technology of “relational databases” was
widespread, and new programming languages were introduced. Now,
in the early twenty first century, we see the move to Web based
technologies, taking advantage of intelligent networks and the
Internet Protocol. My point is this: over three fourths of what
I had to learn and know to be effective in each of these
evolutionary stages I’ve had to forget, and be willing to
forget! This is an accepted way of life for someone in IT. If
you want an effective IT organization, you need an effective IT
staff. You must recognize that ongoing retraining and retooling
both are the nature of the beast. My target is to budget at
least $3K per staff person per year