How to Manage Geeks
Value training., Keep overtime down., Give geeks the tools needed., Beware of over engineering., Expect at some stage to be asked by some of your geeks to "work remote."
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Value training.
If a boss thinks that training is a waste of money and expects you to teach yourself, you feel pretty demotivated in any job.
Training matters, especially in IT, and managers must realize that and budget for it.
Sometimes you get the argument that "if I give them training a competitor will hire them away." That may be true, but the alternative is to only have employees who are too unskilled to work anywhere else and your organization risks lagging behind other more enlightened ones.
Also, if you pay them well and have good benefits, they won't go somewhere else. -
Step 2: Keep overtime down.
Avoid taking the approach of wringing as much as possible out of IT employees just because you figure they don't lead a normal life.
Wrong! That’s a huge mistake and overworked geeks burn out or simply quit.
It's a complete myth that long work hours are good for business. , A fast computer may cost more money than an older one and it may not be corporate standard, but geeks use computers differently.
A slow computer lowers productivity and is a daily annoyance.
So is outdated software.
Give them the tools they need.
Understand that tools come in many forms.
Caffeine is considered a standard tool among geeks.
It's good to keep a supply of the caffeinated beverages your team prefers handy. , Geeks will tend to look for a classical and beautiful architecture, with built-in capacity for future changes.
They will tend to over engineer systems as opposed to wanting to bodge something together quickly, which is sometimes what's needed.
If you need a quick bodge, ask for it specifically, and accept at some point in the future, that bodge will need to be undone and the system re engineered. , This may terrify you initially but it's a valid expectation in a world where we're linked almost anywhere we go.
Not all geeks will be good at working remotely, so you'll need to know if they have the right personality, if the job they're doing can be supported this way and if the culture of your organization will be sufficiently supportive.
Consider trial periods with no promise of permanency as one option to at least give this a chance. -
Step 3: Give geeks the tools needed.
-
Step 4: Beware of over engineering.
-
Step 5: Expect at some stage to be asked by some of your geeks to "work remote."
Detailed Guide
If a boss thinks that training is a waste of money and expects you to teach yourself, you feel pretty demotivated in any job.
Training matters, especially in IT, and managers must realize that and budget for it.
Sometimes you get the argument that "if I give them training a competitor will hire them away." That may be true, but the alternative is to only have employees who are too unskilled to work anywhere else and your organization risks lagging behind other more enlightened ones.
Also, if you pay them well and have good benefits, they won't go somewhere else.
Avoid taking the approach of wringing as much as possible out of IT employees just because you figure they don't lead a normal life.
Wrong! That’s a huge mistake and overworked geeks burn out or simply quit.
It's a complete myth that long work hours are good for business. , A fast computer may cost more money than an older one and it may not be corporate standard, but geeks use computers differently.
A slow computer lowers productivity and is a daily annoyance.
So is outdated software.
Give them the tools they need.
Understand that tools come in many forms.
Caffeine is considered a standard tool among geeks.
It's good to keep a supply of the caffeinated beverages your team prefers handy. , Geeks will tend to look for a classical and beautiful architecture, with built-in capacity for future changes.
They will tend to over engineer systems as opposed to wanting to bodge something together quickly, which is sometimes what's needed.
If you need a quick bodge, ask for it specifically, and accept at some point in the future, that bodge will need to be undone and the system re engineered. , This may terrify you initially but it's a valid expectation in a world where we're linked almost anywhere we go.
Not all geeks will be good at working remotely, so you'll need to know if they have the right personality, if the job they're doing can be supported this way and if the culture of your organization will be sufficiently supportive.
Consider trial periods with no promise of permanency as one option to at least give this a chance.
About the Author
Ruth Cole
Committed to making cooking accessible and understandable for everyone.
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