Do You Misunderstand Your IT Staff's Duties?

Companies and organisations task their IT departments to fortify and expedite internal processes and proceedings. These departments are often relied upon to perform heavily technologically based jobs requiring a level of technical skill that most people not only do not have, but also do not understand. According to a poll conducted by recruitment website Jobsite, there is a troubled feeling shared by IT professionals pertaining to the acknowledgement and perception of their job.

Of those surveyed, 67% revealed that they felt their colleagues did not appreciate the complexity and difficulty of their work. The problem stems from the overall lack of understanding about what IT staff actually do. Some colleagues cannot fix their own basic IT problems, so there is a big disconnect when it comes to understanding the specific tasks of IT staff.

The work of IT personnel often goes largely unnoticed. Companies rely on them to keep things moving smoothly from a technological standpoint, and those benefiting tend to give little praise because expeditious technical tasks are expected and perceived as the uniform standard. It is when something goes wrong that IT staff get recognition, thus their very best work goes unnoticed because they are more associated with fixing system problems instead of general system upkeep.

From business models to future strategies, IT staff are expected to have an understanding of the company they work for and yet employers often do not have a grasp on IT staff strategies or processes. This imbalance of expectations adds to the disconnect between IT staff and other colleagues. Companies and organisations should take the time to educate the average office worker in the breadth of skills and tasks that IT departments have and handle. This would create a wealth of communication among colleagues and build a feeling of acknowledgement and appreciation between departments.