IT Coordination, Knowledge Management & Coaching

You need an IT coordinator if...

You need someone who can work independently, figure out the details of a problem, and try to actually solve it, all by themselves.

This is especially a tough ask for an employee just trying to do their job. 

• Entrepreneurs on the other hand, know what it's like, and aren't afraid to make calls and ask questions.

• Entrepreneurs also care mostly about what their customers want, so if the C suite wants A, but the staff wants B, I'll do my best to prove to them that A is the better choice.

• Sometimes all you need is a general fixer that you can rely on: An IT coordinator is crucial when you're setting up a new office or a new team: They'll be doing their best to do their jobs, but will need somebody to communicate with IT, deal with pesky problems like ordering hardware, calling repairmen, or just figuring out who the responsible person is.

• What if you open up a branch where the majority of your staff speaks German, or Arabic? Guess what? I've got you covered and can communicate with employees, authorities, and customers in these languages, while making sure to represent your interests.

So if an IT coordinator is what you need, feel free to schedule a free consultation to see if we can be a great fit.

You definitely need a knowledge manager

I keep seeing this over and over again in small and large companies alike: No clear instructions on how to exactly solve a problem, if any.

• Do you know how much it costs, every time you hire a new IT guy, then spend the next months showing them the ropes, only for you to start over again once they leave?

• Or god forbid, if they die? (I've seen this) What will happen to your IT department? 

• What if the overworked Admin suffers a burnout, and depending on the country's health system, could cost you extra while you're trying to fix the mess?

Now imagine, on the other hand, if you could hire a junior admin or a young trainee, and give them access to your IT department's extensive, searchable, knowledge base, filled with SOPs (standard operating procedures) on how to fix problems, order new hardware, install software, etc.?

• Who's going to write those SOPs? Your overworked staff? You'll be lucky if they scribbled down some bullet points on their own computers.

• I can speak from experience when I say that the months you wasted on one new employee will be worth it, if instead you'd let me help out with day to day tasks with the explicit intention of doing so to document them, thereby creating a single source of truth for the next employee.

• Another cool effect when a usable knowledge base is set up: Other employees will not only refer to it, but they'll start adding information to it.

• Your admins will be happier, because now they can refer the newbie to the SOP and not have to babysit them.

The faster your company grows, the more you'll need a knowledge base that isn't just for the tech savvy, but for anyone in the organization to access and use. If you already feel the mounting pressure of bad or no documentation, schedule a meeting!

Your staff won't read the help pages

Effective change management requires more than telling your employees, that you're switching to Office 365, or pointing them to general help articles.

Each company division is different, and each employee is different. Either way, there will be questions:

• Outlook looks different. How can I find my favorite shortcuts from the older version?

• I'm used to doing this workflow in Excel. How can I replicate in the newer version?

• Our file shares were moved to SharePoint, how can access them from Windows Explorer like I used to?

• ... and so on

Sometimes the sheer amount of new tools can be overwhelming, and you'll need some coaching to use them effectively, based on your particular needs.

In some cases, the IT department might add some restrictions on SharePoint or Teams, thereby making certain features mentioned in general help useless.

Some people learn fast and by themselves, but some need coaching.

Is your staff complaining after big IT changes? Schedule a short meeting to see if I can help.