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Sharing IT Problems with Executives?
dicey asks: "Later this week all of the IT department at my company (50-80 people) is having a dinner with the company President and VP/CIO. One major reason for this is so that they can get a better understanding of what is going on in IT and how it impacts the company overall. Ideally, with the ideas and sharing, these guys will have a better appreciation for us, adjust our budgets appropriately, and help us in our business.
However, many of us are wary to speak about what is going on because it will inevitably reveal problems with the company. We are worried about what we discuss coming back to our directors ultimately to bite us. I am curious what my fellow Slashdot readers have done in similar circumstances, where there is a great chance to let someone high up in your company know of problems so that they can be rectified, but whereby revealing them you may get hurt in the process."
Our IT department did something similar to this last year, and had the same concerns. We decided to make it a themed costume party, and we all dressed as our favorite sci-fi characters. We gave management the earful they wanted, and the next day we all got an email saying "R2D2 is sooo fired!" but they never figured out who it was.
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If your company is having problems and you don't feel safe doing your duty and informing the higher ups, you need to start looking for a new job. In the meantime, don't rock the boat.
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at least you have a job, you insensitive clod!
Talk about the good things first, then air your complaints as suggestions.
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1) Talk about how awesome you are.
2) Talk about how much more you could do with "just a few more dollars".
3) Talk about how other departments suck.
4) Despite other departments sucking, you improvised, adapted, and overcame.
5) In conclusion, we're awesome, and should beg for the chance to spend money on us.
You may be tempted to get everything (problems) out at dinner, but usually this will harm you in the long run. Be extremely careful on what you say, and what you do.
There is probably no good way of doing this at the company dinner. The size (50-80) makes it even more difficult as probably everybody will know (recognize) everybody else. You do not want to be the whistle blower of any kind. Sort of a catch-22 if you will.
A better way that I've seen happen at my place is an anonymous ballot kind of thing. If the executives are interested, they will read the ballot. If not, well, then you live and learn.
My 0.02$
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At a large company that I worked for in the past, we had the opportunity to give criticism to the higher ups about all the things that we'd like improved etc. You know that manager of yours that in one way or another always blames his director for the hardships bestowed on your group? Well, we mentioned that during the surveys and meetings that we had. "If only the director would do this.. or that.." Well, one member of our group who'd been around for 6+ years at the company warned us that this was all a sham; not to criticize anything. Well, it did. About a week later the manager called us all into a meeting and while even shedding a tear, he told us that we were all ungreatful and that we'd get no more perks from him with him pulling his weight to get us things. 3 people quit shortly after. Tread VERY lightly and don't place blame on any singular management entity.
A carefully considered, previously agreed-upon statement would be fine, but I would cringe at anyone who would speak "off the cuff" to management. If you can approach them in the right way, you may well end up with what you need. Or at least what they think you need. Anyone in your department who has a deep-seated need to impress the brass should be given the wrong location and time for the dinner. Best of luck!
"Never pet a burning dog."
I think if you're management isn't addressing the questions you have, you should be upfront and honest to the executives in the company about the problems you are facing. However, what issues you are dealing with? Is your IT spending up, is there talk of layoffs, what are your actual problems with your company's IT infrastructure?
It's good that your president/CIO are having these discussions with you, as it shows they are concerned and want to know how to drive profit in their industry. They are concerned with the bottom line, so be honest and try to address the problems with the bottom line in mind. Will adding 1 million to the IT budget save 10 million? If you have concerns, or better, if you have ideas, share them, but only if you think they will help. Don't say you need 2million in new computers without explaining why that would drive profit up.
Have you seen the movie "office space" ? If not rent it and see it before going there.
- People who believe other people have no right to live, got no right to live ...
but I have to agree with what a lot of other people said.
Be *extremely* careful. Even valid and obvious complaints can get you in a lot of trouble.
My advice? Keep your mouth shut.
