Friday, 12 September 2008

Show and Tell
Once the IT team is assembled, another obstacle stands in its way its interaction with other departments. Because IT is so pervasive in today's modern office setting, the IT team has to communicate with other, less-technologically-savvy departments and coworkers.

One thing Ive found with IT executives in particular ... a lot of times IT executives tend to get what I call "lost in the weeds" but it's so detail-specific that folks outside of IT can't understand what they're doing, let alone the importance of what they are doing,  says Matt Eventoff, communications strategist with PPS Associates/Princeton Public Speaking in New Jersey. "It ends up costing a lot of money because there's a lot of duplicated effort.

Eventoff recommends companies have a communications specialist on-staff who can serve as a go-between for IT and the rest of the company in addition to other duties. He says this can go a long way toward helping everyone understand the importance of the IT team's work and how to best utilize it. He likens this position to a marketing or public relations job.

Selling it internally is the same as selling a product externally, and if people don't understand it, they won't buy it,"he says.