Doing More with Less
At my work, the economy is forcing us to tightly manage costs. Therefore we have had to reduce the labor expenses in the IT Department significantly. This presents a challenge, as we actually need to provide more service to other departments, so they can continue to provide the level of service our customers demand, but we need to provide them with fewer resources. The key to this dilemma is careful prioritization, and management of expectations. When presented with a project request, I carefully analyze where to put it in the queue, and what the impacts to other projects are. Letting the users know up front what your constraints are often will gain respect and understanding from your users. Of course, if you make a promise, you have to follow through, or you lose credibility. Also, sometimes, you just have to say ‘No’ if you cannot accomplish something in the requested time without impacting other commitments. The key here is to other an alternative, maybe part of a project can be completed sooner, with the rest following. Or maybe another project of the requester’s can be pushed back.