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Hi Guys,

Ive just been Promoted guys to the IT Manager and I’m looking for some advice on people management, recruitment, creating job descriptions, ads and any great policies, processes you could advice.

As we will be recruiting a Desktop Support Analyst.

I work for a company of about 100 users and will be managing a team of four ranging from an apprentice to mid level engineer!

“Puts thinking cap on in expectation”

Thanks Spiceheads!

83 Spice ups
2

Congratulations.

Here’s a tip:

“Remember, its nice to be important, but its more important to be nice.”

88 Spice ups
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If you’re the boss, be the boss that you would want to have. Be honest, be fair and listen to your colleagues. If they respect you, you’re more than 1/2 way there.

55 Spice ups
4

This is a good read for a new manager:

13 Spice ups
5

“If you’re the boss, be the boss that you would want to have.”

This is great advice and it’s something that everyone in management consider. Otherwise, if you already have a framework in place from a previous IT Manager use that as a starting point. If you’re starting from scratch like I did then you’ll have a bit of trial and error before you have everything in hand. Also remember, that you don’t have to do everything. Let your people help they will appreciate the ability to grow professionally.

18 Spice ups
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If you’ve never managed people before, I’d suggest you ask your employer if you can go on some courses. There’s an excellent NVQ series on Management.

9 Spice ups
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basically don’t forget what it was like to be a tech/sys admin now that your management.

13 Spice ups
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Congrads.

2 Spice ups
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I use to be in low level management. Here are somethings I can say won’t work. Don’t try to change things right away or too much at once. This is the biggest mistake all new managers make. There will be employees who will challenge your authority. Do not react negatively to these employees. They feed off of it. Finally, expect to work more than you have ever worked before. There will be those who think you are not doing as much as you use to. This is a common issue. You are now responsible for the bigger picture and not so much of the details (though don’t ignore the details). It doesn’t hurt to get into the trenches when you need to but you need to know how to delegate. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of those under you.

22 Spice ups
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First of all, congratulations!

I’d consider myself more of a “team leader” than a manager because we such a small group of IT staff (3 total), but being in charge has certainly taught me a few things. First of all, I always ask for the team’s opinions. I don’t ever want it to feel like their input or ideas wouldn’t be as good or as important as mine. If I ever thought or acted that way, I’d hope the team would mutiny and teach me a lesson. The most important thing I’ve found to help me be successful is to have the lines of communication always open.

Don’t be afraid to delegate projects, even important ones, if you have too much on your plate and you have a competent team that can handle it. Not only are you helping yourself, but you’re helping to instill confidence and give experience to important members of your team. As the head of the team, you’re only as good as the support holding you up. Don’t forget this, and always remember to point out the good and reward it, and constructively criticize the bad, while offering ideas on how to correct it, or how the situation could have been better handled.

Also, don’t forget the real reason we’re all here in the first place - end users. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have the wonderful jobs that we have. Always be polite, courteous, and as helpful as possible. If you have the support of your team and the users that you support, you’ll be in great shape.

Congratulation again on the promotion, and best of luck to you and your team going forward!

10 Spice ups
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congratulations, i found writing job descriptions to be a huge tool in identifying what each position is responsible for, we googled job tiltes and used a combination of results to write descriptions.

I also found creating processes, especially for re-occuring type of support is quite helpful. we also will write small Knowledge base type documents when we experience a task such as username password to access admin section of a program or a kb article that explains a fix or a process for a new hire with a checklist, so we can refer to it in the future.

Stay involved with your people and be willing to be flexible

3 Spice ups
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And never ask your staff to do anything that you would not do yourself.

11 Spice ups
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Always remember this…

boss-vs-leader-800x800.png
boss-vs-leader-800x800.png900×900 773 KB
93 Spice ups
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Here’s my tips as an IT Manager:

  • You lead by serving your team, not the other way around.
  • Delegate so that they can learn the things that got you where you are.
  • And most of all you (or your company) hired them for a reason, trust them to do the work.
  • When it comes to hiring, take your time and hire the best fit, as long as someone has a basic skill set and aptitude you can teach them technological specifics, you can’t teach fit. Good luck.
17 Spice ups
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When you make a mistake, admit to it.

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  • Delegate as much as possible.

  • Reward good work, give praise when appropriate and celebrate success as soon as you can.

  • Find out what makes your staff tic.

  • Lead by example

  • Plan, plan, plan then plan some more

  • Shield team from internal politics

  • keep staff involved and up to date with company strategy.

  • Set individual objectives to compliment your organizational ones. (have a direction).

  • Build alliances with other company decision makers.

  • Build your team by adhering to the above.

Tony6900 - love the graphic - so true!

14 Spice ups
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You must rule with an iron fist if you want everyone to quit.

If you want to be amazing - help them be the best they can by allowing time for training (Free resources like microsoft virtual acc) or better yet - pay for training.

Be the kind of leader that sticks up for your team.

9 Spice ups
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I have been growing from a supervisor to a manager (of half a person!) over the past few years but have finally been officially made a manager. I’m the kind of person who likes to read and find out about everything I can that’s out there so I can begin to develop my own way of doing things, so when I was officially made a manager, I looked around and tried some podcasts among other things. I found these guys:

http://www.manager-tools.com/

…and I’m obsessed with them. I’ve learned hundreds of useful pointers, ways of relating to people, ways of understanding how people communicate, and how to go about managing the people who work for you. The podcasts could be seen as long-winded, but I see it as taking the time to get the hang of and explore the tips they’re giving you. I have honestly listened to hundreds of hours of these things, they have the whole archive available for free, but a good place to start is the basics feed, here:

http://www.manager-tools.com/manager-tools-basics

I have taken pages and pages of notes from these, but they also offer a paid model where the notes are available for you. I do not work for, or have any affiliation with, Manager Tools in any way, I promise, but I have been so impressed with what I’ve learned in a few months that I wish everyone in my company would listen to them. It has honestly completely transformed how I see my role, my department, and how I relate to other departments and team members. I’m naturally shy but I have learned tips for how to relate to more outgoing people, and how to phrase things so that they grab the attention of the listener rather than communicating in my normal style which doesn’t work for everyone. I could go on, and I should probably stop. I’m not a fan of management theory (I have a course on it in the next few weeks, and I’m not looking forward to it) but these guys are so full of real behaviours that you can start trying out straight away that I’m seeing stuff differently already.

I know this sounds gushing, and I hate that, it’s really not me, but I just don’t know how to put across how amazed I’ve been at how much I’ve learned. I’m even using some of the techniques with my 4-year-old (the communication techniques, I’m not doing annual reviews with her or anything!). I really would recommend them. Can you tell? :slight_smile:

8 Spice ups
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Everyone above covered up most of the important stuff. I just got one- Bacon treat to your fellow mates.

4 Spice ups
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Never ask something of someone you are not willing to do yourself.

Learn everyone’s names, their wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, moms, etc names. Remembering little personal things about employees and asking about their loved ones (like bdays etc) makes them feel like they are not a number and shows them that you take the time to learn about them instead of just thinking of the job they perform. Some of the most successful people in the world start their day by greeting and asking about family etc from everyone every morning as they make their way to their office.

When something goes wrong show everyone you are more concerned with finding a solution than appointing the blame.

Encourage feedback discourage gossip.

Business is business it is never personal. Once you make it personal it is not business anymore. Be personable but also be able to be professional as well.

When recruiting don’t shop for just the right tool for the job. Find the right person for the job. Talent alone should not be the only judge of an employee.

2 Spice ups