Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009 - (Page 17)

“Rather than having five [or] six different storage technologies or storage devices, we’re going to pick one. If you’re a technical person who’s been supporting one of those other four systems that are going to be shut down, that’s not something you like to hear, right? Because it’s a huge change,” he said. “But then you’ve got to articulate it — what’s in it for me? What’s in it for that individual? What’s in it for that individual is enterprise. Rather than supporting five, six different backup platforms; wouldn’t it be better to support a single platform?” Workers Speak Up But CIOs shouldn’t necessarily blame the economic downturn as the sole reason for rogue administrators, according to Brent Boland, senior applications developer for the South Suburban Parks and Recreation District in Colorado. Salaries and hours could also be contributors, he said. In order to decrease employees’ stress, Boland suggested that managers get creative in compensating employees even when money is tight. Teleworking and letting employees set their own hours are good ways to start, Boland said. “If leaders were willing to say, ‘I’m going to let you maybe set your own hours,’ or ‘Go ahead and work from wherever so you don’t have to spend the gas money to get into your office,’ or ‘Go to a four-day workweek if you feel like that’ll help you,’” he said. Some IT workers, like Sherry Lawdermilt, senior programmer analyst for Grand Forks, N.D., aren’t concerned yet about the impact of the economic fallout on their workplace. “It hasn’t been an element in our department yet,” she said. “We are actually busier than ever just because we did add a new wireless network, but we did not add additional employees to take care of it. So we are doing more with the same amount of people — but not due to budget cuts or anything along those lines.” Lawdermilt said the city government might be more insulated against the widespread layoffs and diminishing resources that plague the private sector. “In the government sector, you tend to have more of a guarantee first of revenue,” she said. “Most of our revenue comes from property taxes as well as permits for building, and with all of that going down, our revenue will decrease. But you still do have some guarantee of that as opposed to the private sector, so I think it is a little more secure.” Changing the Workplace Paradigm Patrick Hale, deputy director and chief technology officer of the Bureau of Infrastructure Services in Michigan’s “It’s very important that, No. 1, managers are open and straightforward with their employees, and that employees are getting a lot of communication around what’s going on.” Teri Takai, CIO, California Department of Information Technology, said workplace stress can be the springboard for greater opportunity, even amid consolidation and downsizing. “When we’re put under this kind of stress, we’re having to make these kinds of decisions. It’s really a great opportunity for innovation,” he said. This innovation starts with assessing employees’ needs. “How can we be better? How can we innovate? This really is an exciting time, even though it’s a huge challenge. A lot of good can come out of being put under pressure.” The key is listening to the people who are out on the front line, said California CIO Teri Takai. Sometimes, she said, people don’t think about how to save time and money until there’s a crisis. “First of all, we try to recalibrate and look at how much we can do, given the budget strength that we have. For instance, we’re doing a planning process so that we can really look at what we have the capability for,” she said. Takai and department CIOs are also looking at more collaboration to eliminate repetitive processes. This agenda is similar to what’s been laid out in Michigan’s 2008 IT strategic plan. Takai admitted that in California, many employees are being asked to accomplish more with fewer resources. She advised IT leaders look closely at the work to re-evaluate what’s being done and excise unnecessary tasks. And, like other CIOs, she agreed that communication is the best way to assess employee sentiment and identify stress levels. “It’s very important that, No. 1, managers are open and straightforward with their employees, and that employees are getting a lot of communication around what’s going on,” she said. ¨ www.public-cio.com [17] http://www.public-cio.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009

Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009 Contents Contributors Introduction Tense Times Insider Threat Twenty and Counting Labor of Love Putting Process Into Play Crossover Appeal FastGov CIO Central Security Adviser CIOs Pluck BlackBerry Phones From the Field Straight Talk

Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009

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