A Face and a Voice

IT Support is a vital element of any technology organization to get right. The problem is that this role’s true strength is not in core technology elements. The true value and power of an effective IT Support professional is his or her “Soft-Skills”. Communication, organization, stress management all valuable skills that are not thought of as being an essential part of a core technologist. “Can you program in C#, Java, Perl?”, “Can you setup a Raid 1 storage configuration?”, “Can you Debug a Kernel?” these are all questions that most would consider asking a technology candidate. The same questions that are posed to the individual who is expected to deal with business users and manage technology as a business partner.

Of all of the possible “Soft-Skills” needed by the IT Support professional, the most critical is the ability to communicate. Not by simply speaking to people but the art of understanding people and empathizing with people. The ability to act as translator of techno speak to a business user also helps at keeping the noise down when things don’t go as designed.

The key thing for management to always remember is that this individual does not fully operate in the business environment, but is very aware of the business goal and strategy. Nor is the role as deeply focused on core infrastructure or development areas, but again, in varying levels, is familiar with the technology employed. This is the hidden value add to both the business as well as technology. The role of IT Service Professional should never be seen as a generic, non-critical function which adds limited value to an organization. It is the role that is both the “face of technology” to the business, while being the “voice of the business” to IT.

by Rik Jones

Image by $ydney