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Getting the Right Request for the Systems On-Hand?
Techmaniac asks: "As a newly minted employee at [insert org name] I have been tasked with creating an RFP to secure a vendor for helpdesk/sysadmin services. Currently, we have a single individual that does all the relevant tasks for a small organization of less than 100 people. My boss has explained that the needs are for onsite helpdesk, backend support, systems admin but that she doesn't know what or how much the current person does on any given day. Having done (using the term loosely) some of this work for a smaller org, it is possible for me to create an RFP for the company. I have been here such a short time that I wouldn't want to miss any of the important tasks, nor would it set my tenure off to a rousing start. Has anyone else been in this situation? Do you have any insight into the mandatory RFP inclusions for a vendor provided sysadmin, helpdesk work? Is it within this document to dictate how many people should be onsite for the task and what can be accomplished remotely?"
And tell your boss you don't know where to start. You're a new employee and you're not expected to know everything. There's a possibility that your boss reads slashdot. There's also a possiblity that you won't get good advice. In any case, tell her that you're confidence level with your ability to do this task is not high and you may need some help.
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
Yeah right. Chances are the single person is too busy to keep up with the requests, let alone formally documenting what is happening. (Why else would management want to invest in a solution?)
. . . unless the individual who does all the work now reads here. Go ask him, he knows. In fact, delegate or get your boss to delegate the task to him.
If you have one person to support a hundred people, he's running his ass off, and probably doesn't KNOW what he does in a day. He's probably badly overworked.
Considering that you're being asked to do an RFP, they're probably not happy with the job he's doing... he's probably not wise enough to ask for the help he most likely needs.
Once you get to several employees, you can scale way past 1/100, if they're good. But early on, it doesn't work like that. That first person has to wear so many hats that there isn't much time to streamline and specialize.
If the current employee is competent, you'll almost certainly be better served adding a person than by outsourcing. And expect to add a third person around 200. After that, play it by ear.