Developing and Maintaining a World-Class IT Staff

Abstract

The shift of organizations from management-focused to team-focused and operated necessitates a vigilance in developing individual professional development plans for employees, particularly in the IT profession. The trappings of success--a position in management, a corner office, and a long title--have been replaced by coordinated, project-focused work teams composed of the organization's experts. This new environment leaves employees questioning their value, if not their roles, in the organizational structure. Without the common measurements of success, employees struggle to identify their contribution to the organization.Skills assessment and professional development planning are essential to developing world-class employees for a world-class organization. The skills matrix described in this paper helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of current IT staff as well as provide a template for the makings of the ideal IT department. The matrix also serves as the cornerstone for individual professional development plans focused on ensuring each employee's value and contribution to the organization.This paper was also presented at CUMREC96 as CMR9631