It would seem to me that problems within the IT group should be brought to your manager / director or whoever is just above you in the chain of command before it would go to the CIO or VP. If the director sees fit to bring it to the executive level, then they should. Only if your direct supervisor is neglecting to fix problems / bring severe problems to their boss, should you have to go above their head to the executive level. I know that sounds like the Office Space problem of having 8 bosses, and that might not make sense in a business of 50-60 people as described - but it makes more sense in much larger organizations.
Just smile, nod and enjoy the free food. Sure, it would be nice to try and let the executives know the problems you are facing, but as the Dispair poster says, "Sometimes the best way to increse moral is to fire all the unhappy people." You aren't unhappy are you?
Seriously, you, and a large portion of the staff should discuss the idea of all suggestions being given to the exec anoymously. Try to find someway to disassociate the idea from the person. Granted this isn't perfect, but it might help some.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Laziness is the father.
Perform your duties as enumerated in your job description. No more, no less. Don't try to make things better, because you'll only piss people off who can make your life hell.
Anything you say to the higher-ups will eventually trickle down to your immediate supervisor(s). If it makes them look bad, you'll eat shit until you quit or are otherwise drummed out of the company.
Take it from someone who's been there... if you're an IT geek, when it comes to corporate politics, your kung fu is weak. Period. Accept it.
Keep your head down, do only what you're supposed to, and keep your resume polished anyway, because you never know when your job will move overseas no matter how good you are at doing it.
Realistically, how much can anyone learn from a dinner with 80 people, the vast majority of whom are going to be complete strangers? This is going to be a chance for the executives to mouth platitudes, for the IT "leadership" to get their knees and noses dirty, and for the peons to get a dinner that will come out of the Christmas bonus, ultimately.
I advise you chat up the bartender, and try to get a six-pack or two into your laptop bag.
If the answers are that he genuinely wants to improve things, is a no-BS type of person, and seems to be able to take criticism, then by all means take this gift and use it! Be specific, but try to not assign blame. Approach every issue from the perspective that it isn't a huge problem but rather an opportunity for improvement.
Good luck!
I always save my last mod point to mod up a good troll. You people are too serious.
The right thing to do:
Be open and honest with the PHBs. Don't sugar-coat anything that much, and if your honest assesment of a problem doesn't please them, then you may want to start looking for another job.
The normal thing to do:
Suck up to them and blame the problems on others. That way you'll get a pay raise and your co-workers will not be held in as high regard.
I would like to think I'd do the right thing in a situation similar to yours, but I honestly don't know if I could risk my job because of an execs stupidity.
Karma: Meh (Mostly from meh.)
Whenever you pose a problem, follow it up with a solution. That way it doesn't sound like you're complaining. Having solutions shows you actually care about your job and the company. Then you just need the go ahead to fix the problems.
Send out an email to your IT staff, avoiding the managers. Let them know that a box will be made available at some accessable point, where anonymously _typed_ papers can be dropped off.
Encourage folks to not only write down the bad stuff, but write up good things as well. And always give examples and suggestions with the bad. But make sure that the examples focus on the issues, not specific people.
Deliver the box to the VP/manager/PHB and tell him it was done this way to prevent personal bias influencing the issues.
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You will do no good by ranting and raving when you get the chance to talk to the higher-ups.
You also should refrain from bad-mouthing any particular individuals (unless absolutely and obviously necessary), or you will appear to have an axe to grind.
Phrase concerns in terms of the organization or department.
I went through this several years ago. Over the course of 90 minutes I laid out my concerns and [what I saw as] impediments to the organization and its future. The chief exec at the end of the table listened carefully and seemed to appreciate the candor (e.g. we have ~22 people on staff and 8 of them are designated as the 'managemenet team'; 7 people on staff were actually billable most of the time (supporting the rest), etc.).
Nutshel version: be concise, be respectful, and don't point fingers.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
So I guess I'd question whether or not the whole event will turn out exactly as you're thinking it might in the first place.
If no-one talks, then don't expect any problems to get solved.
