Is There a Wall Between IT and the Rest of the Company? Part 2 of 2

In the second part of this two-part series on IT departments and the role they occupy within companies, I’ll provide some tips on how your IT department can peacefully coexist and prosper within your organization.

(For part 1, click here.)

Tear Down That Wall
In order to begin to bridge the gap between IT and the rest of your company, adjust your mind-set a bit. Ask yourself the following questions when evaluating the IT department’s role within your company.

* Is there failure to recognize problems with IT? This amounts to costly neglect. Is IT an expensive utility or a necessity? Your management team and IT need to have a clear understanding of the mission and charter of IT — to provide information systems that assist in company profit and growth.

* Is there failure to get IT to realize its role in the future of the business? Put IT management in place that understands the bigger picture of your business and the information that’s required to manage and grow it.

* Is there failure to make your IT director an equal partner in your strategic planning process? Fully expose your IT director to the company’s direction, and provide an understanding of where IT plays the crucial role. Get the IT people to buy in early rather than just handing them a list of requests after many months of meetings.

* Is there failure to fully use IT’s resources? Develop internally, or hire, business analysts who are interested in and dedicated to maximizing the user community’s use of the systems.

* Is there failure to hold users accountable? Don’t let the users hide behind IT flaws and shortcomings. They should know the business and need to take responsibility for understanding the applications with which they’ve been provided.

IT — for good or bad (and ineffectiveness is certainly bad) — governs the productivity and profitability of this industry. How well is your company tapping its potential?

Curt Barry is president of F. Curtis Barry & Co., a multichannel operations and fulfillment consulting firm with expertise in multichannel systems, warehouse, call center, inventory and benchmarking. Learn more online at http://www.fcbco.com .