5 Tips for a Successful Work of IT Department

Many companies still see the IT department as a secondary element, costly but not profitable. Much of this opinion is based on outdated methods of work, the use of non-competitive systems and equipment.

A good IT department is essential for any great business. Here are 5 tips that help improve the workflow of tech teams and boost work efficiency. 

Set the right priorities

It often happens that in a maze of incessant tasks, it can be difficult to figure out which projects will be useful and which are not so important. It is very important to set the right priorities so that projects benefit both the organization and its clients. This is easiest to do during the planning phase, conduct a thorough business analysis to determine the real needs of the team and set clear business goals.

Planning helps to increase the productivity of the team several times because they can more often make independent decisions on IT projects in accordance with the set business goals. IT teams acting by business goals are more likely to collaborate with management teams and evaluate their performance using business and IT criteria.

The secret lies precisely in effective collaboration and communication with other teams in the company (marketing, HR, administration), and not in isolation of the IT department. The IT department works as other teams in the company, according to the business goals, so their work cannot be separated from the needs of the business as a whole.

Choose the methodology

The digital transformation of the enterprise is now simply necessary, and continues to gain momentum in the wake of the coronavirus, especially since many companies have switched to telecommuting. But well-coordinated and effective work, even remotely, is possible with the use of the right techniques and tools, adapted to the needs of each team.

Not every methodology works good for any team, so you need to adapt the methodology to the needs of a given project, team, or company. 

The right methodology impacts a lot on the speed of work. Some teams are good with popular Agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban, and some of them are more likely to use DevOps principles. Another one is ITIL, which is more used in technical teams and IT departments.  

The ITSM \ ITIL process integration aligns the IT service management strategy with the business goals of the company, helping:

• Get your investment back on track faster by reducing implementation costs and downtime.
• Simplify management through well-defined processes and an efficient team structure.
• Deal with critical situations faster, prevent reoccurrence and manage change without risk.
• Implement an effective support service with clear SLAs and a focus on customer satisfaction.

Set up the right software

In addition to tools that facilitate teamwork, it is also worth considering using new technologies in products and solutions that enable the team to communicate with customers. The implementation of Jira helps both in serving internal users (company employees) and external users (customer support), providing a high level of service. Thus, the quality and efficiency of work increases, and clients in the future will want to use the company’s services again.

At Polontech, we provide ITSM \ ITIL and Jira Integrations for IT and Support teams to help our clients to select and adapt the required framework, supporting its principles with the right tools. We install:

• Jira Service Desk for interacting with users and customers through a ticket system, call center and IT service request portal. It is a versatile tool that easily integrates with other software: your CRM, call center, messaging gateways, payment systems, external sites, calendar and other tools.
• Jira Software to link tickets from Jira Service Desk to tasks in Jira Software to integrate user feedback into the development process.
• Confluence – We integrate the knowledge base into the IT department and set up a portal where customers can find answers to questions without contacting IT specialists.
• Opsgenie Configuring additional notification channels.

Communicate

Most people would say in-person communication still serves as a very valuable resource when it’s possible. To encourage this, hold regular meetings to “regroup” and ensure everyone is working toward the same vision and goals.

Automate routine tasks

High-performing teams don’t waste time grappling with adversity and repeating tasks. They solve basic problems with automation.Many of IT teams use service automation.  High-performing teams are 2.5 times more likely to use problem management to avoid common emergencies.