Do the following:
1)List all of the issues you would like to raise.
2)Go back through the list and pick the few that you think are most important.
3)For each issue script a clear description, and most importantly, script a solution to the problem. If you don't have a workable solution, then never escalate the problem. Without a proposed solution, the manager will feel that s/he needs to find a solution, which is not always ideal.
4)Bring up only the 1 or 2 most important issues at the dinner. In that environment, any more than that stuff will be forgotten.
Bring up issues that will matter to upper management. Don't bring up crap like "The IT Director wants all of us to partition our drives a certain way, but that is not always optimal". Bring up stuff that effect finances and/or employee morale.
Finally, don't single out people for criticism ("My boss is an idiot!!"), but don't always hold back because you are afraid of the consequences. If your choose your actions based on fear of being trampled upon, then be prepared to always be trampled upon.
Keep in mind that upper management sometimes does care about the company. If they don't know about problems, they can't fix them.
the executive was really talking to the garbage can all night. This is why alcohol should not be served at company functions.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
When executive management has this type of meeting with the entire department it means they do not have confidence in their manager's ability to manage otherwise they wouldn't have (or need) the meeting. It's a sure sign of more serious problems within the company.
As head of an IT department, it's my job to communicate the problems/concerns my staff bring to my attention that I can not address at my level. It is equally important for the staff to understand that, unless they are working for a charity, the object of the game is profit and they are there to make the company money (or at least not cost it as much). The value of a good management team is that this type of communication is natural and automatic.
If a firecracker explodes on your open palm, you'll get burned, but you'll probably recover. If you close your hand around it, the explosion will more than likely mangle your hand.
It's similar when it comes to dealing with situations where you're dealing with senior managers. I don't know if your company is 50-80 people or your IT department is 50-80 people, but I assume you are anticipating some "face time" at this event. You're correct in assuming that the issues you bring up are going to be communicated back to your bosses. You'd be stupid to think otherwise. But a little tact goes a long way when it comes to speaking to your boss's boss. (or your boss's boss's boss)
First, don't turn the conversation into a bitch session. The last thing you want is for the higher-ups in your company to think that all you can do is mope and complain. They'll remember it when the next round of downsizing comes along, and you'll be doing your moping and complaining on the unemployment line. Instead, maintain a generally positive attitude. If you can't do that, you work for the wrong company and need to move on, anyway.
Second, frame the issues you wish to bring up in terms of opportunity instead of attacking individuals. Suppose your boss is a terrible communicator, and sends out project requests in short emails instead of discussing them with you and detailing specifications and requirements. Instead of:
That's making a fist around a firecracker. Frank, regardless of how poor his communication skills might be, is going to be rightfully upset when that gem gets back to him through the grapevine. Instead, say:
I hope you see the difference. The issue is framed as one of communication, as opposed to a defect in Frank's personality. Similarly, instead of:
Try:
You might undergo some pain, especially if you are assigned the project of upgrading, replacing the email server, but nothing compared to what you'd experience if Bob felt like you were badmouthing him to his boss.
Finally, speak about things you know. If you're the network admin, bring up issues related to the network. If you're a web monkey, bring up the web site. Don't just blast things you really have no business commenting on. You might feel like your company's sales team is a bunch of lying, egg-sucking weasels. Most sales teams are. But it's not related to your sphere of expertise, therefore it's not appropriate to address. Starting a war with another department is DEFINITELY grabbing a lit firecracker. And it may be more akin to lighting the firecracker and popping it in your mouth. Only, instead of a firecracker, you swallow a lit stick of dynamite. (Now, THAT is taking an analogy too far!)
All too often, geeks take business issues personally, when there are often simple, business-related explanations. Bob isn't tormenting you with the crappy mailserver because he doesn't like you, he can't replace it until next year because the company spent $1 million bucks on yet another ERP/CRM upgrade. When you take things down a notch, and address the issues instead of the personalities, then it almost inevitably breeds a more positive tone. Frank may be a dickhead, or he may just be a techie who hasn't learned much about managing people.
Third, don't try to solve all the world's problems in one night. You won't have the time. Pick some important issues, frame them as opportunities for improvem
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I hate to be a dick about it, but this sounds eerily like what has been going on with the Finance community. Not reporting correctly. This just sounds like deceit plain and simple. People in the financial world are going to jail for not reporting correctly. Granted, your situation may not be as serious, but it certainly could be and not being honest and up front isn't going to help things one bit when a poorly built house of cards comes tumbling down. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but in the long run, honesty really is the best policy. A lot of cliches? yeah, but they are cliches for a reason.
Another poster wrote "get your resume ready". I agree. Hiding things won't make them any less of an issue later. In fact, I think these things have a way of getting bigger and worse.
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Don't come to me with problems; come to me with solutions.
Provide the proper context. Move the conversation forward. Focus on the positives Network first When it comes down to it though, you know your company and coworkers better that we do, and must act accordingly. Some tactics may work at one company, but would be totaly inapproprate at another."terrorism" and "pedophilia" are the root passwords to the Constitution
In my experience Management believe that throwing money at hardware or software will fix their problems. Or better yet we will outsource. The basic things they seem to forget or have not learned are:
Most management decisions are made out of ignorance and head burying so the existing problems are not known in the hope all symptoms will remain hidden.
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I have a professor (who is quite excellent) who usedto work for a large telecommunications company as an executive prior to his retirement. I've spent a large amount of time talking to him, and I think I'm fairly certain I know what he would recommend, or at least something similar to what he himself would have done in such a situation. :) He currently works as a business efficiency expert for contract.
:)
If you're going to say anything at all, don't waste your breath being petty or mentioning minor instances of complaints. Cut right to the thick of the matter, and give him your assessment and the logic behind your assessment. Preferably, have a writeup/short report (one or two pages) to hand him for later peruseal with well-outlined points. Don't mention names, but point him in the right direction so that he doesn't feel like he's bringing the axe down on your recommendations, but on his 'own' decision - which he somehow reached after your carefully worded suggestion.
If there is a sizeable group of people, break the concerns up amongst you. Get together at a bar or somewhere a couple days prior to the dinner, get a list, and then distribute the list amongst willing contributors, so that no one person gets the heat. It would be incredibly stupid for anyone short of the president to try and pull down heat on a group of that size.
If you catch heat from middle management afterwards, guess what? That just means that they're pissed tha the president is making changes based on your apt suggestions. If he revokes priviledges/perks or fires you, write off a little letter to the president letting hiim know what happened. that middle management will likely be looking for a job soon, too. Then see if you can't get the president to be a job reference.
The ability to see and try to solve real (as opposed to created)problems is a valueable ability to have, and a very valueable asset for any company; if they ignore that asset, you're best off looking for a job, because truely, your position there isn't secure in the least - the company isn't likely terribly secure, if they punish real problem solving.
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A good admin/support person should have the ability to at his desk and goof off on his computer. When caught doing so, and asked what actual work I was doing, I point to the support hotline phone and the fact that it isn't ringing. If nothing was broken and my routine maintainance was up-to-date, the only reason why I have left to not call it a day the day is because I need to be on call in the hopefully unlikely event something causes that phone to ring.
I'm not sure how true that is.
It seems to me right now if you cut the IT labor force in half, half being the people who were truly qualified for the job they had in the dot com era, and half that wasn't. (Its probably more like 2/3 in that bucket, but whatever), 10% of the former group is finding jobs with no problem, and 10% of the latter group isn't.
The really good developers I know who have gotten laid off in the last couple months haven't been having and problems finding new work. I have a couple friends who have commented lately about how they expected it to be hard and in the process of looking started being a lot more picky, because things weren't as bad as they'd heard.
Maybe some parts of the country are different... this is the metro Boston area...
Keep it simple. Don't overwhelm them with technical details. If you see their eyes glaze over, you're providing them too much detail. Keep the answers short and concise. Give the suits the summary of the summary of the Cliff Notes for Dummies of the summary on the back of the paperback edition #2. I mean you have to eliminate almost all detail. Make them ask you for more detail BUT don't abuse it with too much detail when you do give them more. This is like the first date. Scratch that. This is you making the phone call that arranges the date. Scratch that. This is the wink that gets you the number to call. You can't give them too much detail or 1) you're scare them away, and 2) they'll already know everything about you (the project) and won't need you anymore. KISS-FSP. Keep It Simple Stupid, For Stupid People.
Don't be afraid to share problems. If you're in a job that you feel you can't share a problem with management then you're in the wrong job. Pack up and move out. Believe me, it's not worth the grief. You shouldn't have to watch your back for the next inbound sharpened object. Grow a set and lay it on the line.
Anyhow, that's my $.02 before taxes. Best of luck.
My advice? Keep your mouth shut.
Of course be careful. But there are many ways to play this. A conservative strategy is of course the safest, but it isn't necessarily the best. You have to decide what you want out of the encounter. Do you really want to spend life pussyfooting around because you might offend somebody powerful? That's no way to win respect, certainly not of senior management.
This is a chance to get noticed, and it could also be a chance to kick your career up a notch, if you are interested in that. If you just want to get through with this, then don't get noticed. If you want to change things then do get noticed.
The key in any kind of encounter like this is to understand what the other person would like to get out the encounter. Management has two functions: providing direction and removing obstacles. Basically, management ideally should be 90% shitwork and 10% leadership. Most managers know this but being human would rather spend 90% of their time doing leadership and 10% the other stuff. In other words most managers are lousy. It follows that any shitwork you can take off the boss's plate automatically makes your life easier. I'm preaching the gospen of win-win here: You should not be thinking how management can make IT's life easier, how to you each help each other get what you want?
So, what to do if you are sitting next the CEO and he starts chatting you up? It's not about what the CEO can do for you, it's what you can do for the CEO. That means knowing him probably better than you do and, harder yet, taking him (or her) more seriously than you probably do now. What are his pet issues? Conversely, what tare the things that he's spending his time dealing with he'd rather not be?
On the other hand, you can't ignore the leadership side of the equation either. What are easy ways this guy can become a hero to IT? How can he kick himself up a notch against his peers when it comes to bragging rights? What is is vision for the company and how to you fit in? That means, study the business plan, yes, even take the mission statement for a few minutes if you can manage it. If there have been press releases or if he's been quoted in the trade press know what he's about. Study the company wide internal memos. If the boss is fixated on stuff that seems superficial, remember he has to sell the company to the world, and the world is fixated on superficial stuff too. Reorient your perspective for a moment and put yourself on his side.
Of course, you may not get the chance, given the numbers, but it pays to be prepared, and have a plan. This really is too much advice to put into effect in a brief encounter. It's a lot like a job interview -- you might get lucky and get everything you need out the first encounter, but what you want to ensure is that you get asked back. That means studying the opportunity, having a rough plan of where you want to go, but being flexible to follow the boss's lead.
Or you could run like hell, which is perfectly legitimate if you'd rather keep the status quo.
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I agree with your points, but you are forgetting exactly how much management subordinates/discredits/undervalues/detests/fears us.
"IT provides a service. We know that the service must be worth something, but we understand nothing about it. If we cannot understand it, then it cannot be important, but everybody has an IT department so we better have one. But it is filled with inexperienced children who have not spent their life climbing the corporate ladder, so they cannot understand the "complexity" of the business and how it needs to improve. But we have to have them, and they make almost as much as we do so we better smile when they are around. Please, please don't let them say anything because I will feel stupid because they know all this jargon that I do not. But they do not understand business as well as management and we set the rules so we are on top and my life is worthwhile. Just do not let them speak."
The big issue is that all computer technology is just magic to management. Computers seem to help the business, but the effects usually cannot be quantified until after they are deployed. So why do it? Because all the management magazines tell them that some other company used software for something and is now saving tons of money.
We save them when they have lost that important file, but they know they would not have lost it if it was on paper. Almost everything with computers means they have to learn something new, and they hate that.
The other side is that we are often closely involved with many parts of the business. We hear the complaints from the whole company. We may not know the big picture, but most working IT people could quickly pick 5 tasks that could be cheaply improved by technology in completely non-IT departments, because they know what is frustrating the employees.
I posted a story about trying to sell a business process improvement. I believe I did it on their terms. I reminded them how many people were required to fix the bad data. I demonstrated how this system was better. I talked about how the related processes would be integrated to improve accuracy and reduce the cost across the enterprise. I did not talk about technology other than to say the current hardware could easily handle it. I got some excitement from them, but lost because THEY CANNOT JUDGE GOOD SOFTWARE FROM BAD SOFTWARE even after they use it.
I am in a special position here. They are not my only client, but I worked almost 1000 hours last year FOR THEM, and they spent more for my services than for the 60-hours-every-week IT manager (including all compensation.) I probably cost them as much as his boss, the decision-maker. I am the high-priced outside expert who has an unbroken record of delivering better than they require before any deadlines and always staying under the budget. I do business strategy consulting at other companies. They should greatly respect my opinions, but I am still "just an IT guy."
And it does not help that I look young. The white hair keeps going away when I do not work. I almost wish it would all turn white so I would look older. The "decision-maker" is only 10 years older, but has a full head of white hair. Maybe I should dye (bleach?) mine.
If you really want to get a suggestion to management, have a salesperson from another company contact them and tell them that this idea is incredible and all the other companies are doing it and they need it too. He will get much more respect than any employee, and has much more credibility than any nerd.
I spend my life entertaining my brain.
You make two bad assumptions:
1. management can recognize the truely qualified, and keep them, while ditching the "bad" ones
2. truely qualified IT people, are also really good at selling themselves
Both are commonly false.
been there done that. to be honest ya wanna know what happens when this takes place? the VP looses his job, his replacement comes in on a "clean-slate" basis and replaces all of upper management siting that "our current staff can not adapt to our technology needs". in the end you end up loosing all your good connections in the company getting replaced by green-horns with MCSE's and no real world experience trying to convert your "legacy" (about to move to linux) network to the *latest tech* windows system. FUCKING TRUST ME I'VE BEEN THERE 4 DAMN TIMES!!!
is a damn plague where I live. PLEASE IT GUYS do not enlighten your exec's to your job. it works SOO much better when they only know enough to quote laptop prices and say "hey, can I use XP?"
I speak from YEARS of experience here. please no -1 troll mod. I really am serious (although a bit jaded due to my loosing 2 jobs on this subject, but bailing from another 2 because of the patternistic behavior).
you're better off backing your IT manager in a corner and trully explaining to him/her how things are and letting them talk to the exec's than hearing it from the geeks. if you do it I swear unless you hold a Ph.D in bullshit you will only end up making things worse. as the poster said it shows the minor problems with a company that can seem massive to an exec but are a daily routine for an IT professional. it's just not wise to report such things to mangement.
On the real, your IT director/manager is there for you. if you look bad he does. and in most situations your manager is newer than you so image is a big thing. make him look good by explaining to him the problems and time lines for repair/completion and use his purported skills to improve your image. thats why there is a layer between IT and management (although we all know we are like -1 link behind the CEO as we _ALL_ do massive favors for them).
trust me guys/gals, been there done that. I hope someone can back me up on this.
I know all situations will not be like this but trust me on this one, experience is a mutha. . . seen it soo many times I wanted to puke when reading this article just from bad memories. Remember PHB's will always be PHB's. You can teach them untill your blue in the face and they'll still ask 'why did my computer lock up after opening that attachment from that person that said "ILOVEYOU"